Theme: “Light Up the Future”

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDxBath is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. TEDxBath is a not for profit event and any profit generated will go towards the cost of future TEDxBath events.

We’ve arranged an exciting diverse selection of speakers who will form a mix that is sure to lead to exciting new ideas. To check out the https://www.tedxbath.co.uk/2018-tedxbath-speakers/

Bath Abbey
11a York Street
Bath, Somerset, BA1 1NG
United Kingdom

Adam Reynolds

Chair of Cycle Bath/Transport Policy Advisor

Adam Reynolds has been chair of Cycle Bath for almost 5 years and has become a champion for accessible inclusive public realm and creating equitable roads where separate space is provided for driving, walking, and cycling. Using his life long career as a software engineer he has leveraged his skills to become a transport data geek with a deep understanding of transport systems. Adam is a student of urban design and transport systems, particularly focused on best practice transport policies throughout the world. Combining this with his work with various accessibility groups he now also advises on transport policy with a focus on creating liveable car-less cities. Unfortunately for his long suffering wife, he really does like talking about solving Bath's transport problems rather a lot.

Andrew Grant

Founder and Director of Grant Associates

Andrew is a Landscape Architect who formed Grant Associates in 1997 to test the creative possibilities of sustainable landscape architecture and ecological placemaking. In 2012 he was awarded the title of RSA Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in recognition of his pioneering global work in landscape architecture. He is a Visiting Professor for the Department of Landscape, Sheffield University, and an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA reflecting his work on key architectural projects such as the 2008 Stirling Prize winning Accordia. Andrew led the multi-disciplinary design team on the £500 million Gardens by the Bay project at Bay South in Singapore. This 54 hectare public park has won multiple international design awards including the Building Project of the year at the 2012 World Architecture Festival and featured in David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 2. He is a co-founder of the Forest of Imagination project in Bath and Chair of the Bathscape Landscape Partnership.

Anna Taylor

Anna joined The Food Foundation as its first Executive Director in 2015 after 5 years at the Department for International Development. At DFID Anna led the policy team on nutrition and supported the delivery of the UK’s global commitments to tackle undernutrition. Before joining DFID Anna worked for several international organisations including Save the Children and UNICEF and has been at the forefront of international leadership on nutrition, supporting programmes in Africa and South Asia. Anna also worked for the UK Department of Health. In 2014 she was awarded an OBE for her work to address the global burden of undernutrition. She did a MSc in Human Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Anna is a member of London Food Board, a Board member for Veg Power and an adviser to the International Food Policy Research Institute. She served as Chief Independent Adviser to Henry Dimbleby for the development of the National Food Strategy published in 2021.

Calie Rydings

Calie Rydings is a journalist, podcaster, and technical writer for a global communications agency. Aged 19 she was the victim of a serious assault which changed her life forever. A combination of shame and traumatic memory loss meant it would take her nearly 20 years to be able to speak out about what happened that night. Interwoven with her personal story of struggle and survival, Calie looks at the ongoing impact of trauma on a victim’s body, mind and sense of self; explores why she chose to waive her right to anonymity in order to reach out to other survivors; and seeks to ignite discussions about the long term impact of sexual violence and the difficulty many victims have in speaking up, let alone bringing a perpetrator to traditional justice.

Claire Henwood

MakeLunch (Bath) co-founder and coordinator

Claire co-founded and coordinates MakeLunch Bath, running holiday clubs twice weekly in school holidays in two different locations, drawing on her experience from within industry managing projects and organising events. Claire is passionate about delivering well-run, well-resourced volunteer projects that support and engage local communities. She has built up a network of partnerships with organisations across the city to create a programme of enrichment activities to develop health, fitness and cookery skills. Claire speaks regularly on the work MakeLunch are doing, and was interviewed by the BBC for a feature on holiday hunger in the local area. Claire is Chair of Governors at a local school, and so has seen the direct impact hunger can have on a child's ability to learn, and the limiting effect poverty can have.

Dominique Thompson

GP and Director of Buzz Consulting

Dominique is an award winning GP, and former Director of the University of Bristol Students' Health Service. She is a national student mental health expert and has a particular interest in eating disorders. After 17 years (and approx 78,000 consultations!) looking after university students, Dominique decided to set up her own consultancy, supporting universities and other organisations to improve their student support. She is also currently writing several books to support student mental health, and to help parents of students, at what can be a challenging time.

Dr Rob Wortham

Teaching Fellow, University of Bath

Rob is a Teaching Fellow in Robotics and Autonomous Systems within the Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Bath. He recently completed a PhD in Computer Science at Bath. He investigates how human natural intelligence (NI) interacts with AI, and how engineers and designers can make the behaviour of AI systems more understandable through transparency. Rob studies both the risks and benefits of AI, and how we can maximise the benefits of autonomous intelligent systems, whilst minimising the risks. Previously Founder and CFO of RWA Ltd, a major international company developing IT systems for the leisure travel industry, Rob is a proven leader in the analysis, design and delivery of large and complex systems. Rob is also a Director and Treasurer of The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB). He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the British Computer Society.

George Obolo

George Obolo is an award-winning social entrepreneur, leader, builder, content creator and public speaker. He is a 21-year-old medical student at The University of Manchester and the Co-Founder of The Black Excellence Network, a non-profit organisation that tackles the racial disparities between black students and other ethnicities within UK higher education.Within two years, George has helped build up the company, garnering a large community across its social media, newsletters, and website, providing essential career and higher education information to thousands of young black people across the UK. Named as one of the Top 5 Future Leaders in the UK by Powerlist Magazine, George continues to live up to this title by pushing forward in the conversation surrounding diversity and inclusion, higher education and leadership. He has spoken at a number of companies and organisations, including UCAS at the Annual Admissions Conference, the Civil Service, McKinsey & Co. and Melanin Medics around the topic of creating more inclusive admission into competitive career and workspaces. George has also advised on a wide range of topics to a number of companies, such as Department for Education, Coca-Cola, National Citizen Service and MediaCom, to name a few. George’s TEDx Talk is titled “How to Be a Reformer, not a Referee” and dives into how one can move from simply pointing out issues to becoming involved in creating real change. In his talk, he outlines and expands on the three components the bridge the gap between the two states, giving case studies from his own personal life, such as his work with The Black Excellence Network, and how he succeeded in changing 100 lives in 1 month.

Jake Curtis

Director of Programmes and Operations, Jamie’s Farm

Jake studied History at Cambridge University, before returning to his Birmingham roots to teach just up the road from where he grew up, as part of Teach First. He has also enjoyed teaching overseas, in Palestine and Ghana, and gained a distinction in his Masters on Educational Leadership from Warwick University. As Director of Programmes and Operations at Jamie’s Farm, Jake ensures that as many children as possible benefit as much as possible from our unique provision of Farming, Family and Therapy, across our five farms. Jake also ensures that the central machine at Jamie’s Farm is well-run, enabling our programme to be effectively delivered. Jake is never averse to a spot of river jumping with visiting children; an unbeatable reminder of what time at Jamie’s Farm is all about! Jake is also Chair of Oasis John Williams, a fantastic secondary school serving the community of South Bristol.

Joy Nazzari

Founding Director, dn&co

Joy has a natural curiosity for places and place identity. Born in Rio and educated in San Francisco, she has called London her home for 20 years and compulsively travels at every opportunity. Joy is the founder of dn&co, a brand consultancy inspired by culture and place, and the team behind the reinvention of some of London’s most remarkable areas — St James’s, Broadgate, Television Centre, and Ilford Town. Joy has collaborated with government, architects, developers and businesses to create meaningful destinations in workplaces, residential, retail, restaurants — through to entire neighbourhoods and towns. Last year Joy co-founded Place Press, an independent publisher that explores the intersection between people, places and culture. Her recent book, Know Your Place, talks about the need to go beyond placemaking and create places with purpose.

Katie Mobed

Katie is one of the UK’s leading Performance Psychologists, working in diverse arenas from the sports field to the boardroom, the helicopter pad to the operating theatre. Her clients include CEOs, Olympic Champions, Premiership rugby teams and educational leaders. She has been embedded within Team GB for the last decade, supporting many of our most successful athletes and coaches at the London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Her work with the charity 21st Century Legacy has helped over 250,000 young people develop key life skills and she recently co-authored the best-selling children’s book ‘You are a Champion’ with Marcus Rashford, which has sold over 200,000 copies. Katie now runs a series of psychological skills courses for young people through the Moonshot Series (www.moonshotseries.co.uk), with a vision to support the next generation to manage life’s ups and downs and be the best they can be.

Max Woosey

When his friend Rick was dying he gave 10 year old Max a tent and made him promise to have an adventure. A month after Rick died, and the first Covid lockdown started, Max decided to camp out in his garden to raise money for the North Devon Hospice who had taken such good care of his friend. Over two years later Max is still camping out and has raised over £600,000. Camping out has taught Max a huge amount about resilience and mental health and he is now encouraging other people to try it.

Nik Jovčić-Sas

Nik is an LGBTQ+ activist that has been working for over ten years, involved in everything from drag nights, to pride events and academic conferences. Their unique approach is to blend traditional culture and theology with queer theory and intersectional feminism in an attempt to include communities left behind by the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Penny Hay

Director of Research, 5x5x5=creativity, Senior Lecturer in Arts Education, Bath Spa University

Penny Hay is an artist and educator, Senior Lecturer in Arts Education, Bath Spa University and Director of Research, 5x5x5 equals creativity. Signature projects include School Without Walls, House of Imagination and Forest of Imagination. A member of the Creativity in Education Research Group, Research Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries, Bath Spa University, RSA Innovative Education Network, Crafts Council Learning Advisory Group and Visiting Lecturer at Plymouth College of Art. Previously Penny was a primary teacher, arts advisory teacher, lecturer in arts education at Goldsmiths College, Institute of Education, University of London, Roehampton Institute and University of the West of England. She co-designed the NSEAD Artist Teacher Scheme with Arts Council England and Tate Modern. Penny’s doctoral research focused on how we support children’s identity as artists. Penny is an RSA Fellow with an award from Action for Children’s Arts for her contribution to arts education.

Philip Raby

Creative Director, FilmBath

Philip has lived in Bath for over 40 years. He spent 8 years at Harvest Wholefoods, turning it from a failing business into a successful cooperative. He owned and managed On The Video Front for 25 years. He wrote film reviews for The Evening Chronicle. He managed Oscar Windebanks (in Box) for 2 years. For the last 28 years he has been a key part of FilmBath (now Bath Film Festival) from its very beginnings through to today; as programmer, fundraiser, enthusiast, speaker and builder of relationships. He is a passionate believer in the idea that there is always a better way of doing and being, and that you should never stop aiming to improve. He believes in friendship as an active ingredient of both professional and personal life.

Piers Taylor

Architect

Piers Taylor is an architect & founder of architects Invisible Studio. He has held a number of academic posts & now is exploring methods of teaching outside of conventional academic institutions. He was a unit master at the Univ. of Cambridge before being a unit master on the Architectural Association program ‘Design & Make' where students spend 16 months designing & constructing buildings at the AA’s Hooke Park campus. Taylor founded ‘Studio in the Woods’ in 2005 where students test ideas through making at 1:1 & is now part of the global free unit network. Invisible Studio won a National RIBA Award for the Tree Management Centre at Westonbirt Arboretum which also won 3 regional RIBA Awards & was shortlisted for the Stephen Lawrence Prize & was constructed entirely with material grown on site. He lives in a self built house that won the AJ Small Project Award & works out of a studio constructed with no drawings using only local amateur labour.

Prof Andrew Brewerton

Principal & Chief Executive, Plymouth College of Art

Andrew Brewerton is Principal & Chief Executive of Plymouth College of Art and founding Chair of Governors & Director of Trustees of the Plymouth School of Creative Arts at The Red House. He is a Distinguished Professor of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Advisory Board member of the Shanghai International Art City Research Institute, and advisory group member for the Cultural Learning Alliance and the Crafts Council. Andrew has served formerly on the UK Advisory Council of the Creative Industries Federation and as a Council member of Arts Council England. An English graduate of Cambridge University, as a poet and writer his publications include Via (2010), Raag Leaves for Paresh Chakraborty (2008) and numerous essays on contemporary art.

Ruby Sant

A female traveller artist brought up on a council estate, Ruby is a keen advocate and activist for human rights, creating fairer opportunities for people limited by socio-economic factors. In particular invisible inequalities for ‘outsider’ communities. Ruby is an experienced designer and metal fabricator with speciality experience building large-scale, free-standing, outdoor spaces with circuses and outdoor theatre, where complex and weatherproof engineering and rigging is crucial. She is a qualified teacher and she has worked for ten years as a specialist facilitator and educator with hard to reach groups such as young offenders, members of the Gypsy, Roma & Traveller (GRT) community and people living with long-term mental health conditions.

William Heath

N/A

Part-owner, Kelston Roundhill near Bath. Co-founder Ctrl-Shift Ltd, The Bell Inn (Bath) IPS, Big Bath City Bid and Bath City FC CBS. Working with others to try to preserve Fairfield House Bath and honour the legacy of H.I.M Heile Selassie I. Part time day jobs for ARCWorld & Senzing Inc. Dissatisfied with the state of UK government and almost all public services and online services. Nearly lost in a world of "wouldn't it be better if..."

Yasmeen Lari

Yasmeen Lari qualified as Pakistan's first female architect in 1963, and lives in Karachi. Rising to become a nationally famous 'starchitect' during her early career, she has become internationally known for her achievements at the intersection of architecture and social justice. Since her official retirement from architectural practice in 2000, her UN-recognised charity 'Heritage Foundation Pakistan' has built more than 55,000 zero carbon homes for some of the poorest rural villages in Pakistan. Her work has also included historical conservation projects and nurturing of craft skills and materials. She was awarded the prestigious Fukuoka Prize in 2016, and the Jane Drew prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2020.