Theme: Finding Space

How do we make space for the marginalised?
Where does your physical space stop and your mental space begin?
What is your safe space? Where did you find it?
TEDxUniversityofBristol 2018 brings together bright minds and unsung heroes of our Bristol community, to explore all that is space.

Bristol SU
University of Bristol Students' Union
Richmond Building, 105 Queens Road
Bristol, Bristol, City of, BS8 1LN
United Kingdom

Chris Read

Chris Read lives and works in his hometown of London, UK, performing regularly with various lineups, mostly with Harry Baker as half of 'Harry and Chris', and sometimes with his quartet, with whom and alongside other musicians he recorded his first album, 'If I Knew', which he released in April 2016. The Chris Read Quartet is a young, energetic band focused around a raw, soulful voice and honest songwriting. The arrangements match complexity with a solid groove to present original music, and bring a modern twist to timeless standards. They are based in London and have played at countless venues around the city, as well as further afield.

Eno Mfon

Eno Mfon is a successful playwright and performer who graduated from the University of Bristol, UK, in 2016. In her final year she was commissioned by the Bristol Old Vic to write and perform a one-woman show, ‘Check the Label’ – a sell out performance.

Gareth Griffith

Gareth Griffith is an Advanced Quantitative Methods PhD student at the University of Bristol. He is interested in all things Mental Health, Wellbeing, Quantitative Methods and Social Inequality. His research focuses on using advanced statistical methodologies to address inequality in mental health outcomes in the UK, particularly investigating the most effective way to measure and analyse these outcomes. Currently he is working on evaluating the current methodologies and underlying assumptions used in measuring and quantifying mental health responses in the UK. His previous projects include using developing advanced multilevel methodologies to investigate segregation in UK self-rated health, and multilevel analysis of mental health outcomes across the UK in 2009.

Harry Baker

Harry Baker has loved words from a young age and been a full-time poet since he graduated from Bristol with a maths degree in 2015. Most commonly this takes the form on standing on stages and sharing his words with others, but he is always looking to collaborate with new people and find new places to take it. Harry became the youngest ever Poetry World Slam Champion in 2012, and his first collection of poems The Sunshine Kid was published with Burning Eye in December 2014 - he is currently working on his second collection, as well as regularly giving workshops and performances and having fun touring around the UK as part of Harry and Chris.

Jenny Tasker

Jenny is a Veterinary Sciences and Medical Humanities student at the University of Bristol.

Owain Astles

Owain Astles is a filmmaker based in Bristol, UK, who believes in articulating what we can all do to help those who are homeless around us.

Portia Bowman

Portia Bowman is a Bristol-based Space Systems engineer, currently working on exploration missions to further our understanding of the Earth and the universe.

Rob Camm

Rob Camm is a University of Bristol alumnus. He is currently studying for his Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course with the University of Law, on a Training Contract with Osborne Clarke.

Tom Eberhardt

Tom Eberhardt is the Governor of Norway’s famous Bastøy prison. Known around the world for its radically different approach to rehabilitating criminals, Bastøy represents the embodiment of a philosophy committed to best serving our societies by rethinking the ways that we punish.

Zara Nanu

Dr Zara Nanu is CEO and co-founder of Gapsquare, a company that uses data science to close the gender pay gap to create a space for equality.

Zion Lights

Devon-based Zion Lights is a science writer and expert in green parenting. It all started when she saw Saturn’s rings through a high powered telescope. For Zion, stargazing has the ability to change the way that we look at the world, helping us develop what she calls a ‘cosmic perspective’. Her talk is about reconnecting with the stars, taking the time to look up, and contemplating our place in the universe.