Theme: Changing Currents

TEDx is now in Laos!

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxLaneXangAve, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxLaneXangAve event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

L'Institut Francais du Laos
Avenue Lane Xang
Vientiane, Vientiane, BP 6572
Laos

Amy Chanthaphavong

Ms. Chanthaphavong was the first Laotian-American woman to be crowned Miss Asian America in 2009, the longest running Asian pageant in the U.S. As Queen, she traveled across the U.S. and abroad as a goodwill ambassador and a leader in the Asian American community. She actively utilized her title to bring awareness to social causes such as Human Trafficking, Education, Preservation of the Family Unit and her parents’ native country - Laos.

Anoulak Kittikhoun

Dr. Anoulak Kittikhoun researches, writes and speaks about how ideas shape an organization, nation, region and the world. A political scientist by training, he graduated as an International Valedictorian from the Australian National University and received his Master and Doctor of Philosophy from the CiUniversity of New York. In his past life, he was a staff of the United Nations Secretariat (the first international staff from Laos) and a college professor in New York. He has published on the UN, conflict management, international relations, revolutions and Laos, in which his article won best award from the American Sociological Association. In his current day time, he serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at the Mekong River Commission.

Mike Boddington

Educated in agriculture and economics, Mike Boddington became an academic at London University in 1967 under the tutelage of Professor Gerald Wibberley, the doyen of countryside planning in UK. Mr. Boddington left the sheltered confines of academia and established a rural planning consultancy, in 1972, which took him all over the world. He visited Lao PDR in August 1994 to assess the need and established a project with the Ministry of Health. COPE, a cooperation between the Ministry and international NGOs, was established in 1997. Wanting to have a representative of the Lao disabled community, Mr. Boddington established the Lao Disabled People’s Association in 2001. To generate a longer term, sustainable income for COPE, a Visitor Centre was created in 2008 and recently visited by U.S. State Secretary and President Obama.

Sanva Saephan

Displaced by the Secret War in Laos from 1963 to 1973, tens of thousands of highland Laotians, Mienh and Hmong people made perilous journey across the Mekong River to seek temporary refuge in various camps scattered across Thailand. Sanva was also among one of the refugees and only migrated to Bokeo, a province in the north of Laos, in 1994. While in Singapore, Sanva published his very first book in 2013 titled “Stateless: Diary of a Spirited Boy at Napho Camp” with the proceeds going towards building a much-needed primary school in his hometown. Continuing from the success if his first book, Sanva, in 2014, published another book titled “Transition: A Journey in Laos” with the proceeds going towards constructing a vocational training center for the less fortunate female in Vientiane. Currently, he is the founder of Yaonoy Center, an educational social enterprise, to provide an affordable language enrichment class to students from all walks of life.

Sebastien Perret

Sebastien Perret thinks that both form and contents are equally important. Alongside with a team of 8 passionate Laotians in 2010, he helped build up the first ever emergency ambulance service, literally from scratch. Today, Vientiane Rescue counts 220 volunteers and helped save more than 25,000 people for the last 6 years. Vientiane Rescue is more than just a rescue service. It’s a true miracle that could teach the whole word a lesson of generosity, dedication and selflessness. Thanks to its non-paid volunteers, Vientiane Rescue provides a fair, timely and compassionate service to a 800,000 inhabitants city.

Sousada Chidthachack

Dr. Chidthachack is a champion of education. Currently at University of San Francisco, she serves as the Upward Bound Math and Science STEM Education Coordinator. In this role, she prepares and inspires first-generation college students for careers in STEM fields. Dr. Chidthachack has traveled to over 25 countries on six continents while earning a Bachelor’s, a Master’s, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Her research and professional work has been presented nationally and internationally in Brazil, Cambodia, China, Germany, Laos, Thailand, and South Africa.