TEDxAberdeen 2022 | Everything you need to know
Following a successful event last year, Aberdeen Arts Centre will host TEDxAberdeen for its second event on Saturday 12 November. It will be a day of sharing interpretations of TEDxAberdeen's theme of "movement." A wide range of topics will be discussed, including social acceptance, racism, language preservation, and resistance to change. In addition, they will look at rethinking values and societal conditioning.
TEDxAberdeen has announced that ticket applications for this year are now open. People who would like to attend are now invited to apply for tickets for the one-day event on 12 November 2022 at Aberdeen Arts Centre. The application window closes on Monday 10 October.
TEDxAberdeen's head, Moray Barber, said that selecting candidates to speak this year was a very challenging task. He said that it “demonstrates the northeast of Scotland is full of thought-provoking ideas and talented speakers.
“Our speakers impressed us with their unique takes on movement - moving beyond, moving minds, and moving bodies - we can’t wait to see how they refine and hone their ideas.”
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged. Today it covers almost every topic you can imagine in more than 100 languages. The TEDx program is a self-organised series of events that offer attendees a TED-like experience at a local level.
Ten speakers have been handpicked to speak on the famous red dot in Aberdeen this year.
Dr Aileen Alexander
Talk Title: The Benefits of Movement
Why as a nation are we more sedentary than ever and how is this impacting our mental and physical health and wellbeing?
Aileen will delve into the benefits of exercise at an individual and a global level addressing some of the reasons why we don’t exercise as much as we should.
Eric Doyle
Talk Title: Passion will get you moving, passion with strategy and community will get you further…
Eric will share his experience of embarking on a gruelling challenge event, fuelled by the emotion of a conversation with a friend who sadly lost his life. During the event he quickly got into serious trouble and couldn’t complete the challenge. A few years later Eric, decided to do it again with a completely different approach and mindset.
Katie Forbes
Talk Title: Autism is a difference, not a disorder
Katie is an autistic marketing professional specialising in digital and social media based in Aberdeen. Katie’s talk discusses the detrimental impact of healthcare professionals and the media portraying autism as a disorder; something that needs to be fixed or cured. She will invite the audience to look beyond this terminology and see autism for what it is, simply a difference. Not bad, nor less - just different.
Fraser Hay
Talk Title: From Human Being to Human Becoming
Entrepreneur and business coach Fraser will talk about how the events of the last couple of years have caused many people to stagnate. As a result of many industries collapsing, businesses closing their doors, and many individuals being laid off, paid off, or made redundant, thousands have found themselves at a crossroads.
Fraser will share a powerful four step process with specific examples from his life when he had stagnated and was faced with considerable challenges, and the results he was able to achieve in applying the process to his next stage of growth.
Lauren Hay
Talk Title: Speak Properly: Is Doric Dying?
Cullen born quine, Lauren will share her concerns about the growing disconnection from our North-east dialect doric.
“Doric is at risk of extinction as we are shackled to scrolling on screens and have less and less conversations in ‘real life’ and this is where Doric exists – in the communities around us. It is not a language that we read nor write very often but we speak it every day. The less we speak and more we scroll the more disconnected from Doric we become.” explains Lauren.
Lyly Lepinay
Talk Title: Beyond the Chinese Takeaway
Buckie born marketing specialist and creative writer, Lyly, will give us a taster of life beyond the Chinese takeaway.
Lyly says: “Often when we think of the Chinese community in the UK, the first thing that comes to mind is the takeaway or buffet restaurants. There’s little the average person knows about the community other than their own Chinese takeaway order. This comes as no surprise as our community is often invisible in mainstream media despite being the third biggest ethnic minority group in Scotland.”
Zoe Morrison
Talk Title: Why we say people don’t like change
Robert Gordon University Professor Zoe says: ‘I’m excited to talk about why we say that people do not like change. All too easily we use this statement as an excuse, identifying other people as the reason for lack of movement. But how valid and engaging are our ideas to initiate change?
She adds: “I'm looking forward to exploding the myths about change and explaining the potential impact if we stopped telling ourselves that people don't like change.”
Del Redvers
Talk Title: How your hypocrisy can help to save humanity
Corporate affairs director and environmental charity chair Del will challenge our thoughts about hypocrisy and how being a hypocrite is not only okay, it can enable positive change.
Del explains: “To address the biggest challenges humanity faces we must move quickly through social and behavioural transitions. In these transitions there are gaps between what we say and what we do, where our hypocrisy is evident.
“Hiding our hypocrisy as a vulnerability or a failing slows our progress. Instead, we can acknowledge and own it, using the tension it creates to draw us to a better future.”
Sarah Rochester
Talk Title: We don’t need a reason
Communications manager Sarah will share her experience of the decision to stop drinking.
Sarah says: “When I stopped drinking, I felt constantly anxious because I didn’t have a ‘reason’. I didn’t have a rock bottom moment and therefore I didn’t have an answer to the question ‘why?’. Until I realised that wanting to was enough on its own. I hope to be part of a change in the conversation around alcohol, to help people see they don’t need a reason.”
Alex Whyte
Talk Title: The Career Mother Gear
Alex’s talk centres around her experience of pursuing her career while also entering motherhood. Alex explains: “This period has been the hardest and fastest pace of life I have ever experienced. A pace I didn’t know I had in me until I was faced with the prospect of failure in one or the other.”
Completing the line-up is Martin Robertson. Martin will share his views on how to live a full life with dementia and why society should not write dementia sufferers off.
TEDxAberdeen 2022 | A diverse and eclectic group of speakers
Program Curator Derrick Thomson adds: “We have a diverse and eclectic group of speakers who will now embark on an 18-week coaching process to craft their ideas ready for the event in November.
“This is the exciting part; taking the speaker’s raw concept and working them to create an idea worth spreading. I am really looking forward to supporting the speakers as they prepare for their moment in the red dot - we’re co-creating an engaging and inspiring event for our community.”
For more information about TEDxAberdeen visit their home page.
TEDxAberdeen 2022 | Movement
TEDxAberdeen have announced that their big ideas event is back for 2022. Speakers will gather on Saturday 12th November at Aberdeen Arts Centre. This years talks will be centred around the theme ‘Movement’.
The goal of TEDxAberdeen is to “inspire and ignite conversation through a lineup of captivating speakers, spark deep conversation, and create meaningful connections through the sharing of ideas.”
TEDx Aberdeen – Muckle ideas ti' spread aboot *UPDATED*
It's Saturday, 27th July 2021 and even though there's a threat of rain in the sky, the sun is shining bright on a city excited to experience its inaugural TEDx conference. What may once have seemed long overdue has arguably arrived just at a perfect time for Aberdeen!
Under the banner 'New ways of seeing old things', the TEDx Aberdeen conference presented 10 speakers, videos and Q&A's in the Aberdeen Arts Center to an audience of 100 attendees for a day of connection and big ideas. Even better for us – we were invited along!
TEDx Aberdeen
As I am sure many of you are, we are massive fans of TED and have been moved, energised and inspired by many a TED talk over the years. To see an independently organised event come to Aberdeen was hugely exciting, but how do you approach the topic of our city looking forward whilst still in the middle of a global pandemic?
You get an excellent list of speakers and topics, that's what you do!
Graeme Gordon
“Let's talk about the F word”
Tim Wigham
“Moodset for Excellence”
Chris Moule
“We can all be Recombinant Innovators”
Georgios Leontidis
“Our sustainable future through the lens of Data & AI"
Lorna Dawson
“Soil as a Silent Witness”
Jonathan Christie
“This is the Cabrach’s story”
Peter Tipler
“Learning, to make a positive impact”
Youssra Bennadji
“Should animals be in charge?”
Sam Stephen
“My Beautiful Trauma”
Bethany Galley
“How would you share your life in 27 photos?”
Truly inspiring
From the get-go, I found this truly inspiring. Challenging our individual language and mental health, our life experiences and their impact on those of others, our jobs, careers, our land, our neighbours; the ideas up for discussion and those little seeds of thought that remind us - we can each make a difference be that in our own little world, our city or even the lives of others.
I know I am getting pretty deep here (shocker), so I'll temper myself and just share this important note - The videos from TEDx Aberdeen will be available for all to see soon! Be assured that we'll update this post as soon as they do!
We want more!
I dearly hope this is the first of many such events from Moray Barber, this years TEDx licensee and co-host along with the team behind it all. Check out the website, their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and lets all encourage more events like this in future!
Thank you Team TEDx Aberdeen, lets keep the whole area talking about those #ideasworthspreading!
If you are looking for more stories from here in Aberdeen, check out our blog and don't forget to signup to our very own monthly newsletter!
Update – Watch TEDx Aberdeen on YouTube
The incredible talks from TEDx Aberdeen are now all available on YouTube! Hit play below and begin or head over to TEDx Aberdeen YouTube!
TEDx Aberdeen ticket lottery launched
Organisers have announced a ticket lottery for their 31 July TEDx Aberdeen event. Applications are open from now until 5 July.
What is TEDx Aberdeen?
TEDx is a programme of local, self-organized events that bring people together to discuss big ideas. Held in the spirit of ideas worth spreading.
Aberdeen Art's Centre will be the venue this year's live event. It will feature ten speakers from the city and beyond. The series of live 18-minute talks will focus on the theme, New Ways of Seeing Old Things. It is hope the talks will inspire the 100 attendees. Especially in a year where we look to our future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
From unlocking secrets with forensic science, to using artificial intelligence to improve sustainability in the agri-food sector. Tackling climate change through the power of learning and challenging our consumption of news and the perception of truth. From reinvigorating forgotten and declining communities, to mastering moodset, to the Aberdonian habit using the word ‘fine’ - TEDx Aberdeen has curated a thought provoking line up.
How to be part of the audience
Ticket applications are open now. Organisers will ask applicants to explain in a couple of sentences why they would like to attend TEDx Aberdeen. As well as the number of tickets they wish to apply for. They will then email successful applicants a link to purchase their tickets. Tickets cost £30 each. This includes access to the full day event featuring 10 speakers from across the North East community, lunch and refreshments. Tickets can be purchased individually or up to four in ‘household bubbles’.
Audience Experience Coordinator, Nicole Chidester told us a little more about the event. She explained “TEDx events are unique in the way they are organised, curated and attended. TEDx event programmes comprise speakers and video content to inspire connections, conversations and the power of ideas to spark change. People leave TEDx events feeling inspired and motivated.
“We’re really excited about our speaker line up. I know they can’t wait to share their ideas on 31 July.
“We also can’t wait to hear more about the people who want to attend TEDxAberdeen. Our audience are the final element to the success of the event. As a result of their attendance and willingness to participate, TEDxAberdeen come alive.
A COVID safe event
Nicole explained that this will be a COVID safe event, telling us, “organising a face to face to event in the middle of a global pandemic has been a learning experience! We’d like to thank prospective TEDx attendees for their patience as we navigate the constantly changing situation. We have worked closely with our host venue Aberdeen Arts Centre. Together we'll ensure we adhere to Covid-19 guidance for events and host the maximum number for our event.
“We’re also working closely with student volunteers from the North East of Scotland College events course. The pandemic has curtailed their work experience. So we're now delighted to be in a position to provide some students with a chance to manage elements of the event process.”
Find Out More
The ticket portal will close at 10pm on Monday 5 July. Then, successful applicants will be notified by 9 July and supplied with a link to purchase tickets.
For more information on the speaker line up and ticket application form, visit tedxaberdeen.com or find TEDx Aberdeen on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
TEDx Aberdeen isn't the only big event happening in July. You can now take part in Nuart Aberdeen with your own paste-up artwork. You can now read all about it here.