Theme: Five Degrees of Separation

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).

Mingella Building
Department of Film, Theatre and Television
Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL
United Kingdom

Christopher Lloyd

Christopher Lloyd is an author, speaker, historian, science writer and educationalist. He is a Cambridge historian, award-winning Sunday Times journalist and author of a series of highly acclaimed books that combine science and history to create an interconnected, holistic view of the past. As such his work focuses on engaging audiences in big stories via exploring the connections and interface between disparate subjects and disciplines. He was recently featured on Dutch broadcaster VPROs series On the Future of Species and has appeared on BBC Breakfast TV and The Today Programme with John Humphrey’s on Radio 4.

David King

Sir David King is the UK’s Special Representative for Climate Change. He was also the Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford and from 2000 to 2007 he served as the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor.He holds 22 Honorary Degrees from universities around the world. He has authored over 500 papers on science and policy, for which he has received numerous awards. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1991, a Foreign Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002 and knighted in 2003. Sir David was also made an Officier of the French Legion d’Honneur’ in 2009, for his work on climate change and energy.

James Piercy

James Piercy is a professional science communicator with Science made Simple one of the UK’s leading science communication companies. He has been involved in writing, producing and delivering science shows, workshops and dialogue events for a wide range of audiences. He has been awarded the LAMDA gold medal in public speaking with distinction.

Jeff Teare

Jeff Teare has worked in theatre for over forty years. He has been involved in a wide range of productions spanning village halls to the National Theatre. Key appointments include Associate Directorship at The Young Vic and the Theatre Royal Stratford East and Artistic Director of the Made in Wales Stage Company. He is a past chair of the British Equity Directors Committee and an advisor to ACGB and London Arts. He has also worked extensively with the Wellcome Trust informing their Public Engagement programme. For the last twelve years he has been a director of Theatrescience, a non-profit, which aims to engage the public with bio-medical science through the theatre. Jeff also writes for the stage and makes films. He’s widely acknowledged as a pioneer in using education and theatre to challenge and dismantle the arts/science divide. Jeff is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Plymouth.

Simon Heywood

Simon Heywood is a writer, storyteller, musician, composer and independent scholar, specialising in oral and traditional narrative. He has a PhD in contemporary storytelling from Sheffield University’s National Centre for English Cultural Tradition. He has told stories live around the world and has written and published a large body of work ranging from poetry, fiction, non-fiction, translations and scripts. His work on the epic of Gilgamesh was awarded Best Collaboration at the 2012 BASE Awards.

Sir David King

Sir David King is the UK’s Special Representative for Climate Change. He was also the Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford and from 2000 to 2007 he served as the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor.He holds 22 Honorary Degrees from universities around the world. He has authored over 500 papers on science and policy, for which he has received numerous awards. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1991, a Foreign Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002 and knighted in 2003. Sir David was also made an Officier of the French Legion d’Honneur’ in 2009, for his work on climate change and energy.