Theme: Empower

We’re delighted to bring you our next event, a special TEDxCanberraSalon on the theme ‘Empower.’

Empower is, arguably, a word that is overused, misused, and abused. Like any word that is overused, it loses meaning.

But what does it mean to be truly empowered? Where does ‘empowerment’ come from? How do we empower ourselves? How do we empower others? And, what’s all this empowerment for anyway?

The core of the word is, of course, power. To empower others, or to be empowered oneself, implies some kind of transfer or exchange of power. Does that always mean winners and losers? Or is it more complex than that?

We’re looking forward to exploring these questions, and more, through our Salon format. This will include exploration of topics such as the relationship between empowerment and personal agency, empowerment and the modern citizen, and power dynamics.

Many of us feel that our lives and our world are becoming increasingly complex and volatile. Our ability to influence events around us is sometimes difficult to appreciate or enact. We hope this first TEDxCanberraSalon event for 2017 will provide an oopportunity for attendees to consider what empowerment means for them, and leave with deeper insights into how they can live an empowered life.

What you can expect

TEDxCanberraSalons are intimate events allowing you to mix with a smaller group of fellow attendees. Numbers at this event are limited to 100. You’ll also have the opportunity to engage more deeply with the ideas featured on stage, with the speakers, and other members of the TEDxCanberra community.

We are going to feature three local speakers; each with a unique perspective on what it means to empower, and be empowered, and what this means in contemporary life. Further details about our speakers will be released shortly. We’ll also screen two TED Talks which align with our theme.

You will also be able to choose between three concurrent workshops, each one exploring a different facet of empowerment. Full details will be announced shortly.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Inspire Centre at the University of Canberra to experience ‘Empower.’

Inspire Centre
Building 25
Pantowora Street
Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, 2617
Australia

Ingrid McCarthy

Program Manager, Canberra Innovation Network

Ingrid is a Program Manager based at the Canberra Innovation Network, where she manages both the Inspiring Australia program for the ACT and the new STEM Sells - Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship program. Her role in these programs is to help inspire people with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and encourage them to critically engage with key scientific issues. Additionally, she encourages young Canberrans, particularly girls, to pursue STEM studies and careers and to consider entrepreneurship as a career pathway. Ingrid’s love affair with all things science began at an early age, taking all the astronomy books out of the library. She has a honours degree in science, specialising in fluvial geomorphology, and is also a qualified high school science teacher and an unqualified mathematics and dance teacher, specialising in gifted education. Her passion is spreading the word of the importance of STEM and scientific thinking to as big an audience as possible.

Richard Keegan

Assistant Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Canberra

Richard is Assistant Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Canberra. He completed his MSc and PhD at Loughborough University, and before that, a degree in Psychology at the University of Bristol. Richard's research focuses on four key areas: motivational processes in sport and exercise; physical literacy; applied sport psychology practice; and psychological resilience. He has published 26 peer reviewed academic papers, 2 books and 12 book chapters, as well as reports for state and Federal governments. Richard is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has served as Chair of Teaching and Learning in two university departments. His approach to education focuses on stimulating the co-creation of innovative and science-inspired products, as an explicit reaction against casting students as passive consumers of information: helping students to develop the key employability skills of critical, independent thinking, and reflective practice.

Sally Dooley

Facilitator, Coach and Author

Sally Dooley is a facilitator, speaker, executive coach and author. She has worked with thousands of leaders in government, private and community sectors, specialising in a range of leadership and people development areas, empowering them to identify strategies that work in their own context. Sally is especially passionate about helping women leaders identify and breakthrough their individual barriers so they can lead with excellence and reach their highest potential.