Speakers & Performers
Speakers at TEDxSydney 2010 will be asked to deliver their Idea Worth Spreading in somewhere between 3 and 15 minutes. Hundreds were nominated, but less than 20 people can be given this opportunity in 2010. Set out below are the people that we have booked for TEDxSydney 2010 … a diverse group of thinkers gathererd from all over Australia. If you have someone in mind who you think might be just right for 2011, feel free to nominate them HERE.
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Rob Adams
As Director of Design & Urban Environment for the City of Melbourne with nearly 40 years experience as a practising architect and urban designer, Rob has produced a large number of strategic urban design solutions and projects in addition to design-research based urban projects and strategies, and has attracted over 100 state and national awards for excellence. A champion of both the arts and environmental sustainability he has worked to ensure that good urban design is established as a platform for city development into the 21st Century.
More about Rob HERE
Glenn Albrecht
Glenn Albrecht is Professor of Sustainability at Murdoch University in Perth Western Australia. He is a transdisciplinary philosopher with a focus on the intersection of ecosystem and human health. He is the author of many book chapters and academic papers on environmental and animal ethics, social ecology and the existential impacts of environmental transformation. Glenn has become internationally well known for creating the concept of ‘solastalgia’ defined as the distress and loss of solace connected to a person’s lived experience of the chronic desolation of a loved home environment by transformational agents such as mining and climate change. Solastalgia is now widely applied in academic contexts and has also inspired creativity in art, literature and music.
More about Glenn HERE
Amanda Barnard
Amanda is the leader of the Virtual Nanoscience Laboratory at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Using thermodynamic theory and first principles computer simulations, her current research includes predicting the properties and environmental stability of nanoparticles, and their interactions with natural ecosystems. For her work she has recently won a 2008 L’Oreal Australia “For Women in Science” Prize, the 2009 Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics from the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, the 2009 Mercedes Benz Environmental Research Award and the 2009 Malcolm McIntosh Award from the Prime Minister of Australia for the Physical Scientist of the Year, and the 2010 Frederick White Prize from the Australian Academy of Sciences.
More about Amanda HERE
Mahalia Barnes
The eldest daughter of iconic Australian rock singer-songwriter Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia has been obsessed with soul music since her teens. However, being the daughter of Australia’s most popular singer presents its own set of problems. “That’s why I’ve taken my time,” says Mahalia, now in her early 20’s. About eight years ago she started doing her own gigs in soul and jazz clubs around Sydney. Through those club shows she has established her own network of musicians, and her own unique style.
More about Mahalia HERE
William Barton
William is one of Australia’s leading didjeridu players and composers and is a powerful advocate for the wider perception of his cultural traditions. Born in Mount Isa, he was taught the instrument by his uncle, an elder of the Waanyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga tribes of western Queensland. At 17 years, William played his first classical concert with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Since 2001 he has collaborated with Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe. Sculthorpe’s Requiem (2004), performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and at the UK’s Lichfield Festival, was composed with William in mind, while Earth Cry, Songs of Sea and Sky, Mangrove, Kakadu, and From Ubirr were re-arranged to include didjeridoo. He continues to appear at music festivals and concert halls in Australia and around the world.
More about William HERE
The Bonettes
The Bonettes made their accidental debut on a farm in Cowra, NSW in 2007. Three ladies, three beehives wigs, three black dresses and one hit song … “Can’t Hurry Love”. Now an all star band featuring members of such indie outfits as “The Pip Branson Corporation”, “El Mopa”, “Kid Cornered”, “Sounds Like Sunset” and “The High Highs” the Bonettes showcase a full repertoire, badass dance moves and a whole lotta bling.
More about The Bonettes HERE
Rachel Botsman
Rachel is the co-author of the upcoming book “What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption” (Harper Collins, September 2010). She consults, writes and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing, through current and emerging peer-to-peer technologies, and how it can transform the way we live. Rachel has lived and worked in the UK, USA and Australia. She graduated with a BFA (Hons) from the University of Oxford and completed her post-graduate studies at Harvard University.
More about Rachel HERE
Michael Cathcart
Michael is a writer and broadcaster with a long association with the Australian Centre and the ABC. As a historian, he is best-known for his acclaimed abridgment of Manning Clark’s six-volume classic, A History of Australia (1993). His latest book is The Water Dreamers: The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent (Text, August 2009). It tells the story of how settler Australians attempted to transform this dry continent and how it, in turn, changed them. It is, he says, “a story of how we learned to belong.”
More about Michael HERE
Sebastian Chan
Seb lives several lives. In his day job he is the Head of Digital, Social and Emerging Technologies at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. His other interests include electronic music and digital art. Coming from a background in social policy, journalism and media criticism as well as information technology, he has been building and producing websites and interactive media since the mid 1990s. He was also a member of the Australian Government’s Government 2.0 Taskforce.
More about Seb HERE
FourPlay String Quartet
FourPlay String Quartet defy convention and stereotyping. As much a band as a string quartet, they blur the boundaries between styles and genres while maintaining their own original and true sound. FourPlay perform covers by a diverse array of bands; from The Strokes and Radiohead to Charles Mingus, Robert Johnson and many, many more. They also write their own original compositions inspired by rock, pop, post-rock, neo-classical, jazz, klezmer, swing, folk-tronica, hip hop and more. No musical stone is left unturned.
More about FourPlay HERE
Missy Higgins
In a world littered with disposable pop Missy Higgins is a welcome relief. passionate, sincere and proudly Australian. The 26 year old singer/songwriter from Melbourne has enjoyed phenomenal success in her homeland in spite – or perhaps because – of shunning the usual synthetic packaging and tabloid tackiness. Instead she’s adopted a more timeless approach, relying on her undeniable songs and unforgettable live performances to build a genuine and gimmick free connection with her audience. In 2010 the “Sound of White” was named in the Top 5 of the “End of decade Top 100 Album Chart”.
More about Missy HERE
Jon Jureidini
Jon is a child psychiatrist, trained in philosophy. He is the Head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at Women’s & Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy at Flinders University of South Australia. Jon has been a noisy advocate for children and adults in immigration detention. He is critical of the over-use of diagnosis and medication for distressed children, but optimistic that compassionate parents, doctors and teachers can make a difference to children’s well-being.
More about Jon HERE
Michael Kirby
Before his retirement from the High Court of Australia in February 2009, Michael was Australia’s longest serving judge. He has been the inaugural Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission; a judge of the Federal and President of the NSW Court of Appeal. In addition, he has held numerous international posts, including as President of the International Commission of Jurists and Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia. Currently, Michael serves as a member of the UNAIDS Panel on Human Rights and HIV.
More about Michael HERE
Andrew Kuper
Andrew is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of LeapFrog, the world’s first microinsurance fund, hailed by former President Bill Clinton as “The Insurer to the Poor”. LeapFrog is working to reach 25 million low-income people in Africa and Asia with insurance, 15 million of whom are women and children, while generating strong profits for its investors. Andrew’s profit-with-purpose approach has made him a unique leader and innovator in the movement to deliver life-changing financial services to the world’s poor. Andrew has authored two books on governance and globalisation, Democracy Beyond Borders (Oxford) and Global Responsibilities (Routledge).
More about Andrew HERE
Nigel Marsh
Nigel is the bestselling author of “Fat, Forty and Fired” and “Overworked and Underlaid”, one of the co-founders of Earth Hour, and the Regional Group CEO of Y&R Brands ANZ. In 2005 he came second last in the Bondi to Bronte ocean race.
More about Nigel HERE
Jonathan Marshall
Jonathan is an Australian Research Council supported anthropologist situated at the University of Technology Sydney and is currently studying the disordering effects of computer technology in the workplace and in society generally. He has previously received a grant from the ARC to study the uses of gender in online environments. He has also written about the history of Western science and the occult, and the relationship between psychology and climate change.
More about Jonathan HERE
Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow is a co-founder of The Chaser, a satirical media empire which rivals Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp in all fields except power, influence, popularity and profitability. He now works as part of the Chaser creative team and, for his sins, its Managing Director, as well as working independently in the media. Staying true to the Chaser corporate motto, “Striving for mediocrity in a world of excellence”, Julian has worked with the Chaser team on all its media projects, including the internationally popular Olympics parody site silly2000.com, a decade’s worth of Chaser Annuals, and various radio and stage shows. Due mainly to others’ unavailability, Julian was invited to give the 2009 Andrew Olle Media Lecture. The lecture was described as “excellent” by his mother. Julian hopes one day to leave the media to pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer again.
More about Julian HERE
Mary Victor O’Reeri
Mary Victor O’Reeri lives and works in the remote north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia. As a traditional owner, educator, UN delegate, communicator and natural entrepreneur, Mary works with her people to transform relationships with governments, NGOs, businesses and individuals. In 2009, Mary co-created the Blank Page Summit on Suicide – a unique collaborative gathering held on her traditional Nyul Nyul homelands. The Summit brought together 150 influential Australians from across the country to unite in breakthrough thinking about the preventable tragedy of suicide. In July 2010 Mary will again co-host the Blank Page Summit Hard Yarn based on the theme that Closing the gap means no more muckin’ around.
More about Mary HERE
Sarah Jane Pell
Sarah Jane is an artist-researcher inspired by the creative potentials of extreme environments, making use of undersea conditions to carry out human performance and behaviour studies and poetic events. She uses various interdisciplinary tools and protocols, from dance and performance technology to live art and commercial diving, to further our understanding of humans in these spaces. She explores connections between the “neoaquatic” human endeavours and the emergence of the 21st century “lunarsapien”. Dr. Pell is an official aquanaut/artist/researcher crew member of “The League of New Worlds’ ATLANTICA 1 Expedition”.
More about Sarah Jane HERE
Mr.Percival
A vocal artist of the highest order Mr.Percival takes his live audiences on a ride at every performance. With the use of a looping pedal he has made a name for himself at festivals, and concert halls around Australia. His friend and mentor Jimmy Barnes has this to say … “Mr.Percival is a unique act. The things he does by himself on record as well as live I can’t even begin to think about without being very confused. He is a great singer who has come up with a completely new way of presenting his songs and his spirit to the world. I for one am a fan and wait with anticipation to see what he will come up with next.”
More about Mr.Percival HERE
Greig Pickhaver (aka H.G. Nelson)
Actor, comedian and writer Greig Pickhaver (also known as H.G. Nelson) is one half of iconic Australian sports comedy duo “Roy & HG”. The award-winning duo originally teamed up in 1986 for the ABC Triple J radio comedy program “This Sporting Life”, which was broadcast nation-wide for 22 years and led to several successful TV spinoffs. Pickhaver is a graduate of Flinders University. After a stint as a roadie for Australian rocker Billy Thorpe in the early 1970s, Pickhaver moved into acting and comedy and first developed the HG Nelson character while performing in the Melbourne radio sports comedy show “Punter To Punter” in the early 1980s.
More about Greig HERE
Lars Rasmussen
Lars is a member of Google’s technical staff, based in the Sydney office, and with his brother Jens is co-founder of the Google Wave effort. In early 2003, the brothers co-founded a mapping start-up, Where 2 Technologies, which was acquired by Google in October of 2004 and later became Google Maps, now used by millions of people around the world. Lars holds a Ph.D. in theoretical computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. He has possibly the world’s least developed sense of direction, and consistently types faster than he can spell.
More about Lars HERE
Craig Reucassel
Craig Reucassel was a founding editor of The Chaser newspaper. With the Chaser he has gone on to do shows on the ABC such as The Election Chaser, CNNNN and The Chaser’s War on Everything. He also hosted the drive shift Today Today on Triple J for two years. Craig is married has three children and plans to sleep in 2020.
More about Craig HERE
Bobby Singh
Born and raised in England, Bobby spent a great deal of his childhood in Mumbai studying at Sangeet Mahabharati, an institute of music started by the great tabla maestro Pandit Nikhil Ghosh. Recognised with a great talent at a young age, Bobby became a student of Ghosh’s senior disciple Aneesh Pradhan, now one of the most sought after tabla players in the world. Through Aneesh’s guidance, Bobby was nurtured into a mature and internationally renowned tabla player, both in traditional Indian classical music and cross cultural genres, and is renowned throughout Australia and internationally for his work with acts that straddle the divide between tradition and modernity.
More about Bobby HERE
Brett Solomon
Brett Solomon is co-founder and Executive Director of Accessnow.org – a new global movement for digital freedom. Born out of the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian election, Access uses cutting edge technologies to help people living behind the firewall, provides thought leadership on the new frontier of digital rights, and is building a mass global citizens’ movement which advocates for internet freedom. Brett was Campaign Director at Avaaz.org, a global political web force which has rapidly grown into the largest online activist community in the world at 3.6 million subscribers in all 193 countries. Brett was the first Executive Director of GetUp!, an Australian political organisation of over 300,000 people, worked as Campaign Coordinator at Amnesty and founded Oxfam’s International Youth Parliament.
More about Brett HERE
Michael Wesley
Michael is the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy. Previously he was Professor of International Relations and Director of the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University, and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Hong Kong and Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China. His most recent books are Energy Security in Asia (Routledge, 2007); The Howard Paradox: Australian Diplomacy in Asia 1996-2006 (ABC Books, 2007); and (with Allan Gyngell) Making Australian Foreign Policy, 2nd edition, (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
More about Michael HERE
