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).

Seymour Centre
City Rd & Cleveland Street
Chippendale, New South Wales, 2008
Australia

Ally McLean

Ally McLean is a video game developer and the CEO of The Working Lunch, a social enterprise that is changing the games industry through mentorships for underrepresented people. Winner of the Women’s Weekly Women of the Future award for Innovation and Technology, Ally has had a fascinating career taking her from being one of Australia’s first global professional cosplayers on titles like The Witcher 3, to running games studios and travelling the world speaking and mentoring for the likes of Google and Microsoft, advocating for equity in the games industry. Ally was the Gamerunner on critically acclaimed independent game Rumu, which won multiple national and international awards, including the Australian Writer’s Guild Award for Interactive Media and the Australian Game Developer Award. Ally was also the recipient of the Women in Games awards for Creative Impact, Campaigner of the Year and Outstanding Achievement.

Amani Mahmoud

Amani Mahmoud is a 20 year old studying law and social-political science at UTS with a passion for writing. From the age of five, Amani’s mother would encourage her to write a page of a story each day. Since then, it’s been the primary way she expresses herself to help her understanding of the world. Bankstown Poetry Slam (BPS) and Flip the Script were Amani’s first open mic experiences that truly allowed her to gain confidence in her writing and performances. Amani has been performing at BPS since 2018 and was part of the team that secured second place for the 2018 Grand Slam.

Angelina Arora

Angelina Arora is the creator of a new toxin-free plastic, made completely out of waste, that decomposes 1.5 million times faster than conventional plastics. She now continues to develop her plastic for medical applications and investigate new ways of how cancer could be metastasising. For her research, Angelina has received multiple scholarships to international universities and was the grand award winner at the prestigious International Science Fair. Not only confining her time to scientific pursuits, Angelina conducts charity work nationally and internationally. As a result, she was acknowledged for leadership in social justice by the Hon Dame Marie Bashir Peace Prize, was named Young Citizen of the Year 2019, Channel 7’s Young Achiever of the Year Award Winner, Green Globe Winner and was the nominee for Young Australian of the Year. Using her profile and voice, Angelina now empowers young people to follow their passions as she believes her generation is the one that will make a difference.

Connor McLeod

Now 17 year old Connor McLeod started campaigning for tactile banknotes when he was 12 years old. The teenager – who has represented his school at state level athletics, rides a push bike, abseils, rock climbs, swims, and plays the drums and keyboard – started a petition. Garnering the support of 57,000 people, as well as the Human Rights Commission and Vision Australia, Connor lobbied the then-treasurer Joe Hockey and filled a human rights complaint against the government. He refused to take no for an answer, even going to Canberra with his mum to deliver his petition to the government. It worked, and in September 2016 the first tactile $5 note was launched. With a steely resolve, the power of an online army behind him, and a willingness to share his story to help others, Connor has improved the day-to-day lives of 357,000 Australians living with vision impairments.

Faster Ideas

Faster Ideas gives members of the TEDxYouth@Sydney 2019 audience the chance to share their ideas in 30 seconds flat!

Fergus James

Hailing from the country town of Armidale, NSW Fergus was accepted into the Newtown High School of Performing Arts and the Talent Development Project in 2016. He hit a career high when he performed for Justin Timberlake, whose reaction to Fergus‘ song ‘Snow‘ went viral, amassing 500k views on Timberlake‘s Facebook page. Most recently Fergus James released his debut single ‘Golden Age‘, receiving support from Triple J Unearthed (Artist Spotlight). ‘Golden Age‘ has amassed over 3,000,000 plays on Spotify, landing on New Music Friday (Aus/NZ & Canada), Pop Sounds, Get Popped Happy Pop and spent over 8 weeks in the Hot Hits Australia playlist. Year to date Fergus James came in just behind G Flip as the second most clicked–on artist on Triple Unearthed. Fergus James recently supported Ed Sheeran on the biggest stadium tour in Australian history.

HY William Chan

HY William Chan is an urbanist and designer dedicated to creating resilient and inclusive places for people. A UNICEF Young Ambassador during the 25th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, William has led community-building projects for the homeless, slum dwellers and refugee youth. He is named in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list as a game-changing business and industry leader in the Asia-Pacific region. William’s award-winning architecture and design solutions have been showcased across 40 cities. He co-authored the UN-Habitat World Urban Youth Declaration and represented global leaders in launching the UN Youth 2030 Strategy at the 2018 General Assembly in New York, where he addressed the High Level Meeting on Social Business, Youth and Technology. William is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Fellow with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Research Affiliate with the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia University’s Earth Institute

Issy Phillips

Issy Phillips is an acclaimed comedian, performer and writer based in Sydney. She is known for her alternative comedic style and has been described as an exciting new voice in Australian Comedy. Issy’s work synergises contemporary culture into comedy and explores themes of the internet, youth politics and Australian identity. Her debut stand-up and sketch show ASMR Live has been critically acclaimed and performed to sell out audiences across Australia. Issy is a RAW semi-finalist and Cranston Cup grand-finalist who is one to watch in Australian comedy.

James Alexander

James Alexander is on a mission to help more young Aussies become entrepreneurs. He is the Co-founder of Galileo Ventures, a seed fund dedicated to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, and INCUBATE, Australia’s largest student accelerator program based at The University of Sydney. Through INCUBATE James has supported students to launch over 100 startups – creating innovations that include underwater robots to flying taxis – who have gone on to attract over $30 million in seed funding and create hundreds of jobs.

James J. Robinson

James J Robinson is a photographer and filmmaker from Melbourne based in New York. With an academic background rooted both in literature and cinema, each project is loaded with a calculated subtext beyond the lights and colours. At just 23 he has shot for major clients across the globe from The New York Times to Nike, as well as working with celebrity figures including Kylie Jenner and Rihanna. Despite commercial success, Robinson aims to keep his work grounded in celebrating the lives of everyday people – choosing to use his work as a conduit for social change and identity politics.

Jean Hinchliffe

Jean Hinchliffe is a 15-year-old school student and climate activist. As a lead organiser within School Strike 4 Climate, she campaigns for legislative action against the sourcing and usage of fossil fuels, along with pushing for Australia to become fully carbon neutral. She has been passionate about a great deal of social, political, and environmental issues for many years, however first initiated her activism at the age of thirteen through volunteering with the Vote Yes campaign for marriage equality. Since then, she has continuously volunteered with organisations such as GetUp and Stop Adani. Through her involvement in the climate strikes, she has appeared on The Project and The Feed, and been represented widely through Australian media. When she isn’t trying to save the world, Jean works as a professional actress and has recently wrapped her first television series.

Jonathan Irawan

Jonathan Irawan is a Computational Designer at HASSELL Studio. He applies a Research and Data Driven approach in Design to bridge the gap between Academia and Industry in the implementation of design technology. Having previously worked in delivering multidisciplinary projects within Asia, Australia and the UK, he incorporates a wider perspective in the formulation of design solutions. Innovation is in the forefront of his mission, constantly experimenting and prototyping advanced tools and workflows to augment the design process beyond standard conventions.

Kirsten Banks

Kirsten Banks is a proud Wiradjuri Woman and Astrophysicist with an undeniable passion for space and astronomy. From a young age, Kirsten has always been fascinated by the sky. She first had a love for meteorology in Primary School, but then graduated from the clouds to the stars in mid-High School. Kirsten loves to communicate science and has done so on many platforms including writing for The Guardian Australia, speaking across Australia and Europe on numerous radio shows and has been a panellist on ABC TVs The Drum. She is also a regular tour guide at Sydney Observatory. After graduating from an undergraduate degree in Physics in 2018, Kirsten strives towards commencing a PhD in the years to come.

Lupa J

Lupa J attracted the attention of international music tastemakers when she first posted on Soundcloud at just 15. Named by FBi’s Music Director Amelia Jenner and Purple Sneakers as ‘2019 artist to watch’, Lupa J is a proven and gifted songwriter, producer and performer. With four EPs and a touring history that includes Grimes, Sarah Blasko and Tegan and Sara, it’s no wonder she found huge international support with Stereogum, I-D Magazine and Rookie. Lupa J’s 2017 BIGSOUND performance saw her feature at #8 on the Bigsound Buzz charts and score a feature in The Music Networks ‘Nine Aussie Singles That Killed At Bigsound’. 2018 saw two hugely anticipated new singles from Lupa J which received Triple J plays and Spotify features, including New Music Friday. After a sold-out album showcase at Golden Age Cinema to kick off 2019, Lupa J’s latest single, The Crash is out Friday March 29.

Milan Ring

Milan Ring represents the concepts of duality (Ying & Yang), spirituality and personal evolution are constant sources of inspiration to Milan’s artistry, as is the influence of her environment. From the sparkling city of Angels to humble Australian outback bedroom beats, her music is a rendezvous between polarities, laced with spiced Caribbean rhythms. Milan is Chinese, Indian, Australian and has been lucky to have travelled to many corners of the globe because of her family and music. She is inspired by all cultures and particularly drawn to music from North & South America and the Caribbean. Milan’s signature sound is a carefully orchestrated balance between the analogue and digital worlds, blending live percussion with electronic drums and synths with her raw guitar takes. Her production dances between moods and elements whilst her dynamic vocals bounce from low earthy raps to luscious harmonies. A singer, rapper, guitarist, producer, mix & mastering engineer, Milan directs each and every aspect of the creative process, from the first chord struck on the guitar to the final master. Her creative combination has seen her play alongside Sampa the Great, Tokimonsta, Hermitude, Manu Crooks and The Rubens, play festivals around Australia & sell out her debut Sydney single launch in advance.

Moreblessing Maturure

Moreblessing Maturure, the Founder and Creative Director of FOLK Magazine, is a Zimbabwean/Australian inter-disciplinary artist. As an award-nominated actor across stage and screen in various projects, Moreblessing has garnered a great wealth of experience in a plethora of fields within the performing arts including writing, devising, performance directing and producing. Alongside her personal practice, Moreblessing engages in an advocacy and consultancy work seeking to improve the state and nature of representation in Australia’s media and entertainment industries. As a writer, Moreblessing utilises various forms of linguistic expression ranging from poetic, dramatic and analytical writing. Her performance writing has been marked by various opportunities including long-form development with Playwriting Australia, Australian Theatre for Young People-through their Fresh Ink initiative, Sydney Theatre Company as part of their inaugural Emerging Writers Group and Information and Cultural Exchange Parramatta. Moreblessing is a proud member of Actors Equity and MEAA’s Equity Diversity Committee and the recipient of Celebrating Africans in Australia award for Professional Excellence as an Interdisciplinary Artist.

Treehouse Theatre with Shala Bakhsh

Founded in 2010, Treehouse Theatre is a non-profit organisation, based in NSW Australia. Treehouse Theatre provides a platform for young refugees to share their life stories. Through a live public theatre performance, young refugees share their true personal stories with friends, family and the wider community. Treehouse Theatre currently schedules 2 formal programs per year. The programs are called “Tree of Life” and “Suitcase Stories”. Each program runs for around 4 months and can support approximately 30 participants. Treehouse Theatre’s aim is two-fold. The primary aim is to help heal the resilient young refugees with whom they work with, who offer their life stories with open-hearted grace. They aim instill confidence and wellbeing to the participants who have endured such hardships. As they share their incredible personal experiences, they each realise they are not alone. As they confront their darkest memories, a powerful transformation begins. Secondly, Treehouse Theatre is passionate about giving “The Refugee Experience” a genuine and empathic face, and thereby educate the broader community on the importance of supporting and welcoming those who are new to Australia. Shahla Bakhsh is 15. She was born in Pakistan, and was 6 years old when her father left for Australia. Shahla is an deep and incisive thinker with an excellent memory and a passion for knowledge. Her parents are self-educated and are now fluent Farsi readers and writers, and have contributed to this passion. They value education highly and encourage Shahla to take every opportunity that presents in Australia to build for herself a brilliant life.

Treehouse Theatre feat. Shahla Bakhsh

Founded in 2010, Treehouse Theatre is a non-profit organisation, based in NSW Australia. Treehouse Theatre provides a platform for young refugees to share their life stories. Through a live public theatre performance, young refugees share their true personal stories with friends, family and the wider community. Treehouse Theatre currently schedules 2 formal programs per year. The programs are called “Tree of Life” and “Suitcase Stories”. Each program runs for around 4 months and can support approximately 30 participants. Treehouse Theatre’s aim is two-fold. The primary aim is to help heal the resilient young refugees with whom they work with, who offer their life stories with open-hearted grace. They aim instill confidence and wellbeing to the participants who have endured such hardships. As they share their incredible personal experiences, they each realise they are not alone. As they confront their darkest memories, a powerful transformation begins. Secondly, Treehouse Theatre is passionate about giving “The Refugee Experience” a genuine and empathic face, and thereby educate the broader community on the importance of supporting and welcoming those who are new to Australia. Shahla Bakhsh is 15. She was born in Pakistan, and was 6 years old when her father left for Australia. Shahla is an deep and incisive thinker with an excellent memory and a passion for knowledge. Her parents are self-educated and are now fluent Farsi readers and writers, and have contributed to this passion. They value education highly and encourage Shahla to take every opportunity that presents in Australia to build for herself a brilliant life.