Theme: Explore, Dream, Discover

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).

The Aurora Centre for the Performing Arts
151 Greers Road
Christchurch, Canterbury
New Zealand

La Petite Manouche

Robbie Averill and Burke Goffe are La Petite Manouche, a unique blend of Parisian war-time gypsy jazz with elements of classical, folk, modern jazz and more. Each an accomplished guitarist in his own right, Robbie and Burke's music is listened to by enthusiasts from all walks of life, from all around the world. La Petite Manouche have produced two studio albums. The most recent, Odd Times, Odd Places, is a step towards modern jazz and a shake in the direction of world percussion with the addition of friends Tim Sellars on cajon, pandeiro, shakers and ankle nuts, and Henare Kaa on congas, claps, laughs and occasionally vocals, as well as international violinist Fiona Pears, following an immensely successful 2012 tour performing as a gypsy jazz trio. lapetitemanouche.com

Silhouette Adagio

At just 4 years old, Kate began training as a competitive figure skater—but at age 10 decided to focus on ballet instead, first under Ann Judson and then full time at the International Ballet Academy directed by Sherilyn Kennedy and Carl Myers. She has trained in a large variety of dance styles and performed with companies such as the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Epic Entertainment, Chant et Danse and the Crusader Cheerleaders. Kate now tutors classical ballet and senior jazz at The Dance Academy (TDA) in Christchurch. Lei’ataua is a keen rugby player who was selected twice for the Heartland XV Divisionals, but he has put rugby on hold to become Kate’s Adagio partner and run Silhouette alongside her. Since placing second on New Zealand’s Got Talent 2013 the pair perform for many corporate, public and private events being described as ‘Moments of Gold.’ silhouette-adagio-nz.com facebook.com/silhouetteadagionz

SWARM

Bridget McKendry

Textile designer Bridget McKendry has turned her passion for traditional crafts into a career in hi-tech digital fabrication. From an early age she learned about textiles from rural spinners and weavers; eventually, she studied textile design at Otago Polytechnic. In 1994, when Bridget was introduced to the Internet, she recognised that pixel art for designing icons was no different to textile design, and electronics was no longer a separate thing from craft. Inspired by Leah Beuchley's work at MIT, Bridget began experimenting with designing eTextiles circuits using conductive thread. She found sewing and textiles to be a far more engaging context for some people to learn about electronics, and developed teaching resources for workshops. Bridget spoke at FAB8 2012, the annual conference of the MIT Fab Lab network, and is currently co-director of Fabriko, a social enterprise set up to make fabrication technology accessible to all learners. @pixelbrid facebook.com/fablabxchc

Jenni Adams

Jenni Adams is an Associate Professor in the Physics and Astronomy department at the University of Canterbury. Her research interest is in astroparticle physics: the interface between astrophysics and particle physics, where the goal is to learn about the fundamental constituents of matter using the universe as a laboratory. She earned a BSc Hons from the University of Canterbury and DPhil in theoretical physics from Oxford University, where she was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to study in 1992. She then became a Post Doctoral Fellow at Uppsala University in Sweden, before returning to the University of Canterbury in 1998.

Nick Williamson

For the last 20 years, Nick Williamson has forged his career working at the intersection of Planning, Surveying, Law, and Spatial Science. Much of that time has been spent in and around local government, although he spends a lot of time talking to ‘ordinary people’ as well. His specialist area has been acting as interpreter where lay people and technocrats collide. His current interest areas and passion are best described as #opengov #agile #civichacking #GOV2.0 #opendata #startup #crowdsourcing #tacticalurbanism #bigdata #geodesign #placemaking #GIS #storytelling #indigenous #socialmedia #DataVIZ #crowdfunding #augmentedreality #public #entrepreneurship #infographics #placerace #LoveItHere! mashmatix.com

Siouxsie Wiles

Award-winning scientist and communicator Dr Siouxsie Wiles describes herself as a microbiologist and bioluminescence enthusiast, but, to others, she is “that pink-haired science lady”. Head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, Siouxsie combines her twin passions to understand infectious diseases. In a nutshell, Siouxsie and her team make nasty bacteria glow in the dark. Siouxsie is also interested in demystifying science for the general public; she is a blogger, podcaster and radio commentator, and has teamed up with Australian graphic artist Luke Harris to make short animations describing nature’s amazing glowing creatures and the many uses of bioluminescence in science.