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).

Filoxenia Conference Center
17 Thrakis Street
Nicosia, Lefkosia, 1311
Cyprus

Alfred Bakker

Alfred Bakker studied political science and economics at the University of Amsterdam. He has worked as a financial journalist for more than 30 years. He has held posts as a journalist, deputy editor and editor in chief of the only Dutch business newspaper, Het Financieele Dagblad. In March 2016, he published the book (coauthored with Van Agtmael): “The Smartest Places on Earth. Why rustbelts are the emerging hotspots of global innovation”. The book’s central thesis is to argue that rust-belts of Western economies can become ‘the emerging hotspots of global innovation’. Sharing brainpower between companies and universities in joint research programmes and smart manufacturing will make the difference for coming decades. The Financial Times review of the book notes, ‘it is a 266-page inspirational Ted talk for anyone pondering the future of cities’. Alfred will be on the stage of TEDxUniversityofNicosia on Nov. 11th to share this vision. Twitter:@dutchpolder

Constantin Papageorgio

Papageorgio String Quartet

David Snowden

Dave Snowden divides his time between two roles: founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge, and founder and Director of the Centre for Applied Complexity at Bangor University in Wales. His work is international in nature and covers government and industry, looking at complex issues relating to strategy and organisational decision-making. He has pioneered a science-based approach to organisations, drawing on anthropology, neuroscience and complex adaptive systems theory. David is well-known for his pragmatic cynicism and iconoclastic style. His paper with Boone on Leadership was the cover article for the Harvard Business Review in November 2007, and also won the Academy of Management award for the best practitioner paper in the same year. He has previously won a special award from the Academy for originality in his work on Knowledge Management. He is an editorial board member of several academic and practitioner journals in the field of knowledge management, and is an Editor in Chief of E:CO. In 2006, he served as Director of the EPSRC (UK) research programme on emergence and, in 2007, was appointed to an NSF (US) review panel on complexity science research. Blog: dave-snowden Twitter: @snowded

Emma Murphy

Emma Murphy is a 28-year-old fitness blogger and single mother of two. In 2015, she faced repeated domestic battery from her ex-boyfriend and father of her children. After one such incident that left her with a black eye, she decided to take to social media, where she posted a vulnerable video of herself telling the world about the abuse, deceit, lies and betrayal she was going through. In doing so, she consciously turned the terror of being a victim into a positive situation, refusing to let domestic violence diminish or define her as a person. To date, that video has been viewed over 50 million times worldwide. Emma is now a Domestic Violence Advocate, travelling the world to raise awareness for women and children who cannot speak for themselves.

Haig Yazdjian

Haig Yazdjian is an oud soloist, an ambassador of the oud, a composer and a singer. Haig has created five groundbreaking albums, released worldwide through one of Greece’s most prestigious Record Labels (Libra Music). Haig Yazdjian was born in Syria of Armenian parents. In the early 1980s, he immigrated to Greece and, in just a few years, established himself as a leading soloist, a reputation that led to numerous collaborations with prominent composers and leading singers. Haig’s Armenian compositions, Middle Eastern expressions and his own compositions accelerated his popularity and charted him as one of the most promising composers in the region. Today, Haig tours in Greece and Europe along leading Greek composers and singers. Remarkably, he performs with the same set of musicians he started out with. Together, they have become a cohesive creative force who still play at least once a week in the same small den they began performing in, the ‘infamous’ Café Asante in Athens. COLLABORATIONS Over the years, Haig Yazdjian has collaborated with the most prominent Greek composers and singers, as well as with soloists of international stature. Among them: Nikos Xydakis, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Savina Yannatou, Maria Farantouri, Dimitra Galani, Elli Paspala, David Lynch, Loreena MacKennitt, Michalis Nikoloudis, Melina Kana, Eleni Vitali, Dave Spillain, Omar Farouk Tekbilek, Djivan Gasparyan, Theodossii Spassov, Enver Izmaylov, Ara Dinkjian, Derya Turkan, Yinon Muallem, Glen Velez, Elisa Vellia and many others.

Jessamy Hibberd

Dr Jessamy Hibberd (BSc, MSc, DClinPsy, PgDip) is a London-based Clinical Psychologist. She works one-to-one with adults experiencing common mental health problems like anxiety, depression or low self-esteem. She gained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, and completed her accreditation in CBT at the world-renowned Institute of Psychology, Kings College. She has been on a mission to make psychology more accessible ever since. Dr Jessamy believes we should be thinking and caring for our minds in the same way we do for our bodies. Her motto is: “What you do every day is what makes the biggest difference to how you feel”, accompanied by the understanding that small steps lead to the biggest changes. Dr Jessamy is co-author of the bestselling “THIS BOOK WILL…” series (sold in 14 countries, including Greece), which aims to help people understand themselves better and to gain more from their life. She also works as a media psychologist, regularly contributing content to popular newspapers and magazines. Dr Jessamy’s latest venture is online – she is a leading blogger and uses social media to promote her message. Twitter: @DrJessamy Instagram: @DrJessamy Website: drjessamy.com/

Jonny Berliner

Science troubadour, Jonny Berliner, is a pioneer of the geek-pop genre, on a mission to make science accessible to all. His unique brand of comedy-science songs were originally commissioned for the Guardian Science Weekly podcast, after which he became a regular contributor to science festivals and comedy nights, alongside some of the world’s leading science communicators. Notably, he headlined the first ever comedy night at the Large Hadron Collider, attracting over 10,000 online viewers. Jonny is also an experienced science educator in the formal and informal education sectors and an expert in using song as a teaching tool.

Olga Kouklaki

Born in Athens, Greece, she started playing the piano at the age of 8 and never quit music since. While pursuing classical music studies, curiosity brought her to the electronic scene. She began to DJ in bars and clubs, and then entered the music production world. In 2001, she moved to Paris and started writing her own music, while taking courses in interior design and contemporary music. In 2003, she released her first track “Don’t look at me” for the UK label Sumsonic, under the alias ODD, which was remixed by Paul Rogers among others. She also started co-operating with French label Fcommunication, participating as a programmer-keyboard player in the live project of Jay Alanski (aka Reminiscent Drive). She recorded vocals for Fred Avril’s track “Tv Dinner” (label Fcom) and for Poni Hoax’s track “Budapest” (label Tigersushi), receiving great reviews all over Europe. Her EP “Getalife”, including Blackstrobe’s Rmx, was released in 2007, and her album “Getalife”, in 2008, both by “The PerfectKiss/ Pias”. The album received great reviews, with the track “Her Own Right” featuring in the French movie “Une Nuit” and the French TV series “Mafiosa”. In 2008, she composed the music for 2 silent avant garde films (“En’tracte”, “Les aventures de Vilard”) for the French Film Festival (CINEMIX). She took part as a member of the jury in the “Festival de 4écrans” (European films) held in Paris, and in the “Public Digital Film Festival” held in Athens. In 2009, she remixed Greek singer Dimitra Galani’s track “Den Ise Edo” («Δεν είσαι εδώ») (Sony Music Entertainment Greece). She also recorded vocals for French artist Patrick Bouvet (track “Night Call”) and Poni Hoax (track “The soundtrack of your fears”). In 2012, she released her second personal album “I U Need”, which debuted as the N°1 bestselling album in Virgin Megastores/Grand Boulevards in Paris. The track “Stop” from the album, features in the French movie “Mobius” with Jean Du Jardin. She also recorded vocals for the track “Do it” for Jori Hulkkonen’s album “Negative Time”. Her EP single “Fist”/”Love is Gone” featuring Nomi Ruiz (aka Jessica6) is released in 2015 from EMI/Universal Music Group, and has since been on rotation at KCRW Radio Station in the US. In 2016, tracks “White Holy” and “Big Fish Fight” with Savvas Ysatis are released on Get Physical Records, “Oxytocin EP” on Kwaidan/K7! records, and track “Charmer” on Supremus Records. “White Holy” reaches the N°31 position in Beatport Top100 tech house chart in 2016. Instagram: @olgakouklaki Facebook: @olgakouklaki.official Soundcloud: @olgakouklaki

Oliver Burkeman

Oliver Burkeman is a columnist for The Guardian, based in Brooklyn, and author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. @oliverburkeman

Oliver Burkemn

Oliver Burkeman is a columnist for The Guardian, based in Brooklyn, and author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. Twitter: @oliverburkeman

Papageorgio String Quartet

Papageorgio String Quartet: Alternative String Music

Philippos C. Patsalis

Prof. Philippos C. Patsalis is a scientist recognised internationally for his work in Human Genetics. He is Founder and Chief Executive Director of the biotechnology company NIPD Genetics; Distinguished Professor at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics; Founder, Professor and Provost of the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine; and an Honorary Professor of several other universities internationally. Philippos has been invited to deliver lectures to more than 200 universities and international conferences around the world. In parallel, he has competitively secured more than 40 research grants and funding of over 20 million euro from international organisations, including the ERC Advanced Grant, the most prestigious grant in the EU.

Roya Mahboob

Roya Mahboob is a serial entrepreneur forced to flee Afghanistan for New York in 2014. She focuses on building #DigitalLiteracy for women and children in developing countries. Her personal goal for #DigitalLiteracy is to bridge the gap between education and job markets, by offering practical online skills. Roya pursues this through her new company and platform EdyEdy for women and youth in developing countries. Roya Mahboob is a board member and president of the Digital Citizen Fund, formerly “Women’s Annex Foundation”, a non-profit that aims to increase women’s technological literacy and provide employment and educational opportunities for girls and children in developing countries like Afghanistan. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Forbes School of Business of Ashford University, Resolution Project and the Global Thinkers Forum Organization. Roya was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013 for her work in building Internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan. The TIME 100 essay was written by Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, who is also the author of “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead”. Roya is also a member of the 2014 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards, Civic Innovators, Young Leader of World Economic Forum and The Advancement of Gender Equality Through Education. Website: digitalcitizenfund.org Twitter: @RoyaMahboob

Sofia Matsi

Sofia Matsi studied Chemistry at the University of Cyprus. She transitioned to the Arts with a Fulbright Commission scholarship, earning a Master’s in Fine Arts (MFA) in drawing at Florida Atlantic University. Corresponding to her growing environmental concerns, she completed her basic education in Permaculture through a Permaculture Design Course, followed by a Permaculture Teachers’ Training with Rosemary Morrow. Since then, she has been dedicated to the reformation of her family land into a productive permaculture farm. Sofia has always been involved in teaching: chemistry, art and permaculture. Through her involvement in private and collective initiatives, she has become a firm promoter of a natural lifestyle, by researching and applying natural food, health, energy, and building alternatives.

Suzana Marie Hadjirousou Shiakalli

Suzana Marie Hadjirousou/Shiakalli was born in 1987 and is originally from Birmingham, UK. At the age of 5 she moved to Cyprus with her family, and has been living on the island ever since. She is a Primary School Teacher, an English Language Coach, and a Business owner and Managing Director of a Specialized Early English Centre since 2012. She also, has a passion to inspire life and share with others her message of hope and faith. Lastly, she is a wife and a mother of twins.