Theme: Think Again

TEDxChristchurch 2015: Think Again was a stunning, one-day event like no other in Christchurch! At TEDxChristchurch, curious, open, passionate people come together to be intrigued, inspired, provoked and uplifted. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Isaac Theatre Royal, Saturday 3 October was a feast for the mind and the heart.

This year's event featured the former deputy domestic policy adviser to President Clinton, Eric Liu; a co-founder of Tesla Motors, Ian Wright; journalist Rod Oram; musician Jason Kerrison; comedian Michele A’Court; and right-to-die advocate Matt Vickers. They joined many other immensely talented speakers and perfomers as part of a wildly eclectic line-up at TEDxChristchurch 2015: Think Again.

145 Gloucester Street
Christchurch, Canterbury
New Zealand

Julian Arahanga and Ladi6

Born and raised in Raetihi at the base of his ancestral mountain Ruapehu, Julian Arahanga has been involved with film from an early age, working as a grip, camera assistant and lighting technician, and landing roles in Once Were Warriors and The Matrix. His production company, Awa Films, has produced docu-drama and TV series for Māori Television and created the highly acclaimed reality show Songs from the Inside. Ladi6 is an award-winning and critically acclaimed musician. In 2011, she won two NZ Music Awards (Best Urban Album and Best Female Artist) and two Pacific Music Awards (Best Pacific Urban Album and Best Female Artist). Her sophomore album, ‘The Liberation Of…’, was certified Gold in New Zealand and won the prestigious Taite Music Prize; its Platinum-selling, Top 10 single ‘Like Water’ was voted by MTV Iggy as the Best Love Song of 2012.

Te Pao a Tahu

In New Zealand, gatherings are typically opened by a "mihi", or Maori welcome. Formed in 2013, Te Pao a Tahu is a kapa haka group based in Christchurch, New Zealand, created out of a desire to retain Ngāi Tahu te reo (language), tikanga (practices), and kawa (customs), and to bring together descendants of Tahu Pōtiki. Although the group is pan-tribal, the majority of members have affiliations to Ngāi Tahu. After debuting at the Waitaha Senior Kapa Haka Regionals, Te Pao a Tahu qualified for the national competitions, Te Matatini, in 2015. Credit: The New Zealand Broadcasting School

Analise and Robyn Twemlow

When Analise Twemlow was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome in 2013, her mother Robyn sprang into action, forming the Tourette’s Association New Zealand – of which she is now executive director – and Camp Twitch, a national gathering for Kiwis with Tourette’s. 11-year-old Analise is also a powerful advocate for the rights of people with Tourette’s, speaking at a Grand Round Lecture at Christchurch Public Hospital and appearing on multiple TV programmes.

Bridget Frame

Bridget Frame has almost twenty years experience in corporates, two years with a post-earthquake not-for-profit and two years as a grant maker; she is an active community member through three children. Now, through her own consultancy, she is doing a bunch of interesting things with great people.

Carolina Izzo

A Wellington-based conservator originally from Italy, Carolina's first projects after receiving her diploma in 1981 were in the earthquake-ravaged area of South Italy. In New Zealand, after six years at Te Papa Tongarewa, she spent three years leading a team of conservators in the conservation and restoration of the heritage items at the Isaac Theatre Royal in post-earthquake Christchurch.

Craig Jarvis

Craig Jarvis is an architectural designer with a passion for simplicity and sustainability. He worked in London on heritage-listed buildings in his early career, and spent 13 years in Melbourne running his own commercial building, project management, and architectural design firm. In 2004, Craig moved to Christchurch and bought a piece of bare land by the beach. He has spent the past five years in a 13sqm off-grid tiny house with his two young children.

Dr. Swee Tan

Dr Tan is the founder and executive director of the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, and a consultant plastic & cranio-maxillofacial surgeon at Hutt Hospital in Wellington. Originally from Malaysia, he has studied at Melbourne University, Oxford, Boston’s Children’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. He is an elected member of 13 national and international professional and scientific societies, the author of over 120 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and the recipient of 24 science prizes and 20 honours and awards.

Eric Liu

Eric Liu defines power as, "the ability to make others do as you would have them do" - and says we need to understand it, even if it makes it uncomfortable. Imagination, on the other hand, is, "the ability to see things as they are not," another critical element of co-creating the kind of society we want to live in. But power + imagination can be dangerous without the third essential ingredient for pro-social citizenship: character. Eric Liu is the founder of Citizen University, directs the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship & American Identity Program, and was recently appointed by President Obama to the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. His books include the national bestsellers The Gardens of Democracy and The True Patriot, both co-authored with Nick Hanauer. He also served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President's deputy domestic policy adviser.

Finnian Galbraith

15-year-old Finnian Galbraith shot to fame in July when he posted a YouTube video of a speech he prepared for school. Within days, the video had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and reported on by outlets as far-flung as The Guardian and the BBC. He lives in Paekakariki, Kapiti, where he is a Year 11 student at Kapiti College.

Ian Wright

As founder of Wrightspeed, cofounder of Tesla Motors and creator of the X1 (the fastest street-legal electric vehicle in the world), Ian Wright has already ushered in an era of electric transportation. Now, Wright has turned his attention to the least efficient, heaviest, most wasteful vehicles on the road: garbage trucks. In this informative presentation, Wright explains how, when it comes to making vehicles more efficient, we've been asking the wrong question all along.

Jason Kerrison

Jason Kerrison (JK) is a multi-platinum, multi-award winning singer-songwriter, producer, meditator, planetarian and wannabe surfer. His band OPSHOP garnered 9 Platinum albums, 9 NZ Music Awards and the prestigious APRA Silver Scroll Award for Song of the Year. JK also formed eclectic hip-hop group The Babysitters Circus. In 2011, JK was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for Services to Music. JK has now released his first solo EP, ‘#JKEP1’.

Matt Vickers

In 2011, Lecretia Seales was diagnosed with a brain tumour – and in 2015, in the final stages of her life and with her husband Matt Vickers by her side, she went to the High Court seeking the choice to receive assistance to die from her GP.

Max Suckling

Professor Max Suckling leads the biosecurity research group at Plant & Food Research and is a Professor at the University of Auckland. He studies a very wide range of pest and beneficial insects, with a strong chemical ecology focus. They use electrophysiology and behavioural tools to resolve questions about the chemistry of natural signalling products, including insect attractants. The group have been recognised with a range of awards, including New Zealand Innovators (2013) for work on commercialising moth sex pheromones.

Michele A’Court

Winner of “Female Comedian of the Decade” at the 2010 NZ Comedy Guild Awards, Michele A’Court is a full-time professional stand-up comedian and freelance writer. Her solo comedy show, “Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter”, was a sold-out hit at the 2013 NZ International Comedy Festival and the 2014 World Buskers Festival. In 2015, the show became a bestselling book published by Harper Collins, debuting at number one on the Indie Top 20.

Rod Oram

Rod Oram has 40 years’ experience as an international business journalist, having worked for various publications in Europe and North America, including the Financial Times of London. He is a columnist for the Sunday Star-Times; a regular broadcaster on radio and television; and a frequent public speaker on business, economics, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, in both NZ and global contexts. In 2007 he published a book on the New Zealand economy, Reinventing Paradise.

The Sintes Brothers

Raised in North Canterbury, Daniel and Matthew Sintes have tap-stepped their way across the globe with a strong focus on bringing this historical art form back to the forefront of entertainment, with their unique style, innovative choreography and modern concepts.