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).

State Theatre Centre of WA
174 William Street
Perth, Western Australia, WA 6000
Australia

Alex Towler

LEGO Master

Alex Towler is an environmental engineer. Having enjoyed co-creating the RELICS exhibition, Alex is now focused full-time on collaborating with Jackson on creative LEGO projects.

Daniel Juckes

Writer and Lecturer

Dr Daniel Juckes is a writer from Perth, Western Australia. He is a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Western Australia, Associate Editor at Westerly Magazine, and holds a PhD in Creative in Writing from Curtin University, for which he was awarded a Chancellor’s Commendation.

Ebony Thompson

Student and campaigner

For Ebony Thompson, who struggles with dyslexia/dysgraphia and ADHD, being named a 2020 ABC Heywire winner was a huge achievement. Ebony currently studies Nursing at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.

Hayley Passmore

Child health researcher

Dr Hayley Passmore is a child health researcher who has devoted over a decade to supporting individuals in the justice system. Her research leadership is helping improve outcomes for some of Australia’s most vulnerable young people – those in youth detention and those living with neurodisabilities. Hayley was a WA Finalist for the 2022 Young Australian of the Year, a 2021 Finalist for the Western Australian of the Year Awards (Youth) and a Student Scientist of the Year Finalist for the 2019 WA Premier’s Science Awards. Hayley is a 2021 AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker and a Churchill Fellow.

Jackson Harvey

LEGO Master

Jackson Harvey is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice includes painting large-scale murals, making tattoos and constructing sculptural stories with LEGO. His practice has taken him around the world, including the United Kingdom, the Americas and South East Asia.

Jessyca Hutchens

Art Historian and Palyku woman

Jessyca Hutchens is a proud Palyku woman living on Whadjuk Noongar boodja. With a DPhil in Art History (Oxford University), Jessyca is a lecturer in Indigenous Studies, and was recently the Curator at the Berndt Museum, a major collection of Australian Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander art and material culture at the University of Western Australia. She has written for many art magazines and journals, was Curatorial Assistant at the Biennale of Sydney and is co-founder of oarplatform.com, a research journal providing a platform for experimental and creative research methods.

Jonathan Charlesworth

Speedcuber

Jonathan Charlesworth is a 16-year-old student in Perth, Western Australia, and a competitive speedcuber, having now achieved over 200 podiums and three national medals across 17 events around the world. In 2019 Jonathan broke the continental record for the Skewb puzzle and is the current State champion for Skewb, Square-1 and Rubik’s Clock events.

Joshua Patrick

Carer

Joshua Patrick is a highschooler from Northam, Western Australia. He is a 2023 Youth Community Citizen of the Year, a Duke of Edinburgh Youth Award Leader, a Valuing Children initiative (VCI) Ambassador, a national Syndromes Without A Name (SWAN) Sibling Ambassador, a carer/disability advocate and an environmental activist.

Katarina Doughty

Sustainable Food Scientist

Katarina Doughty is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on transforming our current, global, food systems from a linear, grow-eat-discard model, to a circular model that sees waste as a resource we can harness.

Lauren Breen

Psychologist

Dr Lauren Breen is a registered psychologist and Professor at the School of Population Health at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. Her research has influenced the policy and practice of grief and bereavement support in Australia and internationally. She has authored over 150 academic publications and is passionate about creating a grief-literate society where no one grieves alone.

Madison Heady

Disability Advocate

Madison is a young woman from Perth, Western Australia, navigating the world after high school. Madison has competed in WA State Athletic competitions for the last three years and has competed at the 2020/21 National Athletics Championships where she won silver for the 1500m T36/Para. Born with cerebral palsy, Madison works closely with the Youth Disability Advocacy Network (YDAN) and the Periscope Crew, a media not-for-profit where young disabled people tell their own stories through media production.

Shraddha Kashyap

Clinical Psychologist and Researcher

Dr Shraddha Kashyap is a researcher at the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia, receiving her PhD and Master of Clinical Psychology in 2018. Her varied experience includes working on the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program at the University of New South Wales and at the Bellevue/New York University Program for the Survivors of Torture on a Fulbright Scholorship.