Saturday 5 November saw a mesmerising series of TEDx Southampton talks at The Berry Theatre, Hedge End, which centred on the theme of ‘Self and Society’.
Run in partnership with several area-wide organisations, the event was led by Dr James Dyke and Dr Alan Wong from the University, and featured 14 thought-provoking speakers, with the environmentalist and Guardian columnist George Monbiot headlining.
The TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) organization runs conferences across the world. Over one billion people have watched the online TED talks given by speakers such as Brian Cox, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Bono.
The TEDx Southampton talks (the ‘x’ stands for an independently organised TED event, which share the same high-production values), were delivered to a packed audience, with topics ranging from ‘Breaking the Spell of Loneliness’ and ‘Mine! – the Power of Ownership’, to ‘The Burger Apocalypse’ and ‘How to Rebuild our Civilisation’.
Host and curator James Dyke, who lectures on Sustainability Science at the University, anticipates this will be the first of many such high-impact events:
“What we have managed to do for our first City-wide show is bring together a tremendously diverse and extremely talented range of speakers. They are scientists, journalists, authors, artists, photographers, musicians and community leaders. Some are very well known already. Others we hope will get some of the exposure and recognition they deserve.
“The demand for the show has blown us all away, with the 300+ capacity theatre selling out many weeks ago. This demonstrates the appetite for events like this in Southampton. People want to be entertained, yes, but they also like being challenged and engaging with exciting new ideas.”
