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).

ICC Sydney Theatre
14 Darling Drive
Sydney, New South Wales, 2000
Australia

Airling

Listing accomplishments is tempting, but you can do even more. Tell your audience why they should listen to this speaker and what makes them qualified for this talk.

Gawurra

Listing accomplishments is tempting, but you can do even more. Tell your audience why they should listen to this speaker and what makes them qualified for this talk.

L-Fresh The Lion

Listing accomplishments is tempting, but you can do even more. Tell your audience why they should listen to this speaker and what makes them qualified for this talk.

Ngaiire

Listing accomplishments is tempting, but you can do even more. Tell your audience why they should listen to this speaker and what makes them qualified for this talk.

Andy Dexterity

Andy Dexterity is a Green Room Award-nominated performance maker primarily recognised for his unique brand of movement, fusing dance, physical theatre and signed languages. Andy is fascinated by the way we communicate and interact as a species and creates work with the intention to connect and empower. Hailing from a theatre background, Andy has performed roles in award-winning shows for Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Opera Australia and Belvoir Street Theatre, including the Australian premieres of Urinetown and Altarboyz. Andy conceived original “signdance” choreography for Grammy Award-winning pop singer, Kimbra, conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for The Wiggles Meet The Orchestra, was special guest in the 2014 Outgames Opening Ceremony, performed “signdancing” with Tina Arena and opened the 2015 Australian Dance Awards at The Sydney Opera House. As a choreographer, he devised en-masse “signdancing” for the opening ceremony of the 2015 World Netball Cup, choreographed the Australian revival of RENT – the musical and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, both for The Hayes Theatre Company and is currently coordinating and conducting The Sydney Auslan Ensemble for The Sydney Philharmonia’s production of Elijah. As artistic director of the 2016 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, Andy’s main focus was festival accessibility, incorporating Auslan (Australian Sign Language) into as many aspects as possible, including a sign language spectacular for the opening ceremony. Andy is also an ambassador for Deaf Australia, teaching Auslan (Australian Sign Language) as a part of this role.

Archie Roach

Archie Roach is a musician a singer, songwriter and guitarist. He survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians. He is a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.

Bronwyn King

As Founder and CEO of Tobacco Free Portfolios, Browwyn King's collaborative work with finance industry executives has contributed to over 40% of Australian pension funds implementing tobacco free investment mandates, with (as of June 2017) $2.5 billion tobacco stocks now divested.

David Hunt

David Hunt's second book True Girt, is shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards and for the 2017 Russell Prize for Humour Writing. David’s first children’s picture book, The Nose Pixies, was published in 2016. David’s Australian history podcast with ABC Radio, Rum, Rebels & Ratbags, was one of Rolling Stone Australia’s top four podcasts of 2016 and one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Ten history podcasts you need to hear.” David has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Guardian, The Chaser Quarterly and The Hoopla, and regularly talks about Australian history on ABC Radio. David has a birthmark that looks like Tasmania, only smaller and not as far south.

David Power

David is a fisheries manager coming from a background studying marine science and economics. He worked with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority in Canberra for seven years and managed the demersal longline and gillnet fisheries in southeast Australia. While managing fisheries with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, David lead the implementation of new management measures that reduced bycatch, increased responsible fishing practices and returned the fishery to profitability. David is now working with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency supporting the Pacific Island nations and territories sustainably manage their tuna fisheries. Illustrations: Les Hata, © DAR and SPC Photos: Francisco Blaha, David Power, FFA and AFMA

Elanor Huntington

Elanor Huntington was appointed the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science in June 2014, and is the first female Dean of Engineering at the Australian National University. Huntington is committed to growing the profile of Science and Technology in the community and is passionate about attracting more young women to take up careers in STEM related fields. She previously held the position of Head of School of the School of Engineering and Information Technology at UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. Huntington holds a PhD (2000) in experimental quantum optics from the ANU. From early 1999, she spent 18 months at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation working in science policy. Professor Huntington’s current research interests are in the control of quantum systems, with a particular interest in the interface between theory and applications. She is also a program manager in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology.

Fast Ideas 2017

Great ideas come to all of us at the strangest of times. Standing in the shower first thing in the morning, gazing out of the window on the commute to work or having a heated discussion with friends and family over dinner. We know what happens to the ideas that are launched from the TEDxSydney stage, but what about those great ideas that everyone else has – where do they go? With TEDxSydney’s annual Fast Ideas competition, great ideas from the audience find a home on the Sydney Opera House stage. Great ideas, quickly told, by just a few of the attendees at TEDxSydney in 2017.

Jane Gilmore

Jane Gilmore is a freelance journalist, with a strong focus on data journalism and violence against women. She was the founding editor of The King’s Tribune, and now writes regularly for the Sydney Morning Herald. She has been published by The Guardian, Meanjin, The Age, SBS, The Saturday Paper, ABC, News.com.au and Junkee, among many others. Jane is writing a book, expected to be published next year, on the FixedIt concept. She is also completing a Master of Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

Jordan Raskopoulos

Jordan Raskopoulos is a comedian, musician and digital content creator. She is best known as the lead singer of The Axis of Awesome, a world renowned musical comedy group and YouTube Juggernaut. She is the creative director of Press Start Productions. Press Start is currently producing Insert Coin, an ongoing web series about video games. Jordan is also host of This is About, a narrative non-fiction podcast on ABC RN. In 2016 she came out as transgender in a viral video called ‘What’s Happened to Jordan’s Beard’. Since then Jordan has become an inspiration to young LGBTQIA+ people by living her genuine life, openly and publicly and using her platform and profile to promote awareness and understanding to a broad audience through humour.

Judy Atkinson

Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson retired from formal academic work at the end of 2010. She researched and co-authored the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Task Force on Violence Report for the Queensland government. Her book, Trauma Trails – Recreating Songlines The transgenerational effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia, was shortlisted for an Australian Human Rights Award. In 2006 she won the Carrick Neville Bonner Award for her curriculum development and innovative teaching practice. In 2011 she received the Fritz Redlich Award for Human Rights and Mental Health, from the Harvard University Global Mental Health Trauma and Recovery program, of which she is a graduate. She is presently Patron of the We Al-li Trust, as she continues to work across Australia and in Papua New Guinea on community based violence – trauma specific recovery programs. She worked with the University of Wollongong in the development of specialized postgraduate programs such as the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Trauma Care and Recovery Practice designed specifically to build an Indigenous trauma skilled workforce.

L Fresh The Lion

Prowling the Australian scene, Western Sydney artist L-FRESH The LION has quickly become renowned for his powerful presence, inspiring live shows and thought-provoking lyricism. His organic amalgam of world-class music and social activism has seen him seamlessly segue from underground events and ciphers to national tours and major festivals, the natural ascent of an MC with an abundance of purpose and self-belief. Many musicians lay claim to being unique, but inspired by hip hop music from the mid-‘90s and early-2000s, and a deep love and respect for his own cultural and ancestral roots which trace back to the Sikhs from Punjab, India, L-FRESH is truly an artist like no other. Introducing himself to music lovers in 2014 with a classy opening gambit, his debut album One announced L-FRESH The LION as an integral part of the new generation of hip hop artists still making waves in the Australian music industry to this day. It paved the way for his signing to legendary Australian-based hip hop label Elefant Traks in 2015, who helped L-FRESH The LION release his acclaimed sophomore album BECOME in May of 2016. That record spawned powerhouse singles Get Mine (feat. Parvyn) and 1 In 100,000, both of which received regular rotational radio play across Australia and in the UK on BBC’s Asian Network. He’s an artist of rare integrity and relevance, whose music strives to break down cultural barriers and make our society a better place as much as it does to illuminate and entertain. There’s only one L-FRESH THE LION, and his appetite for effecting change via his moving words and music will never be extinguished.

Mariam Veiszadeh

2016 Fairfax Daily Life Woman of the Year, Mariam Veiszadeh is a Lawyer, Diversity & Inclusion Practitioner, Advocate and a Social Commentator. Proud of her refugee background, Mariam is passionate about championing the rights of minority groups in an endeavour to normalise ‘difference’ or rather, normality. Mariam is an Ambassador for Welcome to Australia, which aims to provide a positive voice in the public conversation around asylum seekers, refugees and multiculturalism. In 2015, Mariam was selected by Elle Magazine Malaysia as one of 12 women who were helping “change the world”, alongside the likes of Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie. Mariam was also a finalist in the Daily Life Women of the Year Awards as well as being awarded Westpac’s ‘Woman of Influence’ Award for 2015. She has been described as a woman who uses her “considerable wit and smarts to punch holes in the stupidity of racism, sexism and xenophobia in general” and someone who has “courage, tenacity and perseverance without the protection and resources afforded by public office.” As a fearless advocate, Mariam is accustomed to being both an advocate against and a victim of xenophobia. In 2015, she made global headlines as she endured months of cyber-bullying for simply speaking out against bigotry. Australians responded by rallying behind Mariam using the hashtag #IstandwithMariam. Her experiences of cyber-bullying have been cited as a case study in several publications and books including in Tara Moss’ ‘Speaking Out’. Her influence is felt in the many initiatives she promotes across her social media platforms in which she collectively has close to 50,000 followers.

Mike Cannon-Brookes

Mike Cannon-Brookes is the co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian, a collaboration software company that helps teams organise, discuss and complete shared work. More than 68,000 organisations – including some of the biggest names in media, manufacturing and technology such as eBay, Twitter, Coca-Cola, Visa, BMW and NASA – use Atlassian’s products to work smarter, faster and be more agile. Mike has received international recognition for his work, including the “Australian IT Professional of the Year” award in 2004, “Australian Entrepreneur Of The Year” in 2006 and “Australian Business Person of the Year” in 2017. He’s also been honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2009 and is currently a member of The Forum of Young Global Leaders. Outside Atlassian, Mike is an active angel investor and a non-executive director of Tyro, a technology-focused Australian bank. He serves as an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales’ School of Computer Science and Engineering, as well as chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Industry Advisory Board. Mike holds a Bachelor of Commerce in information systems from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Peter Greste

Peter Greste is an award-winning foreign correspondent who spent 25 years working for the BBC, Reuters, CNN and Al Jazeera in some of the world’s most volatile places. From Afghanistan, to Latin American, Africa and the Middle East, he has reported from the frontlines and beyond. He is best known for becoming a headline himself, when he and two of his colleagues were arrested in Cairo while working for Al Jazeera, and charged with terrorism offences. In letters smuggled from prison, he described the arrests as an attack on media freedom. The letters helped launch a global campaign that eventually got them released after more than 400 days in prison. His stance helped earn him awards from the Royal Television Society, the Walkley Foundation, the RSL, the Australian Human Rights Commission and the International Association of Press Clubs. Since his release, Peter has continued to campaign for press freedom everywhere. He now lives in Sydney, working as a freelance journalist.

Sarah Blasko

Listing accomplishments is tempting, but you can do even more. Tell your audience why they should listen to this speaker and what makes them qualified for this talk.

Sarah Houbolt

Sarah Houbolt likes to take risks in the name of leadership. As an international circus and physical theatre performer, arts manager and diversity advocate, Sarah designs her life around creativity, deep understandings of accessibility, and the need to question what we can actually see. And what we haven’t seen already but should see. Born in North Queensland, Sarah began her dialogue around disability at age five, with her first media interview. Sarah is a Paralympian and a freak show performer. Her performance credits include Cirque du Soleil. She was the manager of Arts Activated 2016, and a speaker at the Sydney Opera House’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2016, on the topic of disability arts history. Sarah works with the University of Technology Sydney from its Equity and Diversity unit, coordinating central staff and student accessibility policy responses across the University. Her work champions the importance of cultural leadership and getting specific around how we look at accessibility in education, employment, design and innovation.

Scott Griffiths

Scott Griffiths is a National Health and Medical Research Council Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He researches eating and body image disorders, including muscle dysmorphia, anorexia nervosa, body dysmorphic disorder, anabolic steroids, and the contributions that masculinity, femininity, and stigma make to these. Scott’s research has attracted multiple awards and distinctions, including from the Australian Academy of Science, the Society for Mental Health Research, the North American and Australian and New Zealand Academies for Eating Disorders, and the University of Sydney.

Stu Hunter

Listing accomplishments is tempting, but you can do even more. Tell your audience why they should listen to this speaker and what makes them qualified for this talk.

Tom Griffiths

Tom Griffiths is a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is also the Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences. His research explores connections between human and machine learning, using ideas from statistics and artificial intelligence to understand how people solve the challenging computational problems they encounter in everyday life. Tom was an undergraduate at the University of Western Australia, completed his PhD in Psychology at Stanford University in 2005, and taught at Brown University before moving to Berkeley. He has received early career awards for his research from the United States National Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the Society for Mathematical Psychology, the Society for Experimental Psychology, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Psychological Association. In 2016, Tom and his friend and collaborator Brian Christian published _Algorithms to live by_, introducing ideas from computer science and cognitive science to a general audience and illustrating how they can be applied to human decision-making. The book was named as one of the Amazon.com “Best Science Books of 2016,” the Forbes “Must-read brain books of 2016,” and the MIT Technology Review “Best books of 2016.”

Uncle Jack Charles

Uncle Jack Charles is an actor, musician, potter and gifted performer, but in his 73 years he has also been homeless, a heroin addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria’s prisons. A member of the Stolen Generation, Jack has spent his life in between acting gigs, caught in the addiction/crime/doing time cycle. Today — no longer caught in the cycle — he lives to tell the extraordinary tale. Acknowledged as the grandfather of Aboriginal theatre in Australia, Uncle Jack co-founded the first Aboriginal theatre company Nindethana in 1972. His acting career spans over six decades. Uncle Jack was the subject of Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s award-winning documentary Bastardy, and was awarded the prestigious Tudawali Award at the Message Sticks Festival in 2009, honouring his lifetime contribution to Indigenous media. He was also recipient of a Green Room Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. Uncle Jack made headlines in October last year when he was refused a taxi unless he paid the fare upfront, just moments after he was named Victorian Senior Australian of the Year for 2016.