Theme: Aspiration

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Haig Pit
Solway Road
Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 9BG
United Kingdom

Andy Beeforth

Andy has led the staff team at Cumbria Community Foundation since its inception in 1999. The Community Foundation promotes philanthropy with the aim of supporting the people and communities of Cumbria. It has won national awards for its grant making and fundraising and responded three times to major disasters in Cumbria. With endowed assets in excess of £12.5m and total grant making in excess of £23m it has become Cumbria’s largest independent grant maker. Regularly distributing £2.1m pa of self generated funds the Community Foundation supports around 500 community initiatives per year. Andy says ‘You can’t be negative about life when you work in an organisation when virtually every day someone rings up with an idea for how they can make the world a better place’. As well as tackling very serious issues through its grant making and advocacy the Community Foundation has brought to Cumbria inspirational events including the Jennings Rivers Ride and Big Sleep.

Caroline Wiscombe

Caroline was born and brought up in a working class community in the North East of England. Losing her builder father at a young age she was raised by a dynamic and forward thinking mother who, having moved north to marry after the war, became the first female primary head-teacher in the region. Caroline’s sister became the first female bus driver in Newcastle Upon Tyne before attending night school to become a solicitor, in which profession she has become the leading authority on gaining compensation for miners ‘vibration white finger’. Against this feminist background Caroline forged a career in the licensed retail sector raising standards and professionalism by serving on the professional body for the trade, the British Institute of Innkeeping, for eight years.

Penny Haslam

Penny Haslam is an extremely versatile and confident performer. She works well in front of business audiences as a keynote speaker, awards host and chair of panel discussions. She has also been known to tread the boards as a stand-up comic, so injects natural good humour and charm into her work. She has worked in broadcasting for nearly 20 years as a senior business journalist, presenting the business news on live television on BBC Breakfast and the News Channel, as well as fronting two Panorama investigations and countless personal finance reports for on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live.

Steve Houghton-Burnett

Steve is in business to make a profit. He has been an entrepreneur since his early twenties and he was responsible for starting one of the first Internet Service Providers in the UK. A company that was later sold to a global player in the Internet market in a £300 million deal. Today, he works with Hi-Tech start-up businesses who are out to disrupt existing markets and industries. One of the ways he does this, is through his role as Entrepreneur in Residence for Staffordshire University. Steve spends a proportion of his time speaking to secondary school children, young adults and Chief Executives about overcoming their insecurities and fulfilling their potential.

Steve Mould

Steve is a science presenter for the BBC and ITV, with shows including Britain’s Brightest, The One Show and I Never Knew That About Britain. Steve tours the country with his sell-out comedy science show Festival Of The Spoken Nerd.

Tara Vallente

Tara Vallente loves words. She loves stories. She loves pictures that say a thousand words. She loves films that bring a story to life. She’s pretty lucky to live in the Lake District and keeps finding great stories to share … in words, in photographs or in film. A long, long time ago, she was a journalist and wrote stories for newspapers. Some of them were quite good. United Provincial Newspaper thought she was the best Young Journalist in the country and the Commonwealth Press Union sponsored her to go on a busman’s holiday to Sri Lanka. That was quite exciting.