Theme: Reality Check

Join us for an exciting event at LSE's oldest building, as we host the 11th annual TEDxLSE speaker conference. This esteemed venue, which was first constructed in 1895, has witnessed a plethora of debates that have brought on paradigm shifts in knowledge and hosted a range of public figures and avid thinkers. We are honored to continue this legacy by corroborating TED's 'ideas worth spreading' in this very room.

Originally inspired by infamous street artist Bansky, who's work evokes a subversive but insightful social commentary, this year's theme 'Reality Check' brings the spotlight to both the 'bitter' and the 'sweet' on contemporary global topics such as human rights, wellbeing, and environmental greenwashing, amongst others. In turn, disrupting the normality of prominent social issues and resonating a spark of public thought and activism.

In line with this vision, our speakers today are pioneers in a range of different disciplines from STEM to trans advocacy, whose unorthodox ideas allow us to confront the biases, prejudices and preconceptions in our day to day lives. Undoubtedly, these diverse range of speakers allow us to present a vision on breaking boundaries and reshaping our collective priorities for the future.

Our team has spent the last six months organizing this event, and we hope you enjoy the conference as much as we enjoyed putting it together. We invite you to be a part of our vision and help bring these 'ideas worth sharing' to life. So, settle into your seats, and let the conference begin!

Old Theatre, London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London, London, City of, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

Alexandra Boguslawskaja

Belarusian journalist and MSc Media & Communications Governance postgraduate at LSE

Alexandra Boguslawskaja is a Belarusian journalist with 4 years of experience, specializing in politics, economy and legal issues of Belarus, as well as Belarusian foreign policy. In 2017-2018, Alexandra contributed to the largest Belarusian media ‘TUT.BY’. Since 2019, she has been working as Deutsche Welle Correspondent in Belarus. During mass protests in Belarus in 2020, Alexandra produced numerous articles, filmed video reportages and took interviews with the main democratic leaders of Belarus. Her conversation with Belarusian dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenka on the day of the presidential election collected more than 1 million views on Youtube. Alexandra is especially proud of conducting interviews with political prisoners while they have been in custody. In 2021, she was forced to leave Belarus due to the fear of political persecution and currently has to live and work from exile. In 2022, Alexandra won the Chevening Scholarship to study in the United Kingdom.

Amo Raju

Award Winning CEO at Disability Direct

Dr. Amo Raju has championed the rights of disabled people for over three decades as CEO of Disability Direct where he has led over 75 projects and generated in excess of £28m in income for the charity. Yet his journey to present day success was peppered with countless examples of society or his immediate environment doing everything possible to restrict opportunities. Despite navigating his own path and enjoying successes as a bhangra singer, politician and now author, Amo fought a secret battle with depression to the surprise of all around him. The publication of his semi-biographical book ‘Walk Like A Man’ has become an inspirative resource for many disabled people and is now being considered for adaptation to script.

Camille Giacomotto

MSc Student in Politics and Communication at LSE

Camille is a French MSc Politics and Communication student at The London School of Economics. Previously, Camille studied Philosophy and Politics at The University of Manchester and Sciences Po Paris where she began using her passion for words as a conduit to spread ideas about inequalities in access to contraception and the development of male contraception. After completing her master’s, Camille wants to contribute to bettering access to contraception through volunteering, writing and speaking out.

Chandrika Nath

Executive Director of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

Chandrika Nath has had a meandering career spanning the realms of particle physics, glaciology, science journalism and scientific political advice over the past 3 decades. She is currently Executive Director of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), a leading global organisation supporting international collaboration in Antarctic Research and providing advice to the Antarctic Treaty System. Her very first job - as a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey - took her within a few hundred kilometres of the South Pole and taught her, among other things, that chocolate forms the basis of a good diet in Antarctica, a principle that she has held on to ever since. She’ll be talking not just about why Antarctica matters to her, but why it should matter to all humanity.

Charlotte Ognibene

MSc in Development Management at LSE

Charlotte is a Master‘s student at LSE in Development Management. She is Belgian and did her previous studies in the Netherlands, in Maastricht and Leiden. She is passionate about public speaking, interacting with new people and finding new solutions to contemporary challenges. Besides studies, Charlotte enjoys playing tennis, windsurfing and having aperitivo with her friends.

Egerton Neto

democracy & Technology programme manager at Oxford University

Egerton Neto is the Manager of the Programme on Democracy and Technology at the Oxford Internet Institute, at the University of Oxford where he conducts strategic relationships with stakeholders in government, civil society, industry, and the media to ensure the Programme’s research on misinformation and hate speech are translated into policy. Six years ago, he came out as a gay man in one of the largest Brazilian newspapers. Since then, he became an advocate for Diversity and Inclusion in a country where queer rights are increasingly suppressed and the LGBTI+ community is directly targeted by misinformation and online hate speech. In his 4 years in Brazil’s Ministry of Culture, he built partnerships to implement culture and human rights projects across his country. Meanwhile, as a member of a NGO, Egerton participated in advocacy efforts in Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court to advance legislation on technology and queer rights.

Felix Lane

Trans Advocacy Manager at Stonewall

Felix Lane (he/him) is the Trans Advocacy Manager at Stonewall, which campaigns for a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be themselves and can live their lives to the full. His current work focuses on policy that impacts trans people, as well as managing TRANSforming Futures, a collaboration with 9 partner organisations and funded by the NLCF, which aims to create lasting change for trans communities in England. Prior to joining Stonewall, he spent 11 years as Co-Director of Open Barbers; a hairdressing salon and community space in Hackney for queer and trans people. Felix is originally from Macclesfield, spends most weekends out in nature, and is a big fan of Agatha Christie.

Kate Laffan

Assistant Professor in Behavioral Science at LSE

Dr Kate Laffan is an Assistant Professor in Behavioral Science at the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Science (PBS) at the London School of Economics. Kate carries out research at the intersection of economics and psychology aimed at producing policy-relevant insights which can help to address environmental challenges and promote human wellbeing. Her work has been published in leading outlets like Science and Nature Human Behavior. She is currently working on the mental health and conservation benefits of nature connectedness, as well as examining the predictors of low wellbeing around the world. Kate is passionate about policy impact and co-leads a working group on Behavioral Science for Sustainability in the UN’s One Planet Network.

Kristian Noll

Master's Student in Environmental Policy and Regulation at LSE

Kristian is a postgraduate student in the LSE Department of Geography and Environment studying environmental policy and regulation and an LSE parliamentary intern. After graduating from St Olaf College in December 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and Norwegian, Kristian was selected to participate in the International Parliamentary Stipend Program of the German Bundestag. Through this program, he worked in in the office of a German member of parliament for three months. Inspired by his experiences growing up as the son of a US diplomat and working in two European parliaments on climate issues, Kristian is interested in examining the politics behind environmental policy from an international comparative lens. Upon graduating from LSE, Kristian hopes to leverage his experiences in a career in environmental policymaking and diplomacy.

Snowy Tang

LSE Master's Student in MISDI

Snowy is a TEDx speaker in Hong Kong and London. Representing the 25th generation of indigenous Hong Kong women, she is an advocate for equal education and inheritance rights. She aspires to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, who performs traditional bridal laments across museums in Hong Kong, to become a role model in the global indigenous community. Snowy is currently completing a master's degree in digital innovation at the London School of Economics while building Senie, a startup that tackles mental health issues. Prior to that, she was a Senior Associate at advisory firm Finsbury.

Tobe Amamize

LLB Law Student at LSE

Tobe Amamize was born in Nigeria, but grew up in Scotland. She is a second-year LLB Law student at LSE. In line with the theme of reality check, her Ted Talk focuses on the normalisation of sexual harassment of women. The unfortunate reality of today is that the sexual harassment of women is normalised, and isn’t it high time that this reality was checked? After experiencing sexual harassment herself and hearing about the experience of others, she wanted to share this with people in the hopes that it leads to a change.