TEDxAuckland Returns with another Stellar Line-Up for 2015
Wednesday, 11 March 2015, 11:04 am
Press Release: TEDxAuckland
TEDxAuckland Returns with another Stellar Line-Up for 2015
TEDxAuckland is back for another year of inspiring stories and ideas worth talking about.
The first round of confirmed speakers are: Riley & Steve Hathaway of Young Ocean Explorers, Billie Jordan, founder of dance sensations Hip Op-eration, Dr Siouxsie Willis, a Bioluminescence expert, Shaun Hendy of Te Pūnaha Matatini, Lisa Matissoo-Smith, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Sir Bob Harvey, respected leader in both creative arts and politics, and Janette Searle, founder of ‘Take My Hands’.
The event, which will be held on Saturday, May 2nd at the Victory Convention Centre, is designed to open Aucklanders’ minds to new ideas through storytelling, sustainable-thinking and innovation. It comes off the back of exciting and hugely successful sold-out past TEDxAuckland events.
Organiser Elliott Blade is continuing to build on the momentum, further solidifying the platform that sees New Zealanders’ innovative ideas and stories told on the global TEDx stage.
“TEDxAuckland has become the leading platform and pipeline for the propagation of New Zealand ideas, creativity, innovation and culture to the rest of the world” says Blade.
“Our mission at TEDxAuckland is to make it the Pacific’s leading platform of great ideas, storytelling, creativity and actionable innovation to the rest of the world; to create and foster a sense of community amongst the people and organisations who have gathered (and continue to gather) around this event and to provide a cultural focus and impetus for conversation and debate”.
Previous TEDxAuckland talks featured on YouTube have garnered over 1 million hits, with stories such as Paul Wood’s ‘What’s Your Prison?’ receiving over 120,000 views alone.
Dr. Michelle Dickinson, another 2012 speaker, was recently awarded the Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize, and recently started a new initiative with 2014 speaker Vaughan Rowsell, (CEO & Founder of Vend), called OMGTech!, a program that seeks to provide technology training to kids, opening up a world of future tech to Kiwis.
It is these initiatives and community that highlights the TEDxAuckland legacy. While only a few years old, it continues to be a launch pad for world-changing kiwi ideas worth spreading.
With an already stellar line up and further speakers to be announced, TEDxAuckland 2015 will be a not-to-miss event. Tickets go on sale, Wednesday March 11th on EventFinder – click here for details.
Partners confirmed for TEDxAuckland 2015 are AUT University, Eventfinda, MYOB and Invivo Wines.
Speakers already confirmed are:
Dr. Siouxsie Wiles - Microbiologist and Bioluminescence expert.
Shaun Hendy - Founding Director of Te Pūnaha Matatini, a Centre of Research Excellence hosted by the University of Auckland.
Riley & Steve Hathaway – Ambassadors and presenters of ‘Young Ocean Explorers’.
Lisa Matisoo-Smith - Professor of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago.
Janette Searle – founder of ‘Take My Hands’, a charitable organisation that redistributes prosthetic, orthotic and medical equipment to those in need.
Sir Bob Harvey – veteran leader in the New Zealand creative arts and politics.
Billie Jordan – founder of Hip Op-eration.
For more info on TEDxAuckland, head to tedxauckland.com. Tickets are available here.