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).

United World College Red Cross Nordic
United World College Red Cross Nordic
Flekke, Sogn og Fjordane, 6968
Norway

Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul, an 18 year old first-year student at United World College Red Cross Nordic, comes from the vibrant city of Lahore, Pakistan. He aspires to become a professional musician someday; aside from music, he is particularly interested in political and moral philosophies, and business studies. Aaron is also quite interested in ameliorating his city’s social and economic conditions, which is one of the reasons why he started working for the socio-economic rehabilitation of transgenders in his city. He is been involved in public speaking – parliamentary debates – for more than 3 years and has represented his previous school in various national level debate tournaments. Furthermore, he loves to write poetry on fine Sunday mornings, while sipping on a cup of coffee.

Aleksander Aleksiev

Alexander graduated the Bulgarian national school for ancient cultures and languages, specialized in ancient history. He studied Hispanic studies and business management in Queen Mary, University of London. Alexander also had the opportunity to enjoy an exchange year through the ‘Erasmus’program in Seville, Spain. Having adventurous spirit, Alexander travelled across the whole South American continent on land from Bogota to Ushuaia. He is also the founder of the Sofia Mountaineering Club, working for various charitable and environmentalist causes

Isadora Pires Egler

Isadora Egler is a Brazilian writer who published her first book of poems in 2015. At home, Isadora grew up surrounded by a very artistic environment and ever since she was kid, she has always been a girl with a particular interest for passing notes, writing diaries and devoting her time to invented songs. Believing deeply in the power of art that questions cultural conventions, Isadora will talk about the importance of rediscovering how we look at the art that only tries to attain excellence and how to break the cycle of consuming a culture that focus much more on artists who have the urge to be heard louder than the urge to actually say something. Her poetry advocates for a world that hides itself in very individual details that require attention, rather than in artifacts that are simply curious repeated products: colorful, tempting, chocolate and sugar.

John Mpaliza

John Mpaliza, also called the "Peace Walking Man", is an Italian Congolese peace activist. For political reasons, in 1991, John had to leave his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo and arrived in Italy in 1993. After many vicissitudes related to the life of migrants, he managed to restart his studies and he graduated in IT Engineering from the University of Parma. He worked for 12 years as a programmer for the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, his adopted city for the last 20 years but, on May 30, 2014, by his own choice, he decided to quit and, consequently, to leave everything, including his house, devoting his life, full-time, to the organization of national and international peace marches, long journeys on foot to meet and discuss with people on issues related to peace. John meets associations, churches, local, national and international institutions, and, especially, young people in schools and universities.

Magdalena Marszalek

World traveler, self-employed dancer, Magdalena decided to be a dancer with a degree and finish her education in Paris with a master's degree in Intercultural Negotiation and International Relations. From the benches of La Sorbonne University, through Broadway Dance Classes and New York Dance floors, to industrial factories in remote places of Québec Canada, and organizing music festivals, Magdalena's diverse experiences taught her one thing : you can be whoever you want to be! Now based in Paris and focusing on her dance career, her goal is to spread the values that matter the most to her, through dance: empowering each other, helping people believe in themselves, and developing a unique dance signature.

Mostak Rahman

Mostak grew up with 10 SOS siblings in a safe and secure environment with a lot of parental care. Losing his father whilst still a baby, living in poverty with a mentally ill teenage mother, life threw a curve at him at an early age. In 1999 he won a scholarship to study at the UWC Red Cross Nordic. Through the ambitious academic education and not the least all informal learning that I was exposed to on campus, the RCN gave him an opportunity to discover my potential and thrive. he attained a dual major Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and Hospitality management (BBA) from the Swiss Hotel Management School & Northwood University of Michigan. In 2011, he graduated with an MSc in Hospitality Leadership from the University of Stavanger. He has just started as an Oslo-based Development & Alumni Relations Officer at RCN,

Petter Hallqvist

Petter Hallqvist is a UWC student from northern Sweden. What first caught his interest of UWC was his passion for behavioural economics of the international community. This interest was cultivated during years living in New Zealand, where experience and awareness of another culture made him fascinated of how people think, and how that can be used to improve the world. Petter went on from there to take part in international organisations such as CISV, where he was both a participant and leader for camps promoting peace and international understanding. In addition to this, Petter enjoys reading, exercising and playing chess, and his goal is to start his own business.

Robin Stokke

Robin is a student at UWCRCN from Kristiansund, Norway. Having grown up with frequent hiking and skiing trips with his family, Robin will take any excuse to spend time outdoors. After moving home to Kristiansund 6 years ago he involved himself in youth politics, a past time he decided to put on hold during his two years at RCN. His talk is based on his experiences and views on youth politics. He hopes to continue life as a student in Trondheim after the summer.

Shah Mir Aizaz

Shah Mir Aizaz is a first-year student in United World College Red Cross Nordic from Karachi, Pakistan. His special field of interests and passions include astrophysics and entrepreneurship. Shah’s main sources of inspiration are Neil deGrass Tyson and other astrophysicists as well as modern age entrepreneurs. He is an avid competitor in annual conventions hosted by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US as well as United Nations. His research papers are sponsored by the National Bank of Pakistan and contributed to his ranking amongst the Top 50 achievers For Pakistan in 2015. Shah’s talk is going to be about design regarding Space Settlement authenticated by NASA itself.

Sylwia Wlodarska

Sylwia is the Chief Happiness Officer in the most responsible and important project - her own life. Her mission is passing forward happiness and showing ways to find this asset in oneself. Sylwia believes that there is no better source of happiness than oneself. She has completed post graduate studies in Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. She is a co-founder of Family Development Foundation RoRo. Sylwia has gained experience as an international project manager in corporate and brand communication in one of the World’s TOP50 Brands. She is a mother of three who are inexhaustible and often exhausting source of inspiration.

Thomas Hellum

Thomas Hellum has worked at NRK Hordaland since 1992, and is today a project manager and executive producer. He lives by the motto: "Life is best when it's a bit strange." His portfolio includes a wide variety of documentaries, infotainment programs, and since 2009, slow TV. He presents the history of slow TV – starting with a bold decision by NRK. According to Hellum, "All our themes are deeply rooted in Norwegian culture, which explains the good ratings. It's important that people in the country have some reference for it."

Yanitsa Tencheva

Yanitsa has studied Ecology and Environmental science in Sofia University. After finishing her bachelor degree, she continued her studies and became master in the sphere of Virology. After a while, she entered into the organic circle as a sales assistant in a local organic store. Four months later she was already working as an office assistant in a company that produces organic raw bars and shortly after that she became a quality assurance manager. Today, she is a production manager in a similar company. Yanitsa travelled through South America mainly hitch-hiking and on occasional bus, giving freedom to her adventurous spirit.