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).

Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham Hill
Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX
United Kingdom

Adrian Webster

Riot policeman, milkman and salesman were just a few of the entries on Adrian’s CV before he moved into the I.T industry and discovered an ability to inspire others. The son of a Yorkshire coalminer, Adrian is today one of Europe’s most popular motivational speakers and a bestselling business author, with his Polar Bear Pirate books being successfully sold worldwide.

Asif Sadiq

Asif is the Senior Vice President for Equality and Inclusion at WarnerMedia. He was previously Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at adidas, and has held senior diversity and inclusion roles at organisations such as The Telegraph Media Group, EY Financial Services and the City of London Police. He is a Multi-Award Winning Diversity and Inclusion expert with over 15 years experience and a proven track record in achieving operational and strategic targets, managing quality, performance, risk and change. He is a passionate and inspirational global leader, co-author and a renowned keynote speaker, with the ability to empower individuals and create a truly inclusive environment for all.

Dr Leanne Armitage

Dr Leanne Armitage is a multi-award winning leader, inspirational speaker, junior doctor and Co-Founder at The Armitage Foundation; a charity committed to increasing diversity across UK medical schools. Her ultimate passion in life is to inspire people to be the best version of themselves.

Dr Shini Somara

Through her own journey as a woman in STEM, Shini is passionate about engaging a range of audiences with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Her career began with a mechanical engineering degree from Brunel University. In 2003, she qualified with a Doctorate in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). CFD enables engineers to visualise how gases and liquids flow. Since her engineering days, she has broadcasted science and technology on television. As part of her mission to encourage women into STEM, Shini launched her own podcasts, Scilence in 2018 and Innervation in 2020, to encourage women to speak openly about their experiences in male-dominated industries. Shini is the author of a series of books for children about STEM and has delivered many live talks, including a speech at the United Nations for International Women and Girls in Science Day, 2017.

Emilia Di Matteo

Emilia is a third year Management and Spanish student at Royal Holloway, who is passionate about fashion, and extremely interested in ways of stopping fast fashion or picking ‘healthier’ fashion options! She runs a Depop shop, with a partner, called Gigi Clothing @gigiclothingg on Depop and Instagram, selling second-hand and vintage clothing.

Fiona Spargo-Mabbs

Fiona Spargo-Mabbs is director and founder of the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, a drugs education charity she set up when her sixteen-year old son Dan died taking ecstasy. The charity works with young people, parents and professionals across the UK, and Fiona is now considered one of the leading voices on drugs education nationally.

Georgie France

Georgie is a second-year psychology student at Royal Holloway, who is passionate about sex and relationships education: 'I try to incite conversations around these topics to break down stigma, shame and misinformation as well as to encourage myself and others to live more pleasurable, fulfilling lives! Feel free to follow my sex and relationships page @sre_royalholloway and join in on an online, different kind of the ‘birds and the bees’ talk...'

Jonathan MacDonald

From his work on IKEA’s innovation strategy, Ministry of Sound’s commercial turnaround and Google’s Think Insights to the strategic acceleration of a cutting-edge FinTech company, Jonathan has a wealth of experience and a unique way of looking at the world. He remains one of the world’s most highly rated speakers, a contributor to Forbes and the author of several books, most recently “Powered By Change“, the Sunday Times Bestseller and winner of the 2019 Business Book Award in the Embracing Change category.

Neil Gibson

Neil Gibson is a former management consultant turned comic book publisher. He started writing comics for fun in 2010, and because of the unexpected reaction, went full time in 2012. He is a UK bestselling author and has lectured on comics at five Universities and has talked at both Google and Apple, and believes comics are the most efficient means of communicating stories.

Neil Laughton

Neil Laughton is an award winning entrepreneur and world record-breaking adventurer who has organised and led 50+ expeditions on 7 continents by land, sea and air. He loves to help people and organisations be more adventurous which enables growth, happiness and success.

Penny Mallory

Against all the odds, Penny Mallory made her childhood dream come true when she became the first woman in the world to compete in a World Rally Car for Ford in the World Rally Championship. She remains the only woman to have achieved this. Not bad considering she was teenage runaway and spent 3 years homeless in London. Penny attributes her success to having learned how to build and harness Mental Toughness. She now teaches her Mental Toughness formula to help people develop confidence, resilience, commitment, determination and focus so that they can build powerful, successful teams and organisations.

Rhys Dickinson

Rhys Dickinson currently works in the Sales Team for a leading IT Company, supporting businesses to digitally transform. He is a trustee and Ambassador of Children’s Charity Embrace CVOC, using his experiences of childhood abuse/trauma to inspire others. Rhys has appeared on live national TV and news programmes talking about his experiences, and recently completed the Everest BC trek for an Amazon Prime documentary, detailing his journey from childhood trauma to roof of the world.

Sue Stockdale

Sue Stockdale is an inspirational speaker and coach, whose achievements in business and adventure have inspired people worldwide to step out of their comfort zone and achieve more than they imagined possible. Using a combination of business knowledge and psychological insight, Sue is on a mission to help people transform by inspiring them to explore what they are capable of. In 1996 Sue was the first British woman to ski to the Magnetic North Pole, and followed up this success with expeditions to Chile, Antarctica, Geographical North Pole and Greenland. In business, Sue’s career included a period with the UN in a war zone, and since 1996 she has been an executive coach, working with leaders in some of the world’s top companies. She is the author of a number of books, and hosts a number of podcasts, including Access to Inspiration and Coaching in the Workplace.

Suzi Digby

Suzi Digby is a leading choral conductor and music educator who has pioneered the revival of singing in schools and communities in the United Kingdom. She is one of the world’s most prolific commissioners of new choral music and, in 2007, she was appointed OBE by the Queen for services to music education. Suzi founded the ORA singers in 2016, to commission, record and perform international choral works, and has founded a number of national organisations dedicated to inspiring young people to engage with classical music, unlocking the potential and improving the lives of children and young people through the power of music and singing. Suzi is also a visiting professor at the University of Southern California and the official choral conductor for The Rolling Stones.