Theme: Paths Less Travelled

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).

UP School of Economics
University of the Philippines
Diliman
Quezon City, National Capital Region
Philippines

UP Concert Chorus

The UP Concert Chorus, UPCC, or simply Korus, is the official choir of the University of the Philippines. As an internationally-competitive performing group, Korus has perfected versatility in singing classical, folk, pop and Broadway musical genres with signature vibrant choreography.

Vin Dancel of Peryodiko & Nicholas Lazaro

Vin Dancel is the singer/songwriter of the band Peryodiko. He is back on stage to deliver a performance, accompanied by emerging musician and producer Nicholas Lazaro.

Ambeth Ocampo

Historian

As historians go, Ambeth Ocampo is a superstar. He has tens of thousands of followers on his facebook page. He lectures to standing room only crowds… and this was well before Heneral Luna reignited popular interest in Philippine history. Ambeth graduated from both Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University, and he now teaches in both Ateneo and La Salle, as well as the University of the Philippines and San Beda College. He has served as chairman of the National Historical Institute (NHI) in 2002 and of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) from 2005 to 2007.

Arnold Arre

Graphic and Comic Book Artist

Arnold Arre is a comic book writer, artist and self-taught animator. He has won National Book Awards from the Manila Critics Circle for his graphic novels The Mythology Class (1999), a four-part action-adventure miniseries and Trip to Tagaytay (2000), fictional short story where a former actor is the President of the Philippines. Very recently, Arnold launched “Halina Filipina,” his first graphic novel in 7 years.

Conrad Alampay

Entrepreneur

Conrad Alampay is the founder of a firm that provides 3D technology solutions for architectural, engineering and construction industries. Using these state of the art laser technologies, they are able to create 3D models accurate to the millimeter in order to document and preserve Philippine cultural heritage sites for future generations.

Iris Isip Tan

Doctor (internist-endocrinologist)

Iris Isip Tan is the Chief of the UP Medical Informatics Unit, which spearheads e-learning initiatives in medical education. She is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Social Media Advocacy by the Philippine College of Physicians, and of the first UP system Gawad Pangulo award, a grant for progressive teaching and learning.

Juan Miguel Severo

Spoken Word Artist

As spoken word artists go, Juan Miguel Severo is in a league of his own. His performances on YouTube have gone viral, collectively amassing more than a million hits.

Loren Legarda

Senator

Senator Loren Legarda has long been an advocate of the arts and of cultural preservation. She has taken various initiatives to promote culture and address the concerns of indigenous communities. She has supported Schools of Living Traditions, sponsored the documentation of indigenous knowledge and traditional practices, and organized regional assemblies and the first national indigenous cultural summit that served as avenues for dialogues between the indigenous peoples and the various sectors of society.

Mike Swift

Rapper

Mike Swift is the first Filipino in the US to own a record label, having co-founded the independent Head Bop Music in 1998. He is also a basketball aficionado, and he runs a popular instagram account “Pinoyhoops”.

Raymund Narag

Professor / Ex-detainee

After his release from jail, Raymund Narag graduated from the University of the Philippines and went on to earn a doctorate degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University. He is currently a professor at Southern Illinois University, and he returns frequently to the Philippines to help the government improve the Philippine penal system.

Soe Myint

Journalist

Soe Myint is a newspaper publisher in Myanmar. For more than two decades, he and his publication, Mizzima, were exiled in India and Thailand, and it was only three years ago, as the military government in Myanmar began to take tentative and tenuous steps towards reform, that he went home. Mizzima was the first among the exiled Burmese media to dare take the risk of testing the waters in Yangon.

Vin Dancel

Musician / Social Entrepreneur

Vin Dancel is the CEO/co-founder of Joomajam, a Philippine social enterprise focused on the use of music in learning.

Waya Araos-Wijangco

Chef

Waya Araos-Wijangco is the chef behind the Gourmet Gypsy Art Cafe. Aside from Gourmet Gypsy, Waya also runs the Open Hand School for Applied Arts. Courses such as cooking, arts and crafts and even entrepreneurship are part of their curriculum. Between these two involvements, Waya helps to provide adults with special needs with opportunities for on the job training, and placements with other organizations as servers, hosts, cooks, bakers, and more.