Theme: HumanKind

The theme for TEDxSydney 2018 is HumanKind. Our incredible group of speakers and performers will inspire you with a day of talks, performances, films and debate focused around this theme. So, bear witness to the ideas that are changing the world. Meet like-minded and curious people. Engage with your tribes. Hang out with your kin. Learn new things. Be inspired. Register today.

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

Didirri

Didirri’s challenging and thoughtful writing has won listeners around the world. Weaving through uninhibited, relatable, and sometimes political lyrics, and with a penchant for impromptu mid-set banter, Didirri breaks down the walls between audience and stage. Simultaneously heartbreaking and healing, and approaching real issues with smile and charm, Didirri is an artist with something to say.

Kaiit

With honeyed vocals, fierce rhymes and a bold eclectic style to match, 19-year-old Kaiit is alluring audiences to the sweet sound of soul. Born in Papua New Guinea, she bounced between Australia and her homeland as a child before her family eventually settled in Melbourne. Kaiit is blessed with an enchanting voice that crosses musical boundaries. Her love for jazz and neo-soul is evident in her music, drawing upon inspiration from her idols Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill and the contemporary sounds of Noname Gypsy and SZA. Kaiit’s artistic background in beauty and fashion is apparent in her inimitable style and edgy aesthetic.

Odette

Sydney based singer-songwriter Odette is one of the global artists to watch in 2018. Captivating in presence, Odette’s songs are deeply personal and see her flutter from spoken word into warm, soulful vocals, with arrangements circling soul, jazz and pop.

Anjali Jaiprakash

Dr. Anjali Jaiprakash is a Robobiologist working as an Advance QLD research fellow at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision and Queensland University of Technology. Anjali works at the intersection of medicine, engineering and design, with a transdisciplinary approach to develop medical devices that translate robotic vision into affordable systems that can be used to improve healthcare outcomes. This includes (1) light field retinal diagnostic system to replace the expensive and complex cameras currently used to detect abnormalities such as glaucoma or macular degeneration and decrease preventable blindness using a human-centred co-design approach. (2) Vision-based autonomous robotic technology to perform knee surgery to improve patient outcomes and surgeon training. Through actively embracing novel technologies to solve medical challenges, Anjali’s vision is to create a world in which robotics technology enables affordable medicine for all.

Bronnie Mackintosh

Bronnie Mackintosh is a Winston Churchill Fellowship recipient. As a station officer with Fire and Rescue NSW, she travelled the world to research how international fire agencies are changing their workforces to be more reflective of the diverse communities they protect. Bronnie is currently seconded to the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) to assist with diversity and inclusion programs for the fire and emergency services sector. She holds a Bachelor in Sport Science from the University of Technology and is currently studying for her MBA at Newcastle University.

Bruce Pascoe

Bruce Pascoe's career has spanned teaching, farming, bartending, writing, working on an archaeological site, and researching Aboriginal languages. A Bunurong, Tasmanian and Yuin man born in Melbourne, he grew up on a remote island in the Bass Strait. Bruce has written more than 20 books. His non-fiction book, Dark Emu (2014), won the Book of the Year and Indigenous Writers' Prize in the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. He says, "Aboriginal people have always had a story to tell. We have always been storytellers and artists and singers and dancers and we've just brought this into the general Australian culture. Non-Aboriginal Australians enjoy it and are starting to embrace it".

Chyloe Kurdas

Chyloe Kurdas is a former elite Australian Rules footballer and television and radio sports commentator. She spent 10 years with AFL Victoria, building the catalyst for Australia's first-ever national women's professional competition: AFLW. In doing so, Chyloe combined her studies and worked in health promotion, psychology and education to build award-winning high-performance sporting programs for adolescent girls that focused on the whole athlete.

David Capra

Performance artist, curator, radio presenter and dog lover David Capra collaborates with his dachshund Teena. Capra describes himself as an "intercessionary artist", whose work takes the form of interventions into physical and social space designed to initiate healing.

Didirri I

Didirri’s challenging and thoughtful writing has won listeners around the world. Weaving through uninhibited, relatable, and sometimes political lyrics, and with a penchant for impromptu mid-set banter, Didirri breaks down the walls between audience and stage. Simultaneously heartbreaking and healing, and approaching real issues with smile and charm, Didirri is an artist with something to say.

Eddie Woo

A public high school teacher for more than 10 years, Eddie Woo gained international attention when he posted videos of his classroom lessons online, to assist an ill student. His YouTube channel, WooTube, has more than 200,000 subscribers and over 13 million views. Eddie believe that mathematics can be embraced and even enjoyed by absolutely everybody. He was named Australia's Local Hero and was a Top 10 Finalist in the Global Teacher Prize for his love of teaching mathematics.

Fang Chen

Dr. Fang Chen is Senior Principal Researcher at Data61, CSIRO, and a thought leader in AI and Human-Machine Interaction. She has pioneered the theoretical framework of human behaviour understanding for building human-machine trust. With her work in AI solutions, she has also become an expert in the factors influencing technology uptake: most notably human perception. Dr Chen has contributed to more than 250 publications and 30 patents in eight countries. She holds a professorship at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney.

Fraser Orford

TEDxSydney Curator

Ian Strange

Ian Strange's photographs and videos challenge the idea of the family home as a place of warmth and safety, by simultaneously elevating and destroying it both literally and figuratively. This multidisciplinary artist's work explores photography, sculpture, installation, site-specific intervention, film, documentary work and exhibition, alongside broader themes of disenfranchisement within the urban environment.

Jahan Kalantar

Jahan Kalantar describes himself as a "little guy lawyer" who attributes his human rights leanings to his proud Persian heritage, a dislike of bullies and the belief that one person can make a difference. A Sydney-based solicitor, university lecturer and entrepreneur, Jahan left his successful career in finance to pursue law. He is a partner at Executive Legal, where he heads up the serious crime and mental health practice.

James Bevington

As the Commander of the NASA-funded Mission 5 for HI-SEAS, James Bevington, along with his five crew mates, lived in isolation on a barren landscape as part of an eight-month simulated mission to Mars in 2017. Currently a PhD student at the University of New South Wales, James is involved in experiments conducted on the International Space Station focused on such things as determining the plausibility of life on Mars.

Lucinda Beaman

Lucinda Beaman is passionate about evidence-based journalism. She seeks to improve public debate by making accurate information accessible to as many people as possible. Lucinda is FactCheck editor at The Conversation, where she works with academic experts to tackle misinformation and test claims made by Australian leaders against the evidence. With more than 14 years in the industry, her experience spans work as a journalist, editor, video producer and presenter for leading Australian and international publications, reporting on politics and society, world news and financial services.

Magda Szubanski

Magda Szubanski is an Australian actress best known for her portrayal of Mrs Hoggett in the film Babe and its sequel Babe: Pig in the City. She also created Sharon Strzelecki from blockbuster sitcom Kath & Kim, the most successful comedy in Australian television history. Other film credits include The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, alongside the Steve Irwin and The Golden Compass, with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. One of Australia’s most loved entertainers for more three decades, Magda had a crucial role in the complex and challenging 2017 Same-Sex Marriage Survey. Her efforts were critical to the Yes vote’s win. She was named the Most Talked About Person of 2017 and is considered one of the 2018 Game Changers by Vogue Australia. She was awarded the 2017 Voltaire Award for free speech. She is also a best-selling award-winning author, following the release of her acclaimed memoir Reckoning. She is currently working on a book about the Same Sex Marriage campaign that draws on themes of intergenerational courage.

Magna Szubanski

Magda Szubanski is an Australian actress best known for her portrayal of Mrs Hoggett in the film Babe and its sequel Babe: Pig in the City. She also created Sharon Strzelecki from blockbuster sitcom Kath & Kim, the most successful comedy in Australian television history. Other film credits include The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, alongside the Steve Irwin and The Golden Compass, with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. One of Australia’s most loved entertainers for more three decades, Magda had a crucial role in the complex and challenging 2017 Same-Sex Marriage Survey. Her efforts were critical to the Yes vote’s win. She was named the Most Talked About Person of 2017 and is considered one of the 2018 Game Changers by Vogue Australia. She was awarded the 2017 Voltaire Award for free speech. She is also a best-selling award-winning author, following the release of her acclaimed memoir Reckoning. She is currently working on a book about the Same Sex Marriage campaign that draws on themes of intergenerational courage

Michelle Leonard

Michelle Leonard OAM is founder, conductor and Artistic Director of Moorambilla Voices, a program for country kids to learn about artistic expression. Through singing, dancing, drumming, recording, and creating incredible performances, this project helps kids find their voice, their passion and even their path for the future. Moorambilla embodies the spirit of generosity and positivity. Established in 2006, it has now seen more than 25,000 students from 133 schools, aged between 8 and 18, annually attend skills development workshops as part of a unique cultural experience that focuses on music literacy, singing and the joy of creativity. Moorambilla Voices helps uncover artistic excellence in regional children and youth by giving country kids a rare opportunity to sing, dance and create incredible performances with artists of the highest calibre. At its core, Moorambilla Voices seeks inspiration from the region of NSW, its landscape, rich culture and inhabitants. Each year, over 300 students attend a camp where they dance, sing, compose, paint, weave, play drums and learn about the cultural traditions and stories of their landscape.

Miles Merrill

Award-winning performing writer Miles Merrill brought poetry slams to Australia from Chicago. He's the founder and Creative Director of the literary arts organisation Word Travels. Miles' many incarnations have led him to spit spoken words to beats in Brooklyn house parties; do a solo show at the Sydney Opera House; host Australian Poetry Slam on ABC TV; loop live poetry at an Audio Art Festival in Krakow and a field in Forbes, performing for farmers. His unique experiences include getting 5000 Indian students to wriggle like aliens, asking audiences to read out poems by detained refugees and inspiring ASEAN university students to write and perform group poetry.

Moorambilla Voices

Moorambilla Voices helps uncover artistic excellence in regional children and youth by giving country kids a rare opportunity to sing, dance and create incredible performances with artists of the highest calibre. At its core, Moorambilla Voices seeks inspiration from the region of NSW, its landscape, rich culture and inhabitants. Each year, over 300 students attend a camp where they dance, sing, compose, paint, weave, play drums and learn about the cultural traditions and stories of their landscape. Michelle Leonard is founder, conductor and Artistic Director of Moorambilla Voices, a program for country kids to learn about artistic expression. Through singing, dancing, drumming, recording, and creating incredible performances, this project helps kids find their voice, their passion and even their path for the future. Moorambilla embodies the spirit of generosity and positivity. Established in 2006, it has now seen more than 25,000 students from over 100 schools, aged between 8 and 18, annually attend skills development workshops as part of a unique cultural experience that focuses on music literacy, singing and the joy of creativity.

Nicole Gurran

Nicole Gurran is an urban planner and policy analyst whose research focuses on comparative urban planning systems and approaches to housing and ecological sustainability. Nicole's current research examines affordable rental supply, informal housing provision, and the impacts of online holiday rental platforms for local communities. She has led and collaborated on a series of studies on aspects of urban policy, housing, sustainability and planning. She is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at The University of Sydney, where she leads Urban Housing Lab@Sydney and directs the University's Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Odette I

Sydney based singer-songwriter Odette is one of the global artists to watch in 2018. Captivating in presence, Odette’s songs are deeply personal and see her flutter from spoken word into warm, soulful vocals, with arrangements circling soul, jazz and pop.

Rod Bower

The Venerable Father Rod Bower, Rector of Gosford and Archdeacon of the Central Coast, is committed to building a just society. He's a passionate advocate for human rights issues including marriage equality, and believes that our treatment of asylum seekers, the lack of action on climate change, and the failure to adequately recognise First Nations people, damages our soul. He received the 2016 Doha International Award for Interfaith Dialogue and was named Abyssinian of the year by the Muslim community.

Solli Raphael

At just 13 years old, home-schooled Solli Raphael won the 2017-18 National Australian Poetry Slam Championship title against an all-adult competition at the Sydney Opera House, holding the title for the youngest ever winner! Solli thrives on challenges such as raising awareness for important social and global issues and considers himself a budding humanitarian & an enthusiastic environmentalist.

Stephen Scheeler

Stephen Scheeler is the former Facebook CEO for Australia and New Zealand. His time at Facebook saw the Australia and New Zealand business grow from start-up to one of the most successful Facebook markets in the world. Today, as founder of global advisory The Digital CEO, Senior advisor to McKinsey & Company and executive-in-residence at the Australian Graduate School of Management, he partners with the CEOs and boards of some of the world's leading companies to help them build world-beating digital strategies, capabilities, culture and leadership.

Suzie Sheehy

Dr Suzie Sheehy is a physicist, academic and science communicator based at the Unviersity of Oxford, where she holds a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. Her research focuses on developing new particle accelerators for future applications, in areas such as medicine and energy. Alongside her research, Suzie is an award-winning public speaker and presenter. Because she is dedicated to sharing science beyond the academic community, she has delivered professional lectures and keynote presentations, written and delivered live shows to tens of thousands of students and is presenter of Impossible Engineering for Discovery Channel.

The Lumiphonic Creature Choir

Mark Bolotin is an award-winning multimedia artist, inventor and technologist, and the founder of Synarcade Audio-Visuals and co-founder of New York art technology company Hyphen Hub. Bolotin creates hybrid creatures and interactive multimedia work that fuse theatre, film, music, puppetry and artificial intelligence technology in unique ways. His current work is the “The Lumiphonic Creature Choir” - a giant twelve-headed creature.

Thomas Oxley

Endovascular neurologist Thomas Oxley's 2016 research demonstrated the potential for a neural recording device to be engineered onto a stent and implanted into a blood vessel in the brain, without the need for open brain surgery. This research has progressively attracted investment, with completion of a Series A fundraiser in 2017. His company's technology, the Stentrode, currently under FDA review, is planned for a first in human trial. Patients with tetraplegia due to spinal cord injury, stroke and ALS will be recruited into a trial of direct brain control over a suite of assistive technologies.

Tom Thum & Dr Matthew Broadhurst

Beat Boxer Tom Thum appears to have not only a symphony orchestra but also a jazz band, techno DJ, 80’s synth-pop group and collection of exotic world instruments residing somewhere in his throat. Recognised worldwide for his obscure talent to manipulate his vocal chords, Tom confirms to his audience that there is no sound he can’t mimic. Propelled to Internet stardom with his 2013 TEDxSydney performance, which quickly became the highest viewed TEDx video of all time, Tom can now be seen alongside composer Gordon Hamilton, performing his own world's first, original beatbox symphony, 'Thum Prints’. Dr Matthew Broadhurst is an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon based in Brisbane, Australia with a special interest in caring for the professional voice patient. He completed an additional two years of specialty training and advanced techniques in laryngeal surgery and voice restoration at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA under the guidance of world renowned and innovative laryngeal surgeon Professor Steven Zeitels.