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).

TBD
Ischlerstraße 13
Sankt Gilgen, Salzburg, 5340
Austria

Brother David Steindl-Rast

Brother David Steindl-Rast was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. He received his MA degree from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Vienna. He emigrated to the United States in the same year and became a Benedictine monk in 1953 at Mt. Saviour Monastery in Pine City, New York, a newly founded Benedictine community. With permission of his abbot, Damasus Winzen, in 1966 he was officially delegated to pursue Buddhist-Christian dialogue and began to study Zen with masters Haku'un Yasutani, Soen Nakagawa, Shunryu Suzuki and Eido Tai Shimano. He co-founded the Center for Spiritual Studies with Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi teachers, and since the 1970s has been a member of the cultural historian William Irwin Thompson's Lindisfarne Association. His writings include Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, The Music of Silence (with Sharon Lebell), Words of Common Senseand Belonging to the Universe (co-authored with Fritjof Capra). He also co-founded A Network for Grateful Living, an organization dedicated to gratefulness as a transformative influence for individuals and society. Brother David Steindl-Rast has previous experience with TED, holding a talk in 2013 at TEDGLOBAL, where he suggests that happiness, is born from gratitude.

Declan Fleming

Declan Fleming has taught for 13 years in comprehensive, grammar and international schools in the UK and Austria. In 2011 he was appointed as a School Teacher Fellow to the University of Bath, UK, by the Royal Society of Chemistry where he worked on projects to increase the recruitment and retention of undergraduate chemists. During this time, he took on the regular Exhibition Chemistry column for Education in Chemistry magazine which aims to support teachers worldwide in the effective and safe use of demonstrations in the teaching of Chemistry. He continues to contribute to a wide range of other science communication projects. Declan currently teaches in St Gilgen, Austria. He has a keen interest in photography and loves being outdoors, preferably at cloud base under his paraglider.

Eva Meindl

Eva Meindl is an Austrian student that is interested in books, politics, history, and art. After completing the IBDP, she aspires to study English Language and Literature. Her TEDx talk deals with feminism and gender roles, which she has been interested in for several years, after being inspired by people like Emma Watson and Malala Yousafzai.

John Patton

John Patton is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Coordinator, Head of Science, Director of University and Careers Guidance and teacher of Biology and Sport Science at St. Gilgen International School (StGIS). After beginning his teaching career in a public high school in Colorado, then moving on to another school in Wyoming, John became increasingly dissatisfied with the focus of education on graduation numbers and test scores. He relocated to Austria in an effort to redesign education in such a way that emphasises why students should be learning, not only what they are learning. With a heart for positive change, John has focused much of his teaching on living sustainably and the role we need to play in our current climate challenges. In his time at StGIS, John has contributed to the design of a new curriculum in grades 7-10 which is skills and growth oriented, reshaped a scheme for advising and mentoring, delivered multiple in-house professional development sessions aimed at character development in young people, designed cross-curricular learning sessions, contributed to writing the school’s mission statement, and designed an information management application for schools. John holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Secondary Education, and an Associate Degree in Music Performance.

Lorenz Ehrlich

Lorenz Ehrlich is a student at St. Gilgen International School currently in the midst of completing his IB diploma program. He has chosen diverse subjects to study, but has a deep rooted passion for the sciences and mathematics, leading to his decision for the chosen topic for his talk focusing on artificial intelligence. When not at boarding school, he dwells in the Tyrolian town of Kitzbühel. In the future, he wishes to go on to study mechanical engineering after having strayed from his childhood dream of becoming an actor. Although a very different path, this is something he also thoroughly enjoys.

Marie Therese Gumpert

Originally born in the small Republic of San Marino, Marie Therese grew up speaking two languages; German and Italian. Thus with an already present linguistic predisposition for romance languages, she begun studying Spanish in Italy, before leaving her republic for her first year abroad, aged 11. Being exposed to her mother’s diplomatic relations at a young age, Marie Therese soon developed an understanding for the importance of language and communication. Consequently, she dedicated the following years to expand in this field, focusing on learning English, whilst also investing her time into apprehending ancient Greek and Latin, to further understand the origins of most modern words and languages, as well as French and the American Sign Language, whilst studying in Austria. Now convinced, that the use of language and communication as a tool to not only educate but also help understand and connect people, had to be preserved and encouraged, she invested the last three years of her secondary education, to learn and practice how to speak not “at” but “with” larger crowds of people, and from those experiences, educate and grow as a community, as well as an individual.

Peter Bennett

Born and raised by the beach in Melbourne, Australia, Peter has almost 30 years of experience in education. After 10 years teaching close to home, he spent almost a year backpacking in India and south east Asia. He ran ski chalet in St. Anton, Austria before joining an IB boarding school in southern Germany. Peter has been a member of staff at St. Gilgen International School since 2011 where he has taught English and Economics, and is currently the Theory of Knowledge Coordinator. A passionate cyclist, Peter receives his best ideas when out on one of his many bikes.