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).

Freetown City Hall
17 Wallace Johnson Street
Freetown, Western Area (Freetown), 2322
Sierra Leone

Aminata Dumbuya-Jarr

Aminata Dumbuya-Jarr is a Waste Transformer and a Change Agent passionate about accelerating energy access through the use of decentralized renewable energy to achieve universal energy access goals. She is CEO and Founder of The Freetown Waste Transformers SL. Mrs. Dumbuya-Jarr is also a seasoned energy and sanitation professional that has held various leadership roles across numerous sectors.

Fatou Wurie

Fatou Wurie is a social scientist by training and has worked in some of the world’s leading bilateral and multilateral agencies to scale development and humanitarian programmes in over 25 countries. These include roles at UNMEER, DFID funded Regional Program Evidence4Action (MamaYe), WHO Foundation and UNICEF. She has worked at the intersection of public health and gender equity in partnership with private, public sectors and multilateral agencies, providing strategic oversight to reach and engage communities in challenging contexts.

Haja Isatu Bah

Haja Isatu Bah is a recent graduate from Skidmore College, NY. She graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies and is currently doing her fellowship with El-Koony Center in Kenya through the Princeton in Africa Fellowship. Haja is very passionate about the environment and issues affecting women. She is the founder and currently runs Uman4Uman, a social enterprise that produces and sells reusable sanitary pads for girls and women in Sierra Leone.

Jeremiah Thoronka

Jeremiah Thoronka is an award-winning innovator and researcher working across energy, environment, and climate change. In 2021, he was awarded the Global Student Prize and the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work - Africa, for his role in innovating clean energy systems, promoting local sustainable solutions and youth involvement in energy and climate policy.

Yirah Conteh

Yirah Oryanks Conteh, the chairman of the Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor, is an advocate of slum dwellers in Sierra Leone. With over 17 years of experience in confronting slum challenges, he believes in building urban resilience through amplifying the voices of informal settlers around and within Freetown.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE has been serving as the Mayor of Freetown since May 2018. Born and raised in the city, the Mayor’s vision is to improve the lives of Freetonians and to make Freetown a destination city. A finance professional with over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, risk management and project management in the public and private sectors, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr is passionate about the development of Sierra Leone and the transformation of Freetown.