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).

The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077
Hong Kong

Alisha Budhrani

Formerly of the Pan-Asian girl group Blush, Alisha has lived a life full of music and dance under glamour and glitz that many of us would never have thought of experiencing. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alisha has been dancing pretty much since she could walk, and decided to put her heart and soul into music and dance after secondary school. Alisha's persistence in overcoming obstacles—all the while striving to be her best—not only led to her success with Blush, but also brought along self-understanding, a crucial component of personal growth.

Christina Ma

Christina is an American-born Chinese raised in Wisconsin. After completing her B.A. at Wellesley College, she moved to Hong Kong to teach at Chinese University. In her English Communications courses, she works to bolster students' abilities to analyze, think critically, and present their ideas in a logical and persuasive manner. Outside of class, Christina serves as an activity coordinator for the Language Enhancement Programme, hosting weekly events to promote cross-cultural communication between local and exchange students. In both her professional and avocational pursuits, her goal is to help the people around her find empowerment through increased confidence. Whether she is teaching and mentoring students, or simply offering encouragement to friends through words and demonstration, Christina hopes to prompt others to create motion in their lives.

Gary Lo

Gary is the former Head of Marketing & Admissions for the HKUST MBA Programs, and he now serves as a Guest Lecturer for the HKU SPACE Institute for China Business. A seasoned trainer and speaker, Gary has made over 400 public speeches in 30 different cities around the world. An appointed career coach for several universities in Hong Kong, he has also coached hundreds of MBA and Masters students, professionals and corporate executives from all around the world and has been invited as a guest instructor in various top-tier corporates including J.P. Morgan, Google, Walmart, PwC and Johnson & Johnson among others. Gary's training expertise lies in communications, leadership and personal growth with a focus on relationships, culture and the social sciences. Gary, with his ability to inspire, coupled with his rich experience and background, never fails to deliver engaging content.

Helaine Liao

A high-school student, Helaine has stood out for her stellar performances over the years as a speaker, having represented Hong Kong on the Asian and International circuits in which she has consistently brought home awards in mooting, debate, and public speaking. Despite having to manage all of this at her age, Helaine decided to co-found an outreach organization known as Kaleidoscope that aims to coach band three schools in debating and public speaking. Helaine hopes to study Law in the future so she may marry her desire for social work with her talent as a speaker.

Isa Ma

Isa graduated from HKU with a Civil Engineering degree in 2017 and is currently pursuing a part-time Master of Education degree in Youth Studies. As a Hui Muslim from mainland China residing in Hong Kong, Isa works as a teacher in Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, teaching science and Islam. Due to his background and identity, Isa has experienced and thought much about the individual and social implications of identity and culture in the contemporary world. An active speaker in the Muslim community in Hong Kong and a productive author, Isa was awarded the ninth “New Moon Literature Award” in 2017 with the article《循伊漸進》 (move gradually along Islam). Isa is concerned with social justice pertaining to minority groups.

Kenneth Cheung

Prof. Kenneth Cheung is the Chair Professor and the Head of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Hong Kong. Prof. Cheung has won immeasurable awards and accolades throughout an illustrious career as a spine surgeon, academic, educator, scientist, but also as a pioneer - having been instrumental in the inception of titanium bone implants used in mainstream Orthopaedic surgery these days. With 14 published book chapters and 280 publications in top scientific and spine journals, his work has been cited more than 4065 times globally. Not only has Prof. Cheung’s work put HKU on the map, he was also the past President of the Scoliosis Research Society, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery, contributing immensely to the field.

Lai Chi-wai

Listed as #2 on Talltanic’s “10 People to Inspire You When You’re at Your Worst” behind Nick Vujicic, Chi-wai’s story began when the once 8th-ranked rock climber in the world (and first Chinese to win the X-Games) met with a car accident that left him paraplegic in 2011. Known as the "King of Lion Rock" in Hong Kong, the once best climber in Asia succumbed not to misery, but continued to pursue his dream. On the 5th Anniversary of his tragic accident, Chi-wai climbed up the Lion Rock on his wheelchair, solely relying on his upper limbs and indomitable will. Such was a symbol of Hong Kong's spirit -- persistence, resilience and unity. Chi-wai is now an advocate for spine surgery patients, realising the power of optimism in influencing and impacting the life of others. A person of relentless determination, Chi-wai currently aspires to someday be able to walk again.

Musheer Ahmed

As General Manager of Fintech Association of Hong Kong, Musheer has an extensive background in financial services and technology, and was also one of the founding board members of Fintech Association of Hong Kong at its launch in June 2017. A regular speaker at industry events and guest lecturer at many universities in Hong Kong, Musheer is not only driven by interest in technologies relating to investment banking such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and data analytics, but also how communities may be created and sustained.As General Manager of Fintech Association of Hong Kong, Musheer has an extensive background in financial services and technology, and was also one of the founding board members of Fintech Association of Hong Kong at its launch in June 2017. A regular speaker at industry events and guest lecturer at many universities in Hong Kong, Musheer is not only driven by interest in technologies relating to investment banking such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and data analytics, but also how communities may be created and sustained.

Timothy Ng

Timothy graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the University of Hong Kong with an emphasis in Dynamics and Control. He has research experience in both the arts and engineering faculties, at the Beckman Institute and the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. Currently, he is a researcher at the Bionics and Control Lab at HKU, where he builds the foundation of fish robotics in the region, with an emphasis on high speed fish locomotion. As an engineer with a focus on the study of dynamics--things in motion, Timothy takes a lot of inspiration from the natural world. Sports, particularly the Mixed Martial Arts and Badminton has provided him with a strong intuition for physical motion.His interest ends not in engineering and the sciences, but extends to the arts and humanities. As an avid believer that meaning is derived from experience, he has gone to great lengths to understand the world from different perspectives. Both debate and theatre has provided him with rich experiences which has played a large role in his research in robotics. It was in university he discovered that any creative endeavour is a combination of both the arts and science, and has ever since pursued for the marriage of both.

Vincy Chan

Vincy is a non-binary transgender musician and artist based in Hong Kong. Heavily involved in activism, Vincy was the coordinator of Amnesty International Hong Kong's LGBTI group, and was a fellow of Resolve Foundation's inaugural fellowship on racial justice. As transgender, genderqueer and non-binary voices rarely get any representation in mainstream media, Vincy is dedicated to educating others about the issues related and uplifting the trans community. Vincy hopes to see a more positive representation of the trans community and hopes that one day in the future, we would be able to elevate and embrace the trans community in Hong Kong.