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).

Atterbury Theatre
Lynnwood Bridge
Pretoria, Gauteng, 0001
South Africa

Accolade Motha

Poet and Spoken Word Artist

Wandisile Accolade Motha is a South African Author, Poet, Academic and Creative Entrepreneur. A commissioned Poet and spoken word artist, Motha is reputable for his evocative, sensational, spiritual and inspirational performance and written works, coupled with perspicacious professionalism that has seen a successful career that includes publication of two books among other wonderful literary works. The amalgamation of his specialisations have seen him stretch his footprint to a global audience through strategic partnerships and memberships with international and national NPO's and corporate organisations.

Brad Shorkend

Behavioural Specialist and High Performance Coach

Brad Shorkend is a behavioural specialist and performance coach obsessed with helping businesses, leaders, and everyone who wakes up in the morning to go to work to be better at the complicated job of being human. Since 2005 he has worked with thousands of people around the world on how to ‘better human’ at work, and in turn how to build and lead organisations that are awesome places for people to work at, to innovate meaningfully, and to deliver sustainable success in a world that has gone digital crazy. Brad’s global client list reads like a who’s who of businesses, and he is a relentless entrepreneur having founded and successfully (mostly) led over 20 businesses across numerous industry sectors… architecture, telecommunications, fashion, start-up acceleration, music retail, beauty, technology, consulting, FMCG, to name just a few. He is faculty at numerous global business schools and is a published author.

Bruce Whitfield

Multi-Award-Winning Journalist and Best-Selling Author

Bruce Whitfield is a multi-award-winning journalist, best-selling author and sought-after speaker. Throughout his career, he has had unparalleled access to titans of industry; mavericks who are changing the game; and brilliant entrepreneurs who reimagine what is possible. This access has provided him with an exceptional perspective of how we can change the future. Today. With over 20 years of working in print, broadcast and digital media, he brings a unique brand of realistic optimism to the murky intersection where business, politics and society collide.

James Maisiri

Ph.D. Candidate in Industrial Sociology and Economics

James Maisiri is a Ph.D. candidate spearheading groundbreaking research on the influence of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics on the labour market. He has been the recipient of numerous prestigious academic awards and scholarships from 2016 up to the present day. His affiliations with prominent research organisations have enabled him to push the boundaries of knowledge forward. His ideas have been featured in national newspapers, while his presentations at research conferences continue to shape the discourse. Beyond academia, he is an author and content creator.

Karyn Maughan

Legal Expert Journalist

Karyn Maughan is an online news reporter who also does broadcast analysis on high-profile or far-reaching legal matters. She is passionate about the law and regularly breaks news on high-profile stories. With a career spanning over 20 years she has become known for her tough line of questioning of controversial public figures. She holds a Master's degree in Media and Communication and is the author of three bestselling books.

Khanyisile Mphahlani

Changemaker and Student

Khanyisile Mphahlani is a strong-willed 18-year-old learner who founded and became the first president of her school's social impact initiative. She is passionate about creating a change within the greater South African and global community. Her determination led her to become one of the youngest International Global STEM Scholars. She is also a budding civil engineer with a love for creating and innovating the skyscrapers of tomorrow.

Kopano Jazz Collective

South African Jazz Band

Formed in 2018, The Kopano Jazz Collective are an innovative, driven and professional band made up of Jazz musicians of a high calibre. Saxophonist and M.D Godfrey Mntambo, Bassist and M.D Angus Hardcastle, the exceptionally talented pianist Josh Mokoena and equally talented drummers Enoch Marutha and Nicholas Bjorkman. South African Jazz is their true compositional direction and passion.

Lizette Spangenberg

Healthcare Solutions Designer, PhD

Liz is passionate about human-centred design, solving complex problems, and sharing knowledge. She holds a PhD in Information Design, where her research focussed on how design can be used to improve radiology environments. She has 13 years’ experience working in various design industries, and her day job now focuses on designing solutions to make healthcare more accessible to patients. She's summited Mt Kilimanjaro, visited 25 countries on 4 continents, and plays violin in a local university's Symphony Orchestra. She strives to create beautiful and intuitive experiences on any platform, and to help others learn and grow in the field of design.

Maria Carpenter

Strategist

Maria is passionate about changing the world’s perspective on work. Her intent is to create a model where work is a space for collaboration, celebration, significance and fulfilment. Maria is a South African born Cypriot and has had a diverse career spanning software development, management consulting, executive leadership, and entrepreneurship. Through her 20 years in technology, and the need to overcome trauma in her 30’s Maria developed a framework for transformation. The framework uses systems thinking, philosophy, quantum mechanics, and epigenetics to turn chaos into flow.

MoAfrika ‘a Mokgathi

Poet, Performer, Cultural Curator and Strategist

Muriel Mokgathi-Mvubu known by her pen name, MoAfrika wa Mokgathi is a Poet, Performer, Cultural Curator and strategist, Teaching Artist and a Serial Civic leader in the Arts and Culture fraternity and Human rights. Born and raised in the township of Mamelodi, outside the capital city of South African, Tshwane. Wa Mokgathi’s code-mixing and code-switching signature writing style and frank writing approach has carried her for an 18 year career as a practitioner. Travelling the world speaking on issues of Equality, Inequality, Erasure, Language, GBV and all round human rights. She is currently working on a poetry and music album.

Nathan Vuuren

Artist

Nathan Jansen van Vuuren is a Johannesburg based artist who obtained his MA in 2010. He has been widely exhibited in South Africa. His work draws upon a multitude of visual references; imagery drawn from art history, newspapers, magazines, social media, popular culture, television shows and movies.

Nhlanhla Lucky Nkosi

Software Engineer

Lucky works as a Software Engineer in the Research and Development Unit of a global custom software development firm. Some of his biggest interests are education and activism. To feed these passions, he has lectured Digital Arts at a local university and played various roles in local foundations and boards. He currently fuels his passion for youth development by running a free Saturday school aimed at teaching high school learners programming.

Ntsiki Mkhize

Founder and Social Entrepreneur

Ntsiki Mkhize holds a Masters in Social Innovation, is an international speaker, author, personal development coach and business advisor. She has a passion to inspire, connect and empower women and youth in Africa to improve their lives and uplift their communities through entrepreneurship. Ntsiki is also a garlic farmer and bee keeper.

Patrycja Riera

Inclusion Advisor, Facilitator, Researcher and Strategist

Patrycja is an inclusion advisor, facilitator, researcher, and strategist with over 18 years of experience in corporate and senior leadership development consulting. She works with senior and executive leaders in a variety of industries, including management consulting, global law firms, financial institutions, large international organizations, and government entities. She is often asked to support organizations in implementing strategic changes and building effective and inclusive teams. Patrycja is passionate about human-centric leadership and organizations, and her doctoral research focuses on how leaders navigate a sense of inclusion while maintaining core beliefs, values, and norms. She lives with her husband and two kids in Dubai.

Vukosi Marivate

Researcher, Data Scientist and Machine Learning Expert

Prof Vukosi Marivate is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and holds the ABSA UP Chair of Data Science at the University of Pretoria. He specialises in developing Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to extract insights from data, with a particular focus on the intersection of ML/AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP). His research is dedicated to improving the methods, tools and availability of data for local or low-resource languages. As the leader of the Data Science for Social Impact research group in the Computer Science department, Vukosi is interested in using data science to solve social challenges. He has worked on projects related to science, energy, public safety, and utilities, among others.