Theme: RE:ACTION

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).

Holy Trinity Anglican Church
215 Devonport Rd
Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, 3110
New Zealand

Alex Hotere-Barnes

Educator and researcher

Alex is a Pākehā product of the Kaupapa Māori educational movement. He works closely with teachers, school leaders and community members to help create relationships that are culturally and socially just. As an educator and researcher with affiliations to Mātaatua, Tainui and Te Tai Tokerau areas, he is fascinated by what supports and gets in the way of mutually advantageous relationships between Tāngata whenua and Non-Māori. Alex is interested in bilingual schooling, philosophy, hip hop, tikanga Māori revitalisation, and having a laugh!

Austin Taylor

Austin Taylor is 14 years old and has been dancing from the early age of six at the Dance Avenue Studios in Tauranga. Austin dances all styles of Dance and loves them all, from Modern Genres & Classical Ballet to Tap & Musical Theatre. He has been invited to be a Student teacher this year, teaching an All Boys Dance Fit Class which he absolutely enjoys. Next January, he will return to Melbourne to compete again at The Follow Your Dreams Nationals – And Perform his Hand Over Championship Dance. Austin is Very passionate about all things dance, he lives & breathes it!. His Dream is to travel overseas and study Full time Dance.

Danielle Appleton

Innovator

Danielle Appleton is helping emerging food technology companies carve out a better future for Aotearoa New Zealand. Danielle used a decade of experience improving processes in the dairy industry to co-found dairy and alternative-dairy startups KiaOra Milk and Evolution Meadows. She currently works out of Level Two Innovation Hub, NZ’s most successful deep-tech incubator, and is incredibly passionate about the Future of Food. She’s pushing NZ to adopt new food technologies, but not for the reasons you might think.

David Downs

Genetically modified organism

In his ‘day job’, David Downs is a General Manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), working with the Technology sector to help fast growing tech companies grow internationally, and leading a cross-government project for the Agritech sector. David has held various roles at NZTE, in the Services, Customer and Corporate Services teams. David spent 13 years at Microsoft, in New Zealand and as regional director for South East Asia and has set up and run successful businesses of his own. David is a published author on New Zealand Innovation, with two highly successful books – No.8 Re-wired, and No.8 Recharged. He’s an ex-comedian, TV and Radio actor, and a genetically modified organism who documented his battle with cancer in the book A Mild Touch of the Cancer. David regularly presents and gives talks on his cancer journey and on the power of positive thinking and optimism.

James Russell

Rat trapper and a world leading island conservationist

Meet James Russell: rat trapper and a world leading island conservationist. James’ work brings together a variety of scientific methods to solve contemporary conservation problems, and he is currently on a quest to eradicate introduced mammal predators from all of New Zealand. More recently, James has been researching the social implications of pest control and the dynamics between humans and conservation. Dr Russell is an Associate Professor at the University of Auckland and Strategic Advisor to the Predator Free NZ Trust.

Kat Clark

Founder, Advocate

Adopted from Russia as a young child and overcoming adversity as a teenager, Katerina (Kat) Clark was motivated to make a difference for other young people in the Bay of Plenty. Kat established Tauranga Pryde and continues to provide ongoing support as a student advocate at the University of Waikato. In recognition of Kat’s work on behalf of the LGBTQ community she was presented with two Youth Week awards and is a Local Hero New Zealander of the Year.

Kathryn Berkett

Masters in Educational Psychology, Certification as a Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Practitioner

Mother to two adolescent children, Kathryn has dedicated 22 years to understanding how extreme trauma impacts the developing brain. Holding a Masters in Educational Psychology and certification as a Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Practitioner, she now uses her skills to train others and to develop interventions that assist reparation of the physical and psychological aspects of impacted brains. Armed with the knowledge that trauma can have huge emotional, behavioural and physical outcomes, Kathryn is passionate about sharing information with the wider community through her work.

Leo Murray

Changemaker and thought leader

Changemaker and thought leader, Leo Murray, cares deeply about the survival of our species and our planet. Catalysing a necessary paradigm shift for people to make changes out of love for the natural world rather than fear of what they stand to lose. Specialising in regenerative sustainability, behaviour change and civil disobedience, Leo’s company Why Waste is reducing negatives impacts through waste minimisation. Local to Tauranga Moana, this conscious activist is seeking to improve the current system by co-creating a new story for humanity.

Nick Bowers

American entrepreneur, designer, and creator

Nick Bowers’ is an American entrepreneur, designer, and creator whose drone design helped Emirates Team New Zealand win the 36th America’s Cup. Underneath it all, he is a dreamer. From building wood boats and airplanes as a child, to his current positions as Lead Designer at Periscope Aerospace and CEO of Kodiak Aerospace & Founder of Kettle Cinema, the secrets behind his revolutionary drone designs might surprise, and will certainly inspire.

Olly Hills

Entomologist

Olly Hills is a 12-year-old entomologist from Hamilton who wrote a field guide to the New Zealand cicadas when he was just 10 years old. He has appeared in a season of “Fanimals” television shows on TV2 in a special segment called “Bugs with Olly” and was an invited speaker at the 2018 Entomological Society of New Zealand conference. Olly has an infectious love of all insects and nature that he loves to share with others.

Rob Weinkove

Dr Robert Weinkove is Clinical Director of the Malaghan Institute, a biomedical research institute in Wellington, New Zealand and holds a joint role as a Haematologist at Wellington Blood & Cancer Centre. After studying medicine at the University of Cambridge and Kings College London, Rob trained in Haematology in London and Germany before moving to New Zealand in 2008 and gaining a doctorate with the University of Otago. Rob is a key member of the Cancer Immunotherapy Programme at the Malaghan Institute, where he leads a programme to develop and manufacture ‘chimeric antigen receptor’ (CAR) T-cells for treatment of lymphoma and other blood cancers.

Sam Sheaff

Sam performed Flyaway, his piece of slam poetry. This is a type of spoken word performance that is often presented in a competition style. Sam was competing against nothing but our ability to keep up with his flow (*cringe* do the youths even use the word flow?). His piece was a reflection the apprehensive time between high school and University, which, oof. He concluded “Exams are hard, but it’s harder combatting the fear”. Truer words never flowed.

Sia.amelie Tongan Dance Group

Sia;amelie dance group consists of around 20 Tongan youth who call Tauranga Moana home. They came together to discover and learn aobut their Tongan heritage through songs and dances and traditional costume making. The group has performed at the Tauranga multicultural festival and the National rugby Sevens tournament.

Stacy Sims

Question-asker and boat rocker (disruptor) when it comes to human performance and physiology.

Stacy Sims is a question-asker and boat rocker (disruptor) when it comes to human performance and physiology. She has asked the questions her academic predecessors said were too difficult to answer and gone after those answers. Stacy has been widely recognized as a visionary for her thought leadership across the sports performance industry and will leave our audience with new insights into how to better understand themselves and biohack their routines for better performance.