TEDxEuston 2014 Speakers to be announced from Monday September 1

It is finally that time of the year when we offer you the product of months of scrutiny and discussions. We have searched the continent for stories: stories that are ours to own and to tell. Stories that will make you think, smile and strive. We have searched too for the people to tell them - people that we want to hear from, and we know you will too. We want to keep challenging conventional wisdom on perspectives from and about our continent.

Despite the challenges across the continent, we are convinced that there is much more good than bad going on....and this year we will reflect of that famous quote from one of the founding fathers of contemporary Africa; Kwame Nkrumah -  “We face neither East nor West; We face forward". This is a great metaphor for seeking a path that we define and design. A path that is ours. We hope that you'll join us again at TEDxEuston 2014!

It may be better to get you tickets now....

HERE

or you could wait until Monday :) 

Music as a journey - Bumi Thomas at TEDxEustonSalon 2014

Bumi Thomas is a singer/songwriter with an acoustic style composed of a fusion of Jazz, folkore, blues, high life, afro-beat rythms and reggae. Bumi uses her understanding of humanity as well as her interpretation of the journey of the human life as inspiration in her art, to evoke heart-felt feelings and to positively awaken the human emotional spectrum. Listen as she serenades, captivates and engages her audience at the TEDxEuston salon 2014 with her sultry voice. She is a true example of how we can use our unique gifts to stimulate the human consciousness.

Relax, watch, listen and enjoy…here

Missed it? Register now for TEDxEuston 2014!

Precious Simba at TEDxEustonSalon 2014- Should we be complacent about the safety of our schools?

Precious is a Zimbabwean social activist. She is the founder and Programs Director for the Girls Development Initiative, a non-governmental girl empowerment organisation based in Zimbabwe. In 2011, Precious was chosen to participate in the Young African Women Leaders forum headed by Michelle Obama in South Africa. In 2012, she received a ‘Global Women Leaders’ Goldman Sachs; Fortune Global Women Leaders award. Precious did not start out as an activist. She had ambitions in retail and had planned to build on her marketing degree and progress her career with further education in an international MBA specialising in finance. But her career took an interesting twist. Precious introduced her talk with Brigham Young’s famous quote on education: “When you educate a man, you educate a man, when you educate a woman you educate a generation”....and you may think that you know where she was headed to. But you will be surprised...and where her talk ends up! Watch, listen and learn as she encourages us to become more active and less complacent at school, at home, at work by sending out the right messages about African girls and their education, and creating female role models for them to identify with.

Watch her talk here!

Get your tickets for TEDxEuston 2014 here!

Mind The Gender Gap - Naana Otoo-Oyrtey at TEDxEustonSalon 2014

Naana Otoo-Oyrtey MBE is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development (FORWARD). She is a social activist, and women’s rights defender passionate about building young women’s leadership. Naana played a key role in breaking the silence on child marriage in Africa. In her talk which she entitles ‘Mind The Gender Gap’, Naana introduces her TEDxEuston 2014 audience to the issues surrounding educating girls in Africa, particularly within the rural areas. Naana explains how long before the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in Northern Nigeria, the still existing cultural and gender stereotype including education policy and practice continue to impact on female education. Naana draws attention to underlying issues that affect female education such as, child brides, child mothers, school pregnancies and female genital mutilation. Naana says that we need to reflect on the need to bring girls back to school...but it is not just what she said but how she said it!

Watch her talk here.

Get your tickets to TEDxEuston 2014 here.

A vision of floating cities - Kunle Adeyemi at TEDxEustonSalon

Kunlé Adeyemi is a Nigerian architect, urbanist and creative researcher. He is founder and principal of NLÉ, an architecture, design and urbanism practice. He is a self-confessed ‘waterholic’ with an addiction to cities and an obsession for Africa.

In his fascinating talk at TEDxEuston Salon 2014, Kunle explains the relationship between water and cities, highlighting how much of our world is covered by water. He describes in a way only he can, the importance of water on cities and the impact of climate change particularly on African cities. Makoko, Lagos is an excellent example of how an African city based on water was built from virtually nothing, using the local technology notwithstanding various challenges. Lessons learnt from the Makoko project will be used as the model in moving forward with the ‘African Water Cities Project’ using Chicoco Project as a pilot. His talk had some surprising music in between! Nice one...

Watch, listen, enjoy!

A vision of floating cities - Kunle Adeyemi at TEDxEustonSalon

Tickets for TEDxEuston - December 6 2014 available here.