Registration opens for TEDxEuston 2012

It is that time of the year again...as we open registration for our biggest TEDxEuston yet!


Visit our brand new website to read the profiles of 13 exciting speakers who are challenging conventional wisdom on the continent. From the arts to archaeology, from social venture fund managers to social entrepreneurs, from newspaper publishers to digital artists, from music producers to public sector leaders, from writers to psychiatrists and even some royalty - you will not find a more exciting, eclectic mix of speakers focusing on Africa anywhere in the world in 2012 - that's our promise!. Visit the website and see for yourself.

The new TEDxEuston website

Once you have made your decision to attend, don't put it off. It will be your best investment of the year - promise! Register NOW.

Tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. Last year we sold out way in advance and sadly had to turn away hundreds of interested attendees. You are the reason we do this, so we have substantially increased capacity and moved the event to an exciting new venue in London "The Mermaid" with a beautiful view on the Thames. Registration will include full access to the event, a light breakfast, 3 course lunch and the after party, and all the speakers have promised to stay through the day to brainstorm further, sign their books, and you may even get to dance with them at the after party! When the tickets are gone, they are gone. Share with your friends and see you in December! Your TEDxEuston team is working hard to make it an unforgettable experience for you!

TEDxEuston 2012 Opens - June 16 2012

On the 16 on June 2012, we will reveal another exciting line-up of speakers for TEDxEuston 2012!

As usual, at this years's TEDxEuston, we have another exciting line up of speakers; great thinkers and dynamic individuals, all creating a new brand of leadership for African communities. This year’s event will take place at The Mermaid, a magnificent state-of-the-art conference venue, overlooking the River Thames. Our theme this year is; “Challenging Conventional Wisdom”.

Mark your calenders and don't be disappointed! The link to register will be on our brand new website launching on June 16. In order not to miss anything - follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Be ready for more exciting, profound, and entertaining ideas out of Africa by some of the brightest minds around!

Kayode Fayemi @ TEDxEuston 2012 - A pseudo-dichotomy between activism and politics

Until TEDxEuston 2011, we had never had a serving politician on stage. Politicians by definition always have an agenda and it would be unfair of us to ask them to stick to a single idea during a TEDxEuston talk. However there was something particularly compelling about  Kayode Fayemi's story that we could not ignore. Like many of us, he was previously resident in London. Before the age of blogs and Twitter, he was a prominent leader of the Nigerian opposition to military rule in exile. Kayode was  responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International & Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements in exile. An account of the process and roles played in the setting up of Radio Kudirat can be found in his "Out Of The Shadows", which was available at the event. From London he eventually returned home and got his hand "dirty" with politics. He showed that it was not enough to be activists from a distance but at some point, one had to engage...and engage he did!. On the day, he appeared without the entourage of praise-singers that we have to come to expect with Nigerian politicians.

Watch his talk at TEDxEuston 2012 HERE...

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has been the Governor of Ekiti State in Nigeria since October 2010 after winning a three-year challenge against his political opponent in the 2007, alleging electoral rigging. Prior to entering into partisan politics, Kayode Fayemi was Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, a research and training institution dedicated to the study and promotion of democratic development, peace-building and human security in Africa. Dr Fayemi attended Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti and received degrees in History, Politics and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife in Nigeria, and a Doctorate in War Studies from King’s College, University of London, England. A prominent leader of the Nigerian opposition to military rule, he was responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International & Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements in exile. He was the main technical adviser to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel), which investigated past human rights abuses in Nigeria and also on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform as well as a member, Africa Policy Advisory Panel of the British Government. Dr Fayemi also serves on the Governing Board of the Open Society Justice Institute. In his book "Out of the Shadows" he chronicles the amazing struggle for democracy in Nigeria

Toyin Saraki at TEDxEuston - An Unlikely Activist

When we first heard Mrs Toyin Saraki speak on CNN's African voices, we knew there was something special about this lady who belonged to an elite group of women married to state governors in Nigeria called "First Ladies". Before we approached her to speak at TEDxEuston, we examined the work she did in detail and her commitment to the health of women and children which was the focus her efforts. We found an unusual commitment to improving their fate. Unlike most other women who found themselves in her position, her work has not faded after the days close to the corridors of power but it has grown from strength to strength. So, how did all this come about? How did a woman born into relative privilege develope an instinct and perseverance that appears to grow stronger by the day? We asked ourselves the same question....

To find out - watch her talk here!

Mrs. Toyin Saraki is the Founder-President of The WellBeing Foundation, a prominent front-line maternal and child health focused Non-Governmental Organization in Nigeria. She was until recently the First Lady of Kwara State in Nigeria. Having held various leadership positions in humanitarian organizations for close to two decades, Mrs Saraki now dedicates much of her time to the work of The WellBeing Foundation and various networks of organizations that the NGO works with. She constantly advocates for accountability and improved public health policies, better working relationships between NGOs and the continuum of care for maternal, newborn and child health in communities. These efforts have made Mrs. Saraki one of the most heard voices on every issue relating to the health of mothers and children in Nigeria. Her Wellbeing Foundation Africa's 24-7-365 MDG Countdown to 2015 Advocacy And Action Campaign has integrated a strong advocacy profile with a unique model of community participation, direct action, effective communication and the development of innovative funding mechanisms in a resource constrained environment, to ensure universal access to quality basic healthcare. Mrs. Saraki gained her bachelor’s degree in law at the University of London School Of Oriental and African Studies and her masters’ degree in International Economic Law at University of London King’s College. She has researched and promoted the rights of women and children. In 2007 she was appointed Chair of the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA) Committee on the Protection of Children while more recently she has taken up a key roles as a supporter for the United Nations Secretary General's Every Woman Every Child Effort, as Board Chair of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, Member of the Africa Justice Foundation and The Global Foundation For The Elimination Of Domestic Violence.

SAVE THE DATE! TEDxEuston holds on December 1 2012

We are excited to announce the date of TEDxEuston 

December 1 2012 

The theme of this year's event is:

"Challenging Conventional Wisdom"

...and will take place at beautiful 

MERMAID

Registration details out soon!

Helen Lieberman @ TEDxEuston 2011 - Unlikely Heroes

We live in incredibly amazing times. In our generation, we have witnessed, to many people’s surprise, a relatively peaceful transition in South Africa from apartheid to an independent, free and multicultural country. But, have you ever wondered ....what the majority of people that grew up in privilege during the apartheid years do or not do all those years? One person that did not look away was Helen Lieberman. The first time she ventured into a township, Helen Lieberman felt as if the ground had fallen from underneath her. It was the mid-sixties and, like most white South Africans, she had never seen the poverty on the “other” side of the fence. Abandoning her profession as a speech therapist at Groote Schuur Hospital, the young Lieberman chose an alternative path...a path less less trodden. Day after day she returned to Langa and never looked back.

On the day of TEDxEuston 2011 – Helen was one of the first to arrive and sat through all the talks engrossed in every story. This typifies the woman that she is, never accepting praise but always deflecting it to the thousands of unsung heroes she has worked with over the years — the women who have cared unconditionally, often without any compensation, for vulnerable and orphaned children and abandoned seniors, the ones who built their own social service delivery systems when the government wouldn’t.

Listen to her moving talk here – if it means something to you – share it, widely.

Helen Lieberman is the founder and Honorary President of Ikamva Labantu (The Future of our Nation), a South African grassroots organisation, constituted in 1992, during the Apartheid years. Helen is a Speech Therapist by training, but 45 years ago turned her attention to the disenfranchised impoverished South African townships. Today Ikamva Labantu is one of the largest non-profit organisations in South Africa working to develop over 1,000 projects to sustainability. Helen’s work in this field has been recognized internationally. What started off as small and localized initiative has grown over the years into a vast organisation with connections throughout the world. The success of Ikamva Labantu has led to the establishment of international partnerships with a wide range of humanitarian organisations, from universities to large NGOs and major corporations. Friends of Ikamva Labantu have been established in the United States, the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Holland. Helen lives in Cape Town with her husband Michael. She has three children, one each in Cape Town, New York and Melbourne, and six grandchildren.

TEDxEuston team @ TEDxSummit in Doha

This week, two members of our team are in Doha, Qatar for the first ever TEDxSummit. This is a summit of all the TEDx event organisers worldwide to brainstorm on ideas to keep creating the events, the tribe, the community the passion that is changing the way we interact with our world. - the power of "x"! Ill blog about the event later in the week but first to speak about our first day in this incredible city called Doha.

Arriving early on Saturday morning, I went straight into town to look around and wow ...what a sight! Despite the challenges in the global economy there there seemed to be more skyscrapers going up in Doha than anywhere else in the world.

Nothing better encapsulates the transformation going on in Doha than this billboard. I particularly liked the emphasis on "Think".

Most of my morning was spent at the SHELL Research and Technology Centre in the Qatar Science and Technology Park....and what a trip it was. We were taken on a tour round the facility by an amazing group of scientists that shared with us cutting edge science at this facility. What I had here thereto not quite imagined were the incentives offered by Qatar to oil companies to not only move their oil production capacity to Qatar but also their research capacity; from CO2 conservation to Sulphur to new Gas to Liquid fuels....I was in awe not only of the science but of the passion of the scientists and pride in the facility. Of course all this time, thinking of the opportunities lost in Nigeria. Pictures here!

After this I met up with Ike and Maz-Jordan Degadjor of TEDxDzorwulu in Ghana and we headed off to the Museum for Islamic Arts. Now this was a complete eye opener! The Museum of Islamic Art is one of the world’s most complete collections of Islamic artifacts and dedicated to reflecting the full vitality, complexity, and diversity of the arts of the Islamic world. It is a world-class collecting institution - rich in history and art - absolutely beautiful in its design. No surprise as it was designed by Pei, who was coaxed out of retirement to design this. It is was built on the water,  surrounded by a park. Pictures here. 

Then as is with these things - a group naturally came together at the end of the day and headed out to the Souq - a popular old market square in the middle of Doha. Yes, there was no alcohol - but still with the energy in the group - we barely noticed. We had a blast - ably led by out host from Doha - Sheik Uzair! We did just fine with tea and shisha! Pictures here. 

As the first day in Doha came to an end...it felt like a week! But we knew that the best was yet to come. This week ...we would feel the power of "X".....to the power "x". More gist later!