This excellent piece was contributed by Adaugo (Diggi) Amajuoyi - enjoy!
TEDxEuston Salon took place on the 6th of April 2013, at the very cool private members bar in Bank called Eight. A discrete black door in an alley way opened up to a winding staircase which led to a beautifully decorated lounge. The dimly lit den began to fill with guests some stood waiting and talking, while others sat patiently in the luxurious sofas, tweeting or taking photos.
Our first speaker for TEDxEuston Salon was Chibundu Onuzu author of brilliant book “The Spider King’s daughter’. She began by thanking the host for the introduction but quickly joked saying that the real reason she was asked to speak was because she had convinced 10 of her friends to attend the last TEDxEuston in December last year :). Chibundu’s talk about “talking” was stimulating , it got everyone reconsider the importance of talking, and gave historical examples of how the break-down of communication often leads to problems that could have been avoided if we simply talked, questioned and challenged what is being said. With the increased accessibility of the internet world wide, we are talking more, tweeting, sharing videos and ideas. Talking more has changed and will change our future. If you want to keep talking to her, follow her on twitter @ChibunduOnuzo!
We then showed a TED video, Kakenya Ntaiya, the girl who demanded school. The audience was moved by Kakenya as she described her experience of female genital mutilation (FGM) and her drive for education, and how after studying in the USA, she returned to village to set up a school for young girls who’s lives will be free of FGM and hopefully have a better future. I was later approached by a guest who said they had never really known what FGM was and was truly shocked but inspired by how determined Kakenya was in creating change.
After another short break, Dike-Ogu Chukwumerije, the spoken word poet took the stage and performed 2 poems, Nwoyibo and Okwesilieze which was well received by the audience.
Our final speaker Jessica Horn, author, Women’s Rights activits, and founder of Women’s rights activist and founder of Akiiki Consulting. Jessica had the audience in silence, hanging on every word. She shared hilarious and moving stories the incredible women she had met through her work, and left us with the idea of a "Revolutionary love", a love that can inspire change, break barriers of inequality, and would later appear after a hashtag on the tweets made by many of our guests.
The energy of the room was reminiscent of our last TEDxEuston event in December, everyone was buzzing from what they just heard, talking, tweeting, laughing, posing for photos, exchanging business cards. We ended the evening with canapés and music from DJ Dibs (@Deejay_Dibs) who played some great afrobeat tracks that got the guests dancing. Overall it was a fantastic event and our guests left with goodie bags filled with pens, sweets and booklets, and minds full of new ideas about Africa.
The event was sponsored by Shell. They engaged with the community and shared some of their experience on entrepreneurial opportunities in Nigeria, especially the amazing story of Joe Udofia from Vandrezzer Energy, who shared his story briefly about how his company has been supported by SPDC’s local content initiatives in Nigeria and has become a major industry player in just six years. This was particularly interesting for "diasporians" with active plans of returning to the continent.
TEDxEuston Salon took place on the 6th of April 2013, at the very cool private members bar in Bank called Eight. A discrete black door in an alley way opened up to a winding staircase which led to a beautifully decorated lounge. The dimly lit den began to fill with guests some stood waiting and talking, while others sat patiently in the luxurious sofas, tweeting or taking photos.
Our first speaker for TEDxEuston Salon was Chibundu Onuzu author of brilliant book “The Spider King’s daughter’. She began by thanking the host for the introduction but quickly joked saying that the real reason she was asked to speak was because she had convinced 10 of her friends to attend the last TEDxEuston in December last year :). Chibundu’s talk about “talking” was stimulating , it got everyone reconsider the importance of talking, and gave historical examples of how the break-down of communication often leads to problems that could have been avoided if we simply talked, questioned and challenged what is being said. With the increased accessibility of the internet world wide, we are talking more, tweeting, sharing videos and ideas. Talking more has changed and will change our future. If you want to keep talking to her, follow her on twitter @ChibunduOnuzo!
We then showed a TED video, Kakenya Ntaiya, the girl who demanded school. The audience was moved by Kakenya as she described her experience of female genital mutilation (FGM) and her drive for education, and how after studying in the USA, she returned to village to set up a school for young girls who’s lives will be free of FGM and hopefully have a better future. I was later approached by a guest who said they had never really known what FGM was and was truly shocked but inspired by how determined Kakenya was in creating change.
After another short break, Dike-Ogu Chukwumerije, the spoken word poet took the stage and performed 2 poems, Nwoyibo and Okwesilieze which was well received by the audience.
Our final speaker Jessica Horn, author, Women’s Rights activits, and founder of Women’s rights activist and founder of Akiiki Consulting. Jessica had the audience in silence, hanging on every word. She shared hilarious and moving stories the incredible women she had met through her work, and left us with the idea of a "Revolutionary love", a love that can inspire change, break barriers of inequality, and would later appear after a hashtag on the tweets made by many of our guests.
The event was sponsored by Shell. They engaged with the community and shared some of their experience on entrepreneurial opportunities in Nigeria, especially the amazing story of Joe Udofia from Vandrezzer Energy, who shared his story briefly about how his company has been supported by SPDC’s local content initiatives in Nigeria and has become a major industry player in just six years. This was particularly interesting for "diasporians" with active plans of returning to the continent.
If you missed the TEDxEuston Salon, keep a look out for our main TEDxEuston event in December. the date will be announced soooooon!
Thanks to the Oga at the very top Mr Osita Nwegbu (www.ositaphotography.com) for some amazing pictures! All the pictures can be found here! Find below a few to get you going! Enjoy!
Sadly there are no videos from the event because of a security incident after the event....bear with us!
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