Theme: Community

I believe community is the coming together of students, staff, alumni and those living in the local area whilst celebrating the diversity of cultures, religions and views. At Queen Mary we are proud of our achievements and we would like to celebrate them at our first TEDxQMUL event this summer.

Dola Osilaja
President QMSU

We have six speakers, each one a student or staff member at QMUL.
• Maira Hassan
• James Borrell
• Aidan Peppin
• Bruno Cooke
• Sofa Gradin
• Freeman Fung

If you need any information about the event or how you can get involved please visit http://tedxqmul.com/ or email info@tedxqmul.com.

327 Mile End Road
London, Tower Hamlets, E1 4NS
United Kingdom

Aiden Peppin

Accepting that he can never be a superhero, international secret agent, or astronaut, Aidan is content to be a student. It often takes him quite some time to get into university for his drama classes, because he tends to get distracted by fascinating things along the way. Rainbows utterly baffle him, and a quick Facebook search suggests he’s the only person on the planet to be called Aidan Peppin.

Bruno Cooke

Bruno’s day-to-day research isn’t really into anything. But he’s taking his silly ‘absurdist meta-tragicomedy’ to Edinburgh Fringe in August, so all’s well that ends well. He spends the bulk of his time imagining what Werner Herzog would do in various situations and, at present, reading into evolutionary psychology. He plans on teaching English in China, writing a big novel and cycling to Greece.

Freeman Fung

As a native Hong Kongese, Freeman grew up with a blend of Western culture and Asian culture. Unlike many other first-time travelers visiting Europe, he went to Romania and lived there for two months for a voluntary project. Freeman believes that we do not necessarily need to live in metropolitan cities to call ourselves global citizens; what does matter is the openness of our mind to the world and respect for our differences.

James Borrell

James founded the social enterprise Discover Conservation and is a member of the Inspired50. James’ research has taken him from the Peruvian Amazon to the High Arctic studying everything from critically endangered big cats, to tiny dragonflies and even dwarf trees. James is convinced we are beginning to turn the corner. It is this message of optimism that James will aim to share in his talk.

Maira Hassan

Maira is currently completing her second undergraduate degree (LLB) at Queen Mary. In her spare time, she is an aspiring writer and theatre addict. She cannot help but to eavesdrop in the presence of different languages as her passion to connect with others drives her to learn as many as she can.

Sofa Gradin

Sofa Gradin researches alternatives to capitalism and colonial trade. She has published work on co-operatives and noncapitalist value. Sofa is also active in radical movements that build more egalitarian and democratic spaces in the here and now. Before starting her PhD, she was a musician, song-writing teacher and bicycle dancer. Sofa makes radio at wurldpowur.wordpress.com.