Theme: TRUE HEROES

Superheroes exist. They live among us. They put on their capes everyday. In offices, in labs, on the sports track, in garages. Creating, designing, educating, entertaining, informing - making a true difference. To a true hero, every detail matters, every second is important, every inch counts. They lead by example driven by their own targets. They are the ones that will not conform, willing to face challenges and to set out on journeys to uncertain endings. Yet, they do not know how to give up. And once they succeed - because like any true hero they always succeed - change is created.

TEDxLimassol 2015 promises to be daring and provocative by bringing on the stage true heroes that will share their ideas and inspire us to wear our own capes. The True Heroes theme meets three of the most essential TEDTalk objectives:
- To democratize knowledge and science.
- To stimulate and arouse audiences around the world.
- To spark deep discussion and connections.

RIALTO
Andrea Drousioti
Limassol, Lemesos, 3040
Cyprus

Blue Loquat

Blue Loquat is a live electronic duo whose music relies on the delicate balancing act between various, often opposing elements. Experimenting with form through the juxtaposition of various genres and musical aesthetics, the duo takes the crowd on a rollercoaster ride of emotional states. While the performance explores the relationship between live music and the dance floor, the duo uses electric guitars, bass guitar, analogue synthesizers and vocals to create a unique live performance, in essence, merging the atmosphere of a live concert with the club experience.

Rumba Attack

Rumba Attack is a music group from Cyprus made of Constantinos Lyras and Memnon Arestis on guitars, and Savvas Thoma on cajon/percussion. The trio performs their own original instrumental material, with the exception of a few select covers of the genre, as well as some covers of old Greek songs, sung and performed in the group’s distinctive Spanish Flamenco-Rumba style, blended with sounds from World music, Blues, Rock & Jazz. Rumba Attack plays regularly at live venues and municipal events, as well as at the island’s finest music & arts festivals, including the Rialto Ethnic Music Festival 2015, Afro Banana Festival 2015, Fengaros Music Festival 2014, Windcraft Festival 2014 and the Pafos Ethnic Jazz Festival 2014 & 2015. They are soon to release their first full-length studio album complete with their own original songs. Website & videos: www.rumbaattack.com Facebook page: www.facebook.com/rumbaattack

Sound of Thieves

Sound Of Thieves Formed in 2014 in Nicosia, Cyprus, Sound Of Thieves are an experimental electro-funk band, consisting of Phoebe Pope on vocals and Jan Bures on electric bass. The band has crafted its unique sound through the use of various musical techniques, incorporating live vocals and instruments, live looping and sampling. Sound Of Thieves take pride in constantly working on new music and new ways of delivering it to their audience.

Andreas Araouzos

He studied Mathematics & Management in Manchester, acquired an MBA in Nicosia and attended short courses in acting (Webber Douglas Academy) and directing (RADA) in London. He is the creator of Alpha Square theatre productions in Cyprus, since 2003. He directed “Red”, “Les Miserables”, “The Little Prince”, “Doubt”, “Shirley Valentine” and “Art” and has appeared in productions such as “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, “Art”, “Total Eclipse”, “Tape”, “Sweeney Todd”, “The Elephant Man”, “Betrayal” and “Les Miserables”. He published his column articles in a collection called “I have an Issue: Substantial Triviality.” His original play, the Greek comedy “The Rich Also Cry,” premiered in Nicosia in 2007. Blog www.substantial-triviality.com Theatre www.alphasquare.com.cy

Andreas Papadopoulos

Andreas studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge (First Class Honours) and subsequently worked for Unilever in the US in the food industry, where he developed a related patent. While in the States, Andreas attended the Wharton Business School and thereafter relocated to Germany as Brand Manager for a line of food ingredients. For the last thirteen years he is located in Cyprus, working today as the Group Strategist for Hellenic Bank. Andreas is a founding member and Chairman of Junior Achievement Cyprus. He is also an avid sailor and a keen photographer, with several publications and exhibitions about the beaches of Cyprus. http://www.discoveringcyprus.com/

Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee

THE DAUGHTER OF BRUCE LEE, Shannon chairs the board of directors of the Bruce Lee Foundation, a 501c3 public charity, whose global mission is to inspire confidence and motivate action through the message of Bruce Lee. Additionally, Shannon is the sole owner of Bruce Lee Enterprises, the exclusive owner of all commercial merchandising and allied rights relating to the use of Bruce Lee’s name, image, attributes, marks, logos and works worldwide. Shannon’s efforts to keep her father’s legacy of self-cultivation, personal liberation and a relentless pursuit of excellence alive stems from a deep belief in the message and the inspiration that is her father, Bruce Lee. #BRUCELEE

Christothea Pelekanou

Born in the early 40's, Christothea Pelekanou is a true testament of persistence and courage. She lived throughout Cyprus torment years, witnessing an independence revolution in 1955, a war in 1974 and a society deeply sunk in its traditional customs and values. When she finished high school, it was a taboo for a woman to pursue a university degree. She obliged into following the tradition and got married, had kids, grandchildren but she never let go of her dream. Challenging one of her grandsons, she enrolled in a university and at the age of 75 she graduated with him earning her degree in law. Her speech was highly emotional but did not lack euphemism of the Cypriot society. The audience cried and laughed at the same time. And in the end, she received the warmest applause. She deserves it. A true hero herself.

Dr. Emma Cahill

Emma is a neuroscientist working in the Dept. of Psychology, at the University of Cambridge. Her research explores how the brain builds and maintains memories, at the neurochemical level. She uses a combination of studying behaviour, pharmacology and biochemical methods that can address questions about which signalling proteins and receptors are crucial for memory. Currently, she focuses on a brain region called the amygdala to understand why a memory of a fearful event persists over time, and how it may potentially be dampened by interfering with specific neurochemical process.

Fabien Girardin

"Fabien Girardin (PhD) is a researcher, engineer and creator in the domains of user experience and data science. He co-founded Near Future Laboratory to help institutions explore the futures of data products and services. Along his career, he pioneered with contributions to tools and practices that transform visions into tangible opportunities. Most notably, Fabien developed Digital Footprinting techniques at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), co-created a Data Sketching environment called Quadrigram, and recently he plays an active role in shaping Design Fiction as a practice to envision, explain and question possible futures with projects like TBD Catalog and Winning Formula."

Ghislaine Boddington

Creative Director of Women Shift Digital and body>data>space – Ghislaine is a Curator, Presenter, Researcher, Producer, Director - a future thinker recognised internationally since the early 90’s as a thought leader and global pioneer advocating the use of the entire body as a digital interaction canvas. Ghislaine has built up deep expertise in body responsive technologies, immersive experiences and interactive interfaces. She has conceived and produced numerous projects converging telepresence, motion capture, sense/gesture tech, social medias and virtual worlds, focusing on the fluid blending of the virtual and the physical. Her specialisation lies in the evolution of tele and the exploration of multi-identity through tele-kinetics and tele-intuition. She is a keen advocate for gender balance, actively enabling equal involvement of women in digital creative industries through Women Shift Digital

Marina Shacola

Marina Shacola is a professional photographer with a special interest in portraits and street photography. She has a degree in law and sociology and holds an MBA, but she followed her love for photography right after University. Marina worked as a photographer for leading life style magazines in Cyprus, before turning to projects concerning humanitarian and social issues on an international level. Some of those are: 'ATHLOS' for the Athens Olympic Games, UNHCR projects in support of refugees, ‘Just Care' concerning the challenges of children in Africa, the 'Green Room' a tribute to the children of the Makarios Children's Home in Kenya. She is the co-founder of the 'Sophia Foundation for Children', a non-profit organization, created with the scope of helping destitute children to change their predicament through safety, nutrition, medical care and education.

Onkuri Majumdar

Wildlife conservationist Onkuri Majumdar works to end the illegal wildlife trade which decimates species across the world. Wildlife trafficking is one of the world’s largest organized crimes, worth billions of dollars each year. Onkuri has spent over a decade training law enforcement officials to protect wildlife and investigate wildlife crime. She has assisted in undercover police operations to arrest traffickers of endangered species. Today Onkuri is the Managing Director of Freeland India which facilitates hands-on action against traffickers, conducts anti-poaching and investigation training for enforcement officers, and runs a wildlife law help centre for prosecutors and investigators. Onkuri is one of the 2015 National Geographic's Emerging Explorers

Peter Tangen

Peter Tangen: Photographer | Director | Producer Peter Tangen has long been one of Hollywood’s most prolific movie photographers. His work is known to all while his name is not. Peter’s portraits of Hollywood’s great characters are the foundation of hundreds of movie posters for virtually every studio in the business. His first days with camera in hand were at the age of four. By the time Peter graduated high school he’d photographed many thousands of people, mostly seated on Santa’s lap, sometimes on the lap of the Easter Bunny. Many years later, he’s more likely to be photographing an Academy Award winner or a superhero. Peter lives in Los Angeles California and works wherever they’re making movies.

Prof. Frank Furedi

Dr. Frank Furedi, author and broadcaster & professor of sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury. He is well known for his work on sociology of fear, education, therapy culture, paranoid parenting and sociology of knowledge. Furedi has published widely about controversies relating to issues such as health, parenting children, food and new technology. His studies on childhood and parenting are oriented towards exploring the obstacles that stand in the way of young people gaining independence intellectually and socially. He is passionately committed to promoting the ideals of a humanists education and the value of the liberal arts. His book, The Continuing Rise And Fall Of The Reader; From Twitter to Socrates is published by Bloomsbury in October 2015.

Prof. Selmer Bringsjord

Selmer Bringsjord specializes in the logico-mathematical and philosophical foundations of artifical intelligence (AI) and cognitive science (CogSci), and in collaboratively building AI systems on the basis of computational logic. Though he spends considerable engineering time in pursuit of ever-smarter computing machines, he claims that ""armchair"" reasoning time has enabled him to deduce that the human mind will forever be superior to such machines. In the present case, this superiority entails that robot can't be heroes, while persons can.