Last few Early Bird tickets for TEDxEuston

Get one of the last few Early Bird tickets for TEDxEuston 2011!

With another great lineup of speakers, TEDxEuston aims to reflect ideas and inspired thinking of a new generation of African thinkers and leaders, positive about their continent and confident in their ability to shape its future. Our speakers are all committed to engaging in an active and meaningful manner with the African continent and are carefully selected to reflect the diversity of thinking and action on the continent from the arts, business and public sector.s. As in our previous 2 events, we can promise another incredible day, full of amazing ideas about Africa.....you will not want to miss this. 

But, in addition to the speakers, TEDxEuston is also about you. You are the reason we bother, the only reason! The energy in the room at each of the previous two events, has been testimony to the amazing potential awaiting to be unleashed on the continent. We promise that you will be inspired not only by the speakers but the person seating on your left and your right, in front and behind....and yes....you can take that to the bank! 

You will think....

You will applaud....

...and sometimes you will let it all out!

Grab one of the few Early Bird tickets left

Click here to register 

TEDxEuston 2011 registration opens

We are delighted to invite you to TEDxEuston 2011!

For a third year, TEDxEuston will aim to reflect ideas and inspired thinking of a new generation of African thinkers and leaders, positive about their continent and confident in their ability to shape its future. The speakers are all committed to engaging in an active and meaningful manner with the African continent. TEDxEuston is licensed by TED, and like all TED events, is run as a not-for-profit event. It is organised by an entirely volunteer group of African professionals. Our speakers are carefully selected to reflect the diversity of thinking and action on the continent from the arts, business communities and the public sector.

We present another incredible line-up of speakers spreading amazing ideas about Africa.....you will not want to miss this. 

Arnold Ekpe has been Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational, Inc., and its subsidiary, Ecobank Group since 2005.


Rt. Hon Paul Boateng MP is a British Labour Party politician and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 he served as the British High Commissioner to South Africa and was in July 2010 introduced as a member of the House of Lords.


Toyin Saraki is the Founder of The WellBeing Foundation, a front-line maternal and child health focused Non-Governmental Organization in Nigeria. She was until recently the First Lady of Kwara State in Nigeria.

Hadeel Ibrahim is the founding executive director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which was established in 2006 to support good governance and leadership in Africa.

Kayode Fayemi is the Governor of Ekiti state in Nigeria. He was sworn in October 2010 after winning a protracted legal battle in which he proved his opponent had engaged in electoral rigging. Prior to going into partisan politics, Kayode Fayemi was Director of the Centre for Democracy.

Lola Shoneyin says that she spends exactly 7.673% of her life day-dreaming. Her best seller; "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives" is set in modern-day Nigeria and is about four wives and their husband, exploring the intricacies of family life.

Moky Makura is a TV presenter/producer, publisher, writer, actress and entrepreneur. She wrote the acclaimed book: ‘Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs’ and in In 2008, co-produced and presented a lifestyle TV series for MNet called “Living It", about  the lifestyle’s of Africa’s wealthy elite.

Jerome Okolo runs Maxivision, which that provides the highest standard of eye-care delivery in the country. His life story provides a vivid and personal illustration of our tumultuous and rapidly changing epoch.

Herman Chinery-Hesse co-founded the SOFTtribe Limited, which has become the leading software house in Ghana and possibly West Africa. Herman’s current venture Black Star line (BSL), seeks to financially empower rural Africans via e-commerce.

Kola Karim is the Chief Executive of Shoreline Energy International. Shoreline Energy International is a leading energy holding company operating in Africa with a diversified portfolio of companies in Construction, Oil and Gas, Power, Telecommunications, Engineering and Manufacturing.

Helen Lieberman is the founder and Honorary President of Ikamva Labantu (The Future of our Nation), a South African grassroots organisation, constituted during the Apartheid years.

Femi Temowo is a guitarist ‘par excellence’. His latest project sees him in a Trio/Quartet setting where he is currently experimenting with combining Nigerian folk sounds and the jazz song form.

Kwame Kwei-Armah is a musician, playwright and actor. He was recently named artistic director of CENTERSTAGE, the leadingprofessional theater in Baltimore, and the designated State Theater of Maryland.

Paula Akugizibwe, a writer and HIV and human rights activist. She was born in Nigeria to parents of Rwandan and Ugandan origin and grew up largely in Southern Africa. She considers herself a happy pan-African nomad. 




For more details on the speakers and how to register, go to our website www.tedxeuston.com

How to rise above the culture of low expectations

She says went into politics because she was angry...angy about education and angry about international development. But there is a lot more to this beautiful talk by Kemi Adegoke. In finding the words to describe the complex issues of what she describes as "The culture of low expectations" in inner city British schools she lets us into how she started on her incredible journey:) . She takes us through her amazing forray into politics and how she suddenly became on of the leaders of policy formulation on Africa in the Conservative Party. Kemi inspires us by her words and her story.....at TEDxEuston 2010.



Kemi Adegoke, was the feisty, outspoken Conservative Party candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood in south London in the recent elections in the UK. She otherwise works as a systems analyst within the RBS Group. She studied Computer Systems Engineering (M.Eng) at Sussex University, graduating in 2003, and is also a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society. In June 2009, she completed an undergraduate degree in Law at the University of London (Birkbeck). She is a school governor at St. Thomas the Apostle College and the Jubilee Primary School in Southwark and Lambeth boroughs respectively. She is also on the board of Charlton Triangle Housing Association, part of the Family Mosaic group of housing associations. She was born in Wimbledon although lived in Nigeria until she was 16 and now lives in Herne Hill ward within the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency. She stood for Parliament under the Conservative Party during the last elections in the UK. Before her selection, she was the Deputy Chairman of the Dulwich and West Norwood Conservative Association and worked as a project leader for the Conservative Party Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group in 2006 and 2007.

TEDxEuston - Richard Dowden - Ordinary miracles from Cabinda to Cape Town

Richard Dowden is the President of the Royal African Society. He was previously the African Editor of The Economist. Ten years ago his magazine published an article he had written on the state of affairs on the African conitnent titled "The heart of the matter". However, the cover of the magazine carried the extremely judgemental headline; "The Hopeless Continent". I remember vividly the furore caused by this headline as the continet responded to the views of The Economist that appeared to sterotype us all as being without hope!

At TEDxEuston, Richard speaks about this experience for the first time. 

But he also speaks about a lot more....from his reaction to the typical stereotyes on Africa, through the growing influence of China to his analysis of how generations of Africans have changed since his engagement started. You cannot help but admire Richard's knowledge and honesty about the continet.

Watch the talk again HERE.



Richard Dowden first worked in Africa as a volunteer teacher at a bush school in Uganda in the early 1970s. On his return to Britain he was employed by a peace organisation in Northern Ireland and then became a journalist, and was made Editor of The Catholic Herald in 1976.

After joining The Times foreign desk in 1980, he reported from the Middle East and Africa, before being appointed Africa Editor at The Independent when it was founded in 1986. During the next nine years he visited almost every country in sub Saharan Africa. He later became Diplomatic Editor. In 1995 he was invited to join The Economist as Africa Editor continued to travel regularly to Africa. He left The Economist in 2001 and a year later, began working as a freelance journalist and writer. In November 2002 he was appointed Director of the Royal African Society.

In addition to writing extensively about Africa, he has made three full length documentaries on Africa for Channel 4 and the BBC as well as several shorter films. He also continues to write on African issues and appears frequently as a commentator on African affairs on the BBC, CNN, Sky News and other broadcast media. His book: Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles was published by Portobello Books in September 2008 .

Michela Wrong - Telling the story of a whistle-blower on a crusade for the truth

At the inaugural TEDxEuston we heard Nuhu Ribadu speak eloquently on his struggles and challenges as the Chief Executive of the anti corruption agency in Nigeria. At the 2010 TEDxEuston, Micheala Wrong, a journalist who spent many years working in Africa spoke about how she met John Githongo the former anti corruption czar in Kenya who also had to leave his country when the truth became too uncomfortable for the powers that be. Why are these matters important to us? Well, while it is true that we seek to inspire ourselves and friends with the great stories of progress from our continent, it is also true that we will remain honest regarding the challenges we face and celebrate those people that choose to walk the difficult path of honour that hold people in public service to account. Michela's talk is about one of these people.

Michela tells this story honestly, with a clear sense of responsibility and clarity that is so rare in reportage on similar issues. She tells it without stereotyping or hyperbole....with calm and rectitude that left the audience deep in thought on why it has to get to this and why many of our leaders just do not learn. Watch again HERE.



Michela Wrong has spent the last 16 years writing about Africa. As a correspondent for Reuters news agency, based in first Cote d'Ivoire and then Zaire, she covered the turbulent events of the mid 1990s in west and central Africa, including the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko and genocide in Rwanda. She then moved to Kenya, where she became Africa correspondent for the Financial Times. In 2000 she published her first book, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", the story of Mobutu, which won a PEN prize for non-fiction. Her second book, "I didn't do it for you", focused on the Red Sea nation of Eritrea. Her third book, "It's Our Turn to Eat", tracks the story of Kenyan corruption whistleblower John Githongo. It has been described as reading "like a cross between Le Carre and Solzhenitsyn".

TEDxEuston - Paul Onwuanibe - Taking your business home to Africa

Home is always on the minds of many Africans living in the so called Diaspora. We talk about Africa with emotion and nostalgia, at once yearning for its embrace and fearful of its challenges. The decision of leaving our comfort zones, the paycheck at the end of the month, constant electricity, healthcare etc often proves a step too far. So our plans to support the renaissance of the continent ends on our dinner tables and wine bars. With our decision not to engage, dies the dreams of a continent. Paul Onwuanibe chose to challenge conventional wisdom by not only founding a successful company in the UK but in taking his business back home to the continent. He tells the remarkable story of this journey that has taken him to open offices in all the major African cities. He shares the pains and the joys......and you cannot help but be infected by his enthusiasm for the opportunities that await those who dare to dream. 

Listen to the talk HERE.

Paul Onwuanibe began his career in the 'built environment' with a formal education in Architecture, Property Development and Construction Management, together with a London Business School MBA with a merit in "Value Engineering".Paul has 20 years in the professional property environment with experience of design and execution projects (Africa, USA, Europe). He served as Development Director with Beacon Housing, a UK based house builder producing over 1000 homes. Paul was the Executive with responsibility for the Property and Logistics team of Regus Plc during its rapid expansion years, which oversaw the opening of 190 business centres in 62 countries globally. He has expert knowledge of commercial property and workplace management and led Landmark's expansion into America, Europe and Africa. He has a deep and passionate interest in real estate in Africa, knowledge, experience and fresh views.

Father Matthew Kukah - the folly of ethnic compartmentalisation

Father Matthew Kukah is quite a man. Many that grew up in Nigeria got to know him from his articles in the Guardian. Very few contributors to debates on the Nigerian polity could articulate the complexity of the country as eloquently as Father Kukah. When we invited him to speak at TEDxEuston we expected a lot and wow, did he deliver! He produced a fascinating tour de force of his engagement with the country. Few people can address the complex issues of religion and ethnicity with integrity, authority and wit. Father Kukah left us laughing uncontrollably about the tears in our eyes, and the pain in our hearts. The gentleman below could not hold himself!

His talk beautifully encapsulated the unfulfilled potential of a country that awaits greatness and what Nigerians can do about it. Watch his talk here....



Matthew Kukah is a Catholic Reverend Father and former Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat in Nigeria. He served on Nigeria's Presidential Truth Commission into Past Human Rights Violations. Until recently a Senior Fellow at St Antony's College, University of Oxford, Dr Kukah is a rigorous scholar and respected commentator, Dr Kukah received his PhD from the University of London.

He is the author of the critically acclaimed work, Religion and Politics in Northern Nigeria since Independence (Spectrum, 1994), and most recently of Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria (Spectrum, 2002). Father Kukah is a regular commentator on complex social and political issues in Nigeria.
Professor Bart O. Nnaji is currently the Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power – an organ charged with the reform of the Nigerian Power Sector. He is the founder Geometric Power Limited - the first indigenously owned private sector power Company in Nigeria. Geometric is currently building a US$400 million Integrated Power Project (IPP) in Aba to generate more than 188 MW. He served as Federal Minister of Science and Technology of Nigeria in 1993.

Hannah Pool - Discovering herself while discovering Eritrea

When we decided on the theme for the first session of TEDxEuston 2010 as "Discovery and Re-discovery" nothing quite prepared us for Hannah Pool's beautiful story. Her name gives nothing away either. Born in Eritrea, growing up in Sudan and Norway - she arrived Manchester as a beautiful black girl speaking Norwegian! But the many countries Hannah had lived did little to prepare her for her big journey of discovery of Eritrea to re-discover herself and her life, as she admits, has never been the same. Listen to her talk here:



Hannah Pool is, in her own words, British-Eritrean, Eritrean-British. She was born in Eritrea in 1974 and was adopted at the age of six months by a British scholar who lived and worked in the Sudan. She was raised in Manchester, England, believing that both her parents had died shortly after her birth. She now lives in London where she works as a columnist for The Guardian. Her book titled My Fathers' Daughter was published by Hamish Hamilton in 2005.

Is Pat Utomi an entrepreneur, teacher or politician?

Is he an entrepreneur, teacher or politician? He says he does not particularly like any of these titles and will prefer to to known as a "citizen"....citizen???  In this era of do-or-die politics in Nigeria - this may be what stands Professor Patrick Utomi out from the crowd.

It is not often that one listens to a Nigerian politician connect with an audience quite the way Pat Utomi does. In this stirring talk at TEDxEuston 2010 he leaves the audience deep in thought about our responsibilities to our countries in Africa in seeking the leadership that will drive the growth we need to really take off. He describes the PDP, Nigeria's ruling party as "an elite platform in the sharing of economic rent...the antitheses of nation building"......but insists that "citizens" can turn things around.


Listen to the talk here. 




Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy and management expert is a Nigerian entrepreneur whose ultimate goal is to positively affect humanity. In 1982, he was appointed special assistant to President Shehu Shagari. Following the demise of the Second Republic, he became assistant general manager, corporate affairs, Volkswagen of Nigeria Limited, Lagos, 1983-93.

Utomi co-founded the Lagos Business School, now Pan African University in 1994 with the Opus Dei, a Catholic religious group. He was scholar-in-residence, American University, Washington DC, USA, 1996 and research associate, the Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1996. He coordinated the establishment of several civil society groups on good governance and accountability such as Transparency in Nigeria and the Restoration Group. In the business sphere, Utomi is the vice-chairman, Platinium–Habib Bank. He is an accomplished columnist, and chairman, BusinessDay Media Limited and creator of Patito's Gang, a television talk show. Utomi has published several books on political economy and management. He was a presidential candidate in the 2007 elections in Nigeria and is again standing for election in the April 2011 polls.

A man more passionate about Nigeria, you will not find.

TEDxEuston - Remi Okunlola - "care more, do more"

Listen to Remi Okunlola at TEDxEuston on how he took a leap of faith back home to participate in the "Nigeria project" but now he wants to care more and to do even more...find out how..then spread the word.

Remi takes us through how his journey from the legal profession, through entrepreneurial success to probably his biggest challenge yet bringing us to engage with passion on the issues that confront us in our society today. He implores us not to look away, but to stand firm and do the right thing. But it is not just what Remi says but how he says it that leaves such an impression. We laugh about his being shot at by robbers in Nigeria and cry about the boy in his hands.....that boy...! I can't get him out of my head. Be prepared to listen to an incredible story of love, courage, and believe in the future of the continent.



Remi Okunlola is co-founder and executive director of Africa's first indigenous offshore drilling company, SeaWolf Oilfields. Prior to his joining in establishing this first of its kind enterprise, Remi had established an international reputation as a respected Nigeria focused energy and natural resource lawyer - in his capacity as partner of Perchstone & Graeys, a Lagos based firm of Solicitors. Remi holds an MBA from the University of Dundee and an LLB from the University of East London. He is an English Barrister, a New York Attorney and a Nigerian Legal Practitioner. In his 16 years or so since returning to live in Nigeria, Remi has participated, initially as lawyer, and now on the business side, in delivering some of Nigeria's most internationally regarded transactions - including the first of its kind and award winning Nigeria LNG financing transaction, the Brass LNG project, and now Africa's first offshore drilling contractor.

He brought TEDxEuston to life!

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TEDxEuston - Winnie Ssanyu-Sseruma - "Why It means so much for me to be alive"

"It means so much for me to be alive....so much to be alive"....Who cannot possibly forget Winnie's talk at TEDxEuston 2010.

In this beautiful story of life and hope, find out why Winnie has not shut up since she experienced her "lazarus effect". Her talk challenges our societies, that are still living in denial and avoid discussing the difficult issues that confront us. She challenges us through her own incredible story to wake up and smell the coffee, talk with our families, yes our own friends and families to celebrate those that are lucky to be still living with HIV and advocate for treatmet, prevention and possible...a cure!

Winnie currently works as African services manager for Positive East and was one of the first people from the African community in the UK to have the courage go public with her HIV status. After discovering she was HIV positive, Winnie now spends her time volunteering; writing, researching and speaking about issues affecting HIV positive Africans. Winnie is chair of the African HIV Policy Network (AHPN) and trustee of National Aids Trust (NAT).

Listen to this beautiful talk and think weather you are doing enough to break the stigma in our communities and really confront this disease as a simple disease like all others.

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