Superheroes, Futurists and Entrepreneurs at TEDxChristchurch

Superheroes, Futurists and Entrepreneurs to Speak at TEDxChristchurch 2013

Launch event was held today at EPIC

• TEDxChristchurch 2013: Curiouser and Curiouser to be held Saturday, 19 October
• Initial wave of speakers announced
• Applications to attend now open
• Special ticket price for youth attendees
• ASB on board as Platinum Sponsor
• Event to be livestreamed on press.co.nz

TEDxChristchurch 2013 was launched today with a viewing party of TEDGlobal and the introduction of the first wave of speakers for the main event coming up in October.

The speakers announced for the October event include comedian Dai Henwood, superhero Flat Man, filmmaker Slavko Martinov, futurist Stuart Candy, entrepreneur Selwyn Pellet, poet Ali Jacs, Nvader founder Daniel Walker, musician Jen Turner, and Ben Uffindell, editor of The Civilian. National Radio's Kathryn Ryan will be the MC.

The theme for this year’s TEDxChristchurch was also revealed: Curiouser and Curiouser. “The theme is an obvious reference to Alice in Wonderland,” said Curator and Licensee Kaila Colbin. “But it is also a challenge to our audience: we want people to be curiouser, to be ever more interested in the world we live in and the extraordinary people who surround us.”

The attendees being challenged are not your ordinary conference-goers. Securing one of the coveted tickets to the event involves an application process: a short, 3-question form to help the organisers understand their guests.

“It’s one of the questions we get asked often: why make people apply?” Colbin revealed. “The truth is, our audience is like no other audience. They are interested, open-minded, engaged, and ready to be active participants on the day -- and perhaps to carry forward some of the ideas worth spreading that come out of it. Their mindset is what makes TEDxChristchurch so powerful, and the application process is a big part of that.”

Applications are now open to the public at www.tedxchristchurch.com.

Organisers also revealed a discount programme for youth attendees: while general admission tickets come in at $125, tickets for those aged 25 and under are just $25. Kimberley Gilmour, TEDxChristchurch Youth Co-ordinator, confirmed the importance of having young people at the event. “The younger you are, the more essential it is to be exposed to a range of ideas and perspectives, from our local area and around the world. They are the ones on whom this experience will have the biggest impact; they are the ones who in turn can have the biggest impact on our world.”

This year, TEDxChristchurch welcomes ASB as Platinum Sponsor. “Part of our mission is to help Kiwis succeed, which is why we love TEDxChristchurch,” said ASB Regional Manager Peter Devine. “Christchurch is changing so rapidly -- TEDxChristchurch is an outstanding platform for cross-pollinating ideas and sparking innovation.”

The Press has also increased its support of TEDxChristchurch, confirming that the October event will be livestreamed on press.co.nz. “This is a terrific opportunity for us to highlight local, national and international thought leaders, to provoke informed conversation, and to offer quality content to our online audience,” said Joanna Norris, Editor of The Press. “The rebuild of Christchurch has given us a rare opportunity to consider some exciting and innovative ideas for our region. Now is the time to really challenge ourselves to consider new ways of living, working and recreating, and TEDxChristchurch is a chance to do this. It’s a perfect fit for us.”

The following speakers were announced at today’s event:

Flatman:
Your local superhero-in the flesh. Flatman, Christchurch’s own superhero, has become one of Christchurch’s most caring volunteers through his good deeds to help students following the earthquakes. Flatman started off by dropping off food packages to students’ doorsteps, leaving a note, and disappearing in the dark of night. After gaining accolades from students, he continues his generous nature by teaching school children about kind acts and doing good for others. Although his identity will remain secret, he will continue to show kindness and do good deeds for the city of Christchurch.

Slavko Martinov:
In his filmmaking debut, Slavko Martinov made quite a statement with his 9-year effort entitled Propaganda. A fake North Korean film, it caused a stir and came under investigation by the South Korean government. Eugene Change, the star of the film, had his life turned upside down. The film had its world premiere at an A-list festival IDFA in November, and the story ran on 3rd Degree in April.

Stuart Candy:
Dr. Stuart Candy, Ph.D, is currently the Foresight and Innovation Leader for Australasia at the design and engineering firm Arup, and adjunct professor in the Design Strategy MBA at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Over the past decade, he has worked with governments around the world - from Melbourne to Korea, Hawaii, Singapore, and the United Kingdom - and on projects for General Electric, IDEO, the Sydney Opera House, the TED Conference, and the United Nations Rio+20 Summit. He became the first research fellow of the Long Now Foundation in 2006. Stuart received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa for work on experiential scenarios, an approach to immersive storytelling at the intersection of futures, design, and politics. Originally from Australia, he also holds an LL.B. and a B.A. in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Melbourne.

Selwyn Pellett:
On his return to New Zealand from corporate life in Singapore in 2001, Selwyn decided he had enough of working for multinationals; he co-founded two companies, Endace Ltd and Prolificx Ltd (now iMarda) with $250,000, and led both companies as CEO. These two companies have collectively exported close to half a billion dollars of premium margin (70% +) exports since. Both have also had to make the difficult technology and cultural changes required to move from a hardware product to platforms to full services companies as well as from freeform start-ups to adolescent corporates. Endace’s suite of products for intelligence agencies, banks and telecommunications companies led it to the first and still only New Zealand company to list on the UK’s AIM exchange.

Ali Jacs:
Ali Jacs is the 2012 New Zealand National Poetry Slam Champion. A native of Wellington, she found her first spoken word/performance poetry community in Canada and has since played an integral role in building Wellington’s poetry community. She has competed in competitions in the USA, Canada, and Australia, and has recently self-published her first chapbook Romantic Pragmatism and in 2012, she started the popular monthly Poetry in Motion series. She is passionate about the potential of spoken word poetry to lead positive change.

Dai Henwood:
A Wellington native, Dai Henwood is a stand-up comedian that is currently a Team Captain on TV3’s 7 Days. Trained in Theater and Film at Victoria University, Dai won the Best New Face Award in 1999’s Pulp Comedy on TV2 and the prestigious TV2 Billy T Award in 2002. He stared in his own TV show on C4TV called ‘Insert Video Here’ as well as the TV series ‘Roll the Dai’ and followed that with a 2007 win of the coveted Fred Award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

Daniel Walker:
After 20 years of working for the New Zealand police, Daniel Walker has spent the past five years working exclusively on the international arena investigating the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and children in more than a dozen countries. Daniel has worked with the FBI and CIA on a covert basis and has become adept at infiltrating the organized criminal networks responsible for the trafficking of women and children into the global multi billion-dollar commercial sex industry. His efforts have resulted in the rescue of hundreds of victims and prosecution of many perpetrators.

Ben Uffindell:
Ben Uffindell, editor and writer of The Civillian, is a former University of Canterbury student who created a satirical website in 2013 that takes current events in New Zealand and the world and turns them on their head to create laughable, humorous articles. His satire is popular with viewers of all ages, and The Civilian has been featured on television and news articles around the country.

Jen Turner:
At only 17 years old, Jen Turner is Christchurch's future superstar. Jen has already written more than seventy songs, and is emerging well beyond her years as one of our world class singer-songwriters. Under the management of Fledge, Jen is working towards commercial releases in 2013. You can hear her beautiful voice and mastery of melody for yourself on YouTube, under the username 'fledgefilms'.

TEDGlobal is hosted every year in the UK and will be aired at locations worldwide via TEDxLive.

TEDxLive is an extension of the TEDxprogram, launched by TED in 2010. TEDxLive events are TEDx events built around the live webcast of TED Conferences. TEDxLive events enable TED enthusiasts all over the world to experience live sessions of the TED Conference; events can be simple viewing events, and may also host live speakers.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with many initiatives.

At a TED conference, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. TED speakers have included Roger Ebert, Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Brian Greene, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Three major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Vancouver, Canada, simultaneous with TEDActive, in Whistler, BC; and the TEDGlobal Conference takes place each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

On TED.com, talks from TED conferences are shared with the world for free as TED Talks videos. A new TED Talk is posted every weekday. Through the Open Translation Project, TED Talks are subtitled by volunteers worldwide into more than 90 languages. Through our distribution networks, TED Talks are shared on TV, radio, Netflix and many websites.

The TEDx initiative grants free licenses to people around the world to organize TED-style events in their communities with TED Talks and live speakers. More than 5,000 TEDx events have been held, and selected talks from these events are also turned into TED Talks videos.

The annual TED Prize grants $1 million to an exceptional individual with a wish to change the world. The TED Fellows program helps world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. TED-Ed creates short video lessons by pairing master teachers with animators, for use in classroom instruction or independent learning.

About TEDx, x=independently organised event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event.
The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized, subject to certain rules and regulations.

This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED.

ENDS

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