MiltonKeynes

Confirmed Speakers

• Ross Jackson
  Ross is a Ph.D. in Operations Research (the theory and practice of problem solving), born in Canada in 1938, educated in Canada and the USA. He has lived in Denmark since 1964 and been a Danish citizen since 1972.Through most of his life, Ross has operated in the business world, while giving a high prioriy to his family. He is now semi-retired, focussing on writing and Gaia Trust. For many years, he was a very successful businessman and independent management consultant in the field of Information Technology, working in many branches of business, later specialising in investment and international finance. Besides his continuing role as CEO of Gaia Trust, Ross is a majority shareholder and director of Scandinavia's largest wholesale organic food company, Urtekram A/S.
• Roger Kitchen
  A Wolverton resident who has been involved in community development in Milton Keynes for more than forty years. He came to the new city in 1971 and worked as a community worker on the first Development Corporation housing estates, then, as Director of Inter-Action Milton Keynes and later co-founder and General Manager of Living Archive, used the arts and heritage as vehicles for building communities. He is passionate about listening to and recording people’s stories and is an accredited trainer for the British Library and Oral History Society.
• Christian Busch
  Christian is Co-founder at Sandbox, the leading global network for the most inspiring innovators below 30. He acts as Special Advisor for impact entrepreneurship and community development at the National Consortium of Entrepreneurs (NACUE), and has been selected as one of The Daily Beast’s “300 world class influencers to reboot America”, as well as one of Junior Chamber International’s “Ten Outstanding Young People in 2012”. Related to a PhD on the dynamic interplay between social networks and (social) enterprise performance in emerging markets, Christian teaches entrepreneurship at the London School of Economics and acts as Associate Director at the LSE’s Innovation and Co-Creation Lab (ICCL). As fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, TEDster, and Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Chris takes an active role in policy development. Christian is passionate about connecting inspiring people and making great ideas happen, and regularly speaks at major conferences on community development, entrepreneurship, networks, and social innovation. Previous speaking engagements include TEDx (The Emergence of the Impact Organization), Royal Society of Arts (How to leverage local communities), National Consortium of Entrepreneurs (How to build a winning team), Oxford University (Sustainable business models at the Base of the Pyramid), Academy of Management Conference (Scaling social enterprises via social networks).
• Portia Tung
  Portia is passionate about evoking positive organisational change through nurture and caring for people as much as the work they do. She has had a variety of roles during her career in IT, ranging from software developer to development manager, then team coach and consultant. Portia is an apprentice-innovator in building communities designed to realise human potential. She looks forward to exchanging ideas on communities, connections and conversations at TEDxMiltonKeynes.
• Dominik Byrne
  Dominik is a graduate of the University of Birmingham, graduated with a degree in African Studies with Development (BA, Hons). Since graduating in 2010, Dominik has been a development consultant in Kenya and South Africa, working with Slumcode International and Fetola. In the UK Dominik has held positions such as Programme Director, Debate Mate and Bid Consultant for MK DONS SET. Currently working as Fundraising Officer for St Francis’ Children’s Society in Milton Keynes, but is still continuing research in development in the African region. He has a keen interest in sport, especially rugby and keen to express and challenge himself wherever he can.
• Alex Holmes
  Alex Holmes is 24 years old, from Milton Keynes and was bullied at school when younger. As a result he has made it his mission in life to prevent this happening to others. He’s received 3 Princess Diana Awards, has made his own TV advert against bullying, introduced ‘Smile and Compliment days’ into schools and helped young people shape the world around them. He now runs The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme and is looking to create a national programme called ‘Coz I Can’ that will build a network of young people who take over their local areas and high streets to carry out good deeds and bridge community gaps.
• Gamiel Yafai
  Gamiel Yafai is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner with over 10 years experience of working with marginalised groups. Gamiel has been responsible for set up Diversity Practices for National HR Resourcing and Marketing Consultancies and now runs his own consultancy called Diversity Marketplace. Gamiel was born in the UK however his father originated from the Yemen and Gamiel spent two and half years in the Yemen when he was twelve. Gamiel is currently working with the Yemen Communities in the UK and Local Government to understand the challenges faced within the communities since 9/11
• Philippa Tipper
  Philippa loves a good story and as a gossip enjoys passing on the tales to others. From an apprenticeship in community arts creating a sense of place and being in the new city of Milton Keynes, to working with central government developing a White Paper Story Survival Kit for the Department of Trade and Industry - listening to people’s stories and experiences and finding ways of presenting them that is meaningful, honest and entertaining is what drives her. Performer, trainer, facilitator Philippa’s talents have taken her from television’s ‘The Tweenies’, to Treasury/RBS funded Open Space events on local enterprise. As a director of A Word in Edgeways the storytelling work developed with businesses and in the voluntary sector has created a resource that can be shared with the wider community. Working with stories and metaphors gives people an opportunity to comment upon their personal lives and experiences, their work, organisational structures and communication issues at a distance, without identifying individuals and by creating a common language to explore shared experiences in a safe and enjoyable situation.
• Steve Manthorp
  Steve Manthorp was Media Arts Officer at Arts Council England -Yorkshire from 1999-02 and Coordinator of Arts Council-West Midlands’ three year Digital Content Development Programme from 2007-2010. He is currently coordinator of Turning Point Yorkshire and Humber and coordinator of Light Night Leeds. In 2005 he was awarded a NESTA Research Fellowship to develop new cultural content and concepts for games technologies. In 2006 he won a MELT award to develop Earthheart, a game to promote healthy lifestyles in young people. He has created PC games for English Heritage, Yorkshire Forward and Bradford Museums and Art Galleries. Steve shares a digital arts co-practice with Shanaz Gulzar as ADEPT and has recently completed major commissions for Snibston Discovery Park’s Transform programme and the Light in Jerusalem festival. He has spoken at the Museums Association Conference, Art & Architecture Journal Conference on the Moving Image in the Public Environment, Broadcast Asia Conference and the World Investment Conference.
• Robbie Macphearson
  Robbie's training is in psychology -- forensic, clinical and occupational. He worked first in the Prison Service, mainly at the therapeutic community at Grendon Underwood, just south of Milton Keynes. This prison has a long track record of helping violent men turn to social and productive lives. After a brief period in Whitehall selecting senior civli servants, he set up his own consultancy and has worked for the last 25 years with private and public sector clients, in their personal, team and organisational development. His passion is in developing and applying strengths-based approaches with his clients. He is one of the founders of MKAIN (Milton Keynes Appreciative Inquiry Network) which seeks to promote the use of Appreciative Inquiry within the communities of Milton Keynes. Specifically MKAIN is committed help the people of MK to find out what is best about themselves, their city and its organisations so that they can build on what's best and thereby become an even better Milton Keynes. He studied Psychology, Mathematics and Economics at Edinburgh University, Clinical Psychology at Birmingham and Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck College.