Theme: Making Waves

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).

Byscenen
Kongens gate 19
Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, 7012
Norway

Brandon Bryant

Truth-speaker (former drone-operator)

Brandon Bryant worked in America's secret drone program as a sensor operator for five years, bombing targets in Afghanistan and elsewhere. With the use of drone technology, his unit was involved in the deaths of more than 1,600 people. Brandon began to feel uneasy about his work and in 2011, he decided to make a career change. Since then, Brandon has decided to speak out about his experience to show that the role of operators in war is "more than just a videogame”. In the documentary film, “Drone”, he explains that many of the drone strikes were not "precise and clean" killings of suspected terrorists. Often, they involved innocent victims. Amidst the current international debates on drone warfare, Brandon has been awarded the "Whistleblower Award" by the Federation of German Scientists and the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. He has also discussed Drones at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.

Christian Wedoey

Illusionist

Christian Wedøy is one of Norways most aspiring illusionists. He took the national stage by storm at the finals of Norske Talenter in 2012. In August 2014, Christian recreated Harry Houdini’s stunt when he locked himself with chains and handcuffs and jumped from the Old Town bridge into the Nidelven.

Conor Patrick

Musician

Since founding the Trondheim Studio in 2003, he has been one of the central figures in the Trondheim music scene from the 2000s. He has achieved national and international success with projects such as Jay & Bandidos, Josephine, Christoffer Øien, Amish 82, Departure, The Airborne Highfives, Leuthenhaven, 1001 with Conor Patrick & The Shooting Tsar Orchestra.

Jenny C

Cosplayer

Jenny (JC) started cosplaying by coincidence after having had a secret wish to do so for years. After her first experience her ambitions and inspiration escalated fast, and she started competing in cosplay competitions. What started out as just something fun to do soon resulted in several prizes, and 1st prize at the cosplay competition at Metrocon in 2014 qualified her to represented Norway in the Nordic Cosplay Championship (NCC) in 2015, where she won second place. Jenny’s passion for cosplay comes from the creativity and hard work of costume making and having to learn new skills continuously. Most of the fun lies in the process of planning, realizing and then finally seeing the finished costume in action. She also enjoys entertaining on and off stage.

Kim Sørenssen

Photographer

Kim’s passion for photography got fired up on a five-year journey around Asia. He was a wildlife photographer at a safari lodge in Nepal with an elephant at his disposal, taking pictures of tigers, rhinos, crocodiles and other jungle animals. As a photographer, Kim seeks out the visual stories that would otherwise remain unseen and unknown. Kim has recorded people interacting with cultural heritage in Tibet, Afghanistan, China and Burma. He has documented extremely close coexistence between grizzly bears and humans in the remote homeland of the Taku River Tlingit, a Canadian first nation.

Kolbjørn Nordvik

Friendliness Champion

Kolbjørn has a vast variety of experience in coaching, motivational speaking and advertisement. He is a certified NLP Coach since 2008 and partner of the Engasjert Byrå. In addition, he is a board member at the Trondheim Markedsforening, Kreativt Forum Trondheim and the Den Norske Coachforening.

Milda Jonusaite Nordbø

Researcher

Milda, partly Lithuanian, South African and Norwegian, describes herself as a stubborn, optimistic, and friendly and thereby as a creative, inspiring, and supportive person. For most of her life was nature her lovely backdrop, and as she admits, she appreciated that and taken it for granted. But at some point she realized that she could not take her future children her best childhood memories of kayaking in the wild Lithuanian forests. That was one of the reasons why she chose, during her Development Studies, to investigate the human-nature relationship, and finally she focused on the climate change. Milda continues her research working as an assistant and tutor at the University of Oslo. She takes part of a project called "Voices of the Future", talking with youth people in Norway about their future in a changing climate.

Tonje Hessen Schei

Film maker

Tonje is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has worked with independent documentary production since 1996. Her films focus on human rights, the environment and social justice. Tonje`s documental movie about the secret CIA drone warfare (“Drone”) has received numerous awards, among others at Bergen International Film Festival 2014 (Best Norwegian Documentary, Checkpoints, Human Rights Award) and at Tromsø International Film Festival 2014 (Film Peace Prize). This movie has been also recognized as The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year 2015 (Cinema for Peace in Berlin) and got the Amanda Award 2015 for the Best Documentary. Tonje`s other movies (“Play again” and “Independent Intervention”) won several international awards, have been screened on all continents in over 100 countries.