Theme: We Are All Storytellers

Our 2024 conference is a live event featuring 12 high-profile speakers from across the globe. From NGO founders and artists to leading academics and activists, stay tuned to our social media pages as we release more information about our speakers.
Our theme this year, “We are all Storytellers”, was chosen to spotlight groundbreaking ideas and stories, as well as creative ways of sharing these ideas. Our speakers are all leaders in their respective fields, and will share their approaches to developing and sharing ideas worth spreading. We believe that everyone is a storyteller in their own right — we hope TEDxOxford will inspire us to tap on the storyteller inside us all.

Oxford Town Hall
St. Aldate's
Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PG
United Kingdom

Alexandra Drakeford

Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar at American University

Alexandra Drakeford is a visiting student at the University of Oxford during the 2023-2024 academic year. Alexandra is a senior Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar at American University in Washington, D.C., and studies political science. Throughout her college career, Alexandra has had the opportunity to intern at The White House and The Office of Former President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama. Also a Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Fellow, and Chair of the Princeton Prize in Race Relations Alumni Council, Alexandra is passionate about racial justice, building community, and rethinking cultural norms.

Amanda Prorok

Professor of Collective Intelligence and Robotics, University of Cambridge

Amanda Prorok is Professor of Collective Intelligence and Robotics at the University of Cambridge. Her mission is to synthesize controllers and interaction strategies that lead to cooperative and collaborative systems.

Ani Haykuni

Founder of Vann

Ani Haykuni is an engineer by training, a two-time cancer thriver and patient advocate, and the founder of Vann, the world's most positive platform for people affected by cancer and for those striving to make a difference. She has founded Vann along with her cancer treatments aiming to help millions of people affected by cancer and to contribute to cancer research. Ani has an MBA from the University of Oxford Said Business School, MPS in natural resources management and policy from State University of New York and Syracuse University (New York). She is also the founder of the Ani Haykuni Cancer Treatment Support Foundation and has previously worked with the World Wildlife Fund, the United Nations and other international organisations. For her work and leadership activities, Ani has received numerous awards and appeared in several podcasts, radio and TV interviews and articles sharing her story and work with the public.

Bella Forristal

Head of Marketing at 80,000 Hours

Bella is interested in how to communicate important ideas well, especially about how (& why) to do good. She's currently the Head of Marketing at 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit that aims to help people have a big, positive impact with their career. She's also worked in movement building, and was part of the co-founding team of the Global Challenges Project. She studied Classics & Philosophy at Oxford, with a particular focus on ethics.

Jonathan Rider

Co-Founder and Director at Aleph Strategies

Jonathan Rider is a Co-Founder and Director at Aleph Strategies, a research firm that supports humanitarian aid and development programmes in fragile countries. Jonathan has spent much of the last decade living and working in Afghanistan for organisations including UNESCO and the Aga Khan Foundation. He currently sits on the ICOMOS-UK Cultural Tourism Committee. He holds degrees in archaeology from the Universities of Nottingham and Oxford. Jonathan is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and an Honorary Member of the Scientific Exploration Society.

Kirstin Furber

People Director for Channel 4

Kirstin Furber, People Director for Channel 4, a renowned public speaker and expert on the Sunday Night Blues has worked in senior roles at Kantar, BBC Worldwide, 20th Century Fox and Discovery Channel. This experience convinced her that top leaders and managers create a culture that allows us to be the best we can be at work. Her life-long focus on the Sunday Night Blues and her current work with Investors In People and The University of Exeter have resulted in insights and practical, actionable leadership behaviours that can positively influence culture in an organisation.

Mirela Ivanova

Lecturer in History

Dr Mirela Ivanova is a Lecturer in History at the University of Sheffield, and her work focuses on the pre-modern history of the Balkans, Russia and Turkey and how it shapes the region today. She has written on this topic for the likes of History Today, the Los Angeles Review of Books and the Moscow Times. As a BBC/AHCR New Generation Thinker, she can also be heard on BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking.

Pavan Mano

Cultural Theorist in Contemporary Literature and Cultural Studies

Pavan Mano is a cultural theorist working in the fields of contemporary literature and cultural studies. His current research focuses on nationalism’s continual generation of outsider figures and its intersections with race, gender, and sexuality, and his forthcoming monograph examines heteronormativity as a modality for the transmission of nationalism in postcolonial settings.

Rachel Thomas

Chief Curator of the Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre

Rachel Thomas has curated International large scale group exhibitions on themes of ecofeminism, spirituality, climate change in art, such as Dear Earth; 2023, with Otobong Nkanaga, Agnes Denes, Hito Steyerl, Cornelia Parker and broadening the representation of BIPOC +LGBTQIA artists.

Shreya Ghodawat

Passionate Advocate for Sustainability, Climate Action, and Veganism

Shreya Ghodawat, India Ambassador of SHE Changes Climate and a WEF Global Shaper, passionately advocates for sustainability, climate action, gender equality, and veganism. She hosts the 'Sustainable tea with Shreya' podcast, sparking vital conversations on sustainability with influential changemakers. Shreya is also the co-founder of 'Meat Less, Meet More,' fostering an empathetic and connected plant-based community to make plant-powered living a luxurious and sustainable ethos.

Tom Wells

Oxford University History Student

Tom Wells is a BA History student at the University of Oxford. He is a lifelong stammerer and has gone on a long journey to embrace and accept the speech impediment as a central pillar of his identity. To share his story, he published multiple articles with the British Stammering Association (STAMMA) and has discussed it as a student helper during the Oxford admission process. As a speaker, he joined the Oxford Speakers Club and has won club awards for his work.