Theme: Be The Best

With the success of last year’s TEDxYouth@Kenyalang, we are back again this year with a new name and a bigger and greater event for people in Sarawak. TEDxKenyalang, with the theme ‘Be The Best‘, will explore how the different aspects of our world are interconnected. By using a transdisciplinary lens, a variety of systems and subjects will be explored. Shaped by their incredible stories and ideas, our speakers will explore paradigms that will inspire, empower, and motivate participants to embrace new perspectives.

Borneo Convention Centre Kuching
The Isthmus, Sejingkat
Kuching, Sarawak, 93050
Malaysia

Alvin Wee

Alvin Wee is a Kuching born award-winning producer and music engineer based in Los Angeles. He is the man behind international blockbuster’s soundtracks such as ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’, ‘Kingdom Hearts’, ’13 Hours’, ‘Money Monster’ and ‘Resident Evil VII’. In 2016, he won “Best Original Song” in Asian Oscars – Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Awards for producing ‘Ola Bola’ theme song.

Anthony Sebastian

A wildlife ecologist by training and a conservation-planning specialist by profession, Anthony Sebastian provides consultancy services in many aspects of development and planning across Asia and the Middle East. He specializes in the fields of conservation, agriculture & wetlands, forestry, policy and international conventions. With a highly inquisitive mind, he was the first Asian chairperson of International Board for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Anthony Sebastian is committed towards strengthening FSC’s presence in Asia through his 20 over years of experience working with governments and non-governmental organizations across 17 Asian countries.

Aziph Mustapha

Aziph has been a change agent throughout his professional career since 1992. Starting as an entrepreneur who created several companies, he then ventured into government leadership roles and was previously the CEO of the Malaysian Innovation Foundation. Showing no signs of slowing down, he was recently appointed as the Festival Director for the Perak Festival of Ideas where he was responsible for conceptualizing, designing and curating the festival; consequently breaking the Malaysian Book of Records with the most number of events in a week.

Azmir Zed

A chemical engineer by profession, Azmir is a national rugby player, SEA Games medallist, Ultramarathoner and a husband to cancer survivor wife. Albeit those, his true passion lies in coaching. Under his brand AZ Fitness, he conducts corporate bootcamps and fitness programs including Warriors Fitfcamp – a successful nationwide fitness program. Coach Azmir Zed strongly believes it is never too late for anyone to adopt a healthy lifestyle as our health is our main priority.

Diane Russell

Diane was born in Venezuela, from French parents, grew up in Brazil, lived in United States. After freelancing as a storyboard artist for film, she found home in Shanghai, where she has been a Creative Director of multinational digital agencies, for the last 6 years. A PhD graduate in Cinematography from the oldest university in the world and a licensed lecturer by the French Cinematheque, Diane is as much an educator as a visual storyteller. With her 14 years of experience, she helped establish and taught at Crystal Academy, a vocational college for digital arts.

Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel

Dr Muhammad has rich & vast experience in the world of finance; from practice in banking & securities to teaching finance in the Faculty of Economics & Business, UNIMAS. Dr. Muhammad serves as director to a few companies including a public listed company. He is frequently invited to forums, discussions & TV interviews to share his expertise. He was recently appointed as a special administrative officer to the Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak. A firm believer in giving back to the society, Dr. Muhammad is actively involved in education & charity activities through SABERKAS, a Sarawak youth organization.

James Lai

With 20 years of experience in Test & Measurement, software development / simulation / design tools, Industrial Automation & IoT (Internet of Things), James held various technical roles as Application Engineer & later Field Support Engineer at National Instruments & Agilent Technologies. During his career, James has conducted various technical training, workshops and appeared as speaker at conferences. He is currently the founder & principal consultant for IoT Labs – an IoT consultancy & integration services firm based in Selangor. He is also the current president of MyIoTA (Malaysia Internet-of-Things Association) setup in 2016 to drive the growth of the IoT eco-system in the region & promote IoT applications to solve everyday problems in the industry.

Magdaline Muuk

Magdaline is an English teacher in SMK Kidurong that actively promotes innovation and exposes global activities & opportunities to students. With her guidance, her students have won numerous awards at both state & national levels including an invitation to USA for SEAYLP Program. Last year she was invited to New York to be recognized as a TED-Ed Innovative Educator. She is currently teaching and working on the Global Classroom Project while at the same time pursuing her PHD in TESL.

Prof Mushtak Al-Atabi

Prof Mushtak Al-Atabi is a professor of mechanical engineering, author, trainer and consultant. He has led a number of educational initiatives including pioneering Project Based Learning and CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) framework in Malaysia. As an innovative educator, he developed and delivered the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) in Malaysia. He also pioneered the use of MOOCs for corporate training and human development. Since then, he has run numerous online courses taken by thousands all over the world. Prof Mushtak ventured into writing and published 2 books independently, “Driving Performance” and “Think like an Engineer”. Apart from that, he is a strong willed, visionary, and innovative individual who has numerous research publications, awards and honours.

Sada Borneo

A fusion of nature-inspired, traditional and modern-ethnic sounds, SADA Borneo’s claim to fame on AXN’s Asia’s Got Talent 2015 was no small feat. Having recently awarded the NEGARAKU 2017 AWARD by the Prime Minister’s Office, SADA Borneo continues to redefine music by fusing modern western, traditional Malaysian, ethnic-oriented elements and sounds of nature in their musical arrangement and composition. Putting all these elements together, they intend to revive local music on a global stage.

Valerie Mashman

Valerie Mashman MBE has been fascinated with Borneo since she first arrived in 1980 as a volunteer teacher. She then co-founded the English Language Centre which won a 5-star award from the Malaysian Ministry of Education and was also honoured in a book entitled Sarawak Women in Education. She has received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for serving the Malaysian and British community as honorary consul in Kuching. Valerie has explored and written about Borneo cultures, editing a book called “Sarawak Cultural Legacy” with Lucas Chin and has published numerous essays. She recently submitted her PhD, the oral history of a longhouse, and is now a research fellow at the Sarawak Museum Campus project.