Theme: I Am

The mind-shifting short-talk phenomenon returns to Pretoria in November for a day of disruptive ideas and bold new voices challenging a business-savvy audience to reboot their thoughts and actions to meet the needs of the future.

The theme for this year’s event is "I AM"

This will be Pretoria's 6th TEDxPretoria - a localised offshoot of the hugely popular Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) series of talks which has become an international movement under the banner of "Ideas worth spreading". The talks, which are freely available online, are widely recognised as one of the world's most inspiring sources of fresh thinking on a wide range of cultural and scientific subjects..

TEDxPretoria 2018 takes place on 17 November 2018 at 012 Central, our inner city home. A funky-fresh upcoming space which inspires creativity and open-mindedness.

012Central
381 Helen Joseph Street, Pretoria
Pretoria, Gauteng, 0001
South Africa

Anga Mamfanya

Anga Mamfanya is a poet and educator based in Pretoria. He made his performance debut in 2016 at the Tshwane Speak Out Loud youth poetry competition, in which he was the 2nd prize winner. He has since shared his work at the University of Johannesburg and at the University of Pretoria as a guest speaker. He has also performed at the 2017 Naked word Festival in Cape Town and has released a spoken word EP called 1 A.M. In addition to having had his work longlisted for the 2018 Sol Plaatje European Poetry Award, Anga is also the founder of Blvcksuburbia, a social movement which aims to empower black communities through art.

Barry Vorster

Barry Vorster leads the HR Technology and Culture transformation practices at PwC and actively works to deliver high-impact culture projects. He also focuses on digital learning and the future of work. Barry is fascinated by the interplay between organizational learning, technology and large-scale behavior change.

Bronwyn Williams

Business trends analyst, futurist, and foresight practitioner. Bronwyn has over a decade’s experience in marketing management and trend research, working predominantly with businesses in the financial and retail industries.

Janet Rethabile Zilila

A second year BA Social Sciences student at Wits university. Distinctions in Feminist Theory (Politics) and International Relations. Electrical engineering graduate. 4 years working experience in design/project engineering. Debuted in the National Arts Festival 2013 with a music and poetry production: Lies and Times in a Smile (LATIAS). First play; Open Bags and Running Shoes (OBARS) workshopped at the Joburg Theatre under SBD, 2015. 3rd in the Provincial Poetry Slam competition for Gauteng under Current State of Poetry 2016. Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) alumni, Cohort 9, Business Entrepreneurship Track, 2017. Directed WhiteStarLiner production which debuted at the Vryfees 2018.

John Sanei

John Sanei is a best-selling author, futurist and speaker whose passion for psychology and technology has seen him engage with brands across the globe, and help them build the mental approach needed to make tomorrow more abundant than they ever thought possible.

Karen Nortje

Karen is an Environmental Anthropologist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). She holds a Masters degree in Social Anthropology from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently busy with her Ph.D. at the University of Johannesburg. Karen’s research is about understanding socio-economic and socio-cultural issues in relation to the natural environment, which means that her research is often directed at the local and individual level of society. Her work has taken her across the globe and she has conducted fieldwork throughout South Africa as well as internationally, including countries such as Costa Rica, India, Mozambique, Vietnam and the USA.

Kevin Liebenberg

Kevin is the MD of Actuate a specialist change communication and employee marketing agency that works in Sout Africa's largest corporates using principles of HR, Change Management and Advertising & Marketing to align employees and leaders behind their organisations objectives.

Mariné Pienaar

Mariné is a soil- and agricultural scientist with twelve years of consulting experience in the fields of soil, land use and agriculture in several African countries. She holds a BSc. Agriculture degree with specialisation in Plant Production and Soil Science from the University of Pretoria and a MSc in Environmental Science from the University of the Witwatersrand. In addition to this, she has attended a number of courses and conferences in Europe, Japan, the USA, and Israel. Mariné is a contributing author of the report on the balance of natural resources between the mining industry and agriculture in South Africa.

Obakeng Leseyane

Obakeng is a South African activist passionate about access to quality education in Africa. He has started education-based initiatives (raised over $45,000 in 3 years for students), writes and speaks on international platforms with global shapers and changemakers. He has been featured on Forbes, eNCA, Huffington Post and other multimedia platforms.

Rebone Masemola

Rebone Masemola is an anthropologist, cultural strategist, facilitator, marketing consultant and digital content creator who runs a blog that shares and shines the light on the stories that speak to the lived experiences of women of color and LGBTQIP+ pupils

Tiyani Majoko

Tiyani is an attorney by profession and entrepreneur by purpose. She is the co-founder of Lawgistics Legal Consultants, a legal consultancy that committed to lead in innovation. In 2017 she was recognized by the Mail and Guardian as one of the Top 200 Young South Africans for her work in Law and Justice and is an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for the 2017 year. She is a strategist, speaker, podcast host and storyteller with great energy and excitement about the future of Africa.

Verashni Pillay

Verashni Pillay is the head of digital at POWER 98.7. She was previously editor-in-chief of the Mail & Guardian and HuffPost South Africa. She worked as a senior reporter for years covering politics and general news, specializes in media management and relishes the task of putting together the right team to create compelling and principled journalism across multiple platforms. Verashni is a recipient of the CNN African Journalism Award in the digital category, several Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards, an Open Society Foundation journalism fellowship and the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellowship.

Xolane Ngobozana

Xolane Ngobozana known as Soulful X is the founder of Viruz Empire Media Group and President of ‘Donate A School Bag’ Campaign. He started as Dancer, then character leader, became 3rd cast manager and the theater show promoter.