Theme: Three Horizons

Ideas to meet the moment.

We exist within a complex intersection of systems that respond and rely upon each other to maintain a status quo, however structures we’ve collectively accepted as immutable are both crumbling and being dismantled around us.

We live at a time when global risk and incredible opportunity expands across our climate and biodiversity, exponential tech and AI breakthroughs, an energy transition, our social and information divides, and our collective health. The complexity is extraordinary.

How might we meet this moment?

Some of Australia’s most exceptional minds live this question every day. At TEDxSydney 2025 we will gather to bear witness and hear from leaders at the forefront of our energy, economic, political, scientific and creative systems.

This year’s speakers will share their ideas through the theme of Three Horizons:

• Horizon 1: Triage
Where are we now?

• Horizon 2: Transition
Where are we going?

• Horizon 3: Transformation
Which futures are we imagining and working towards?

We will navigate the complexity and perhaps even find joy in the gathering of curious, open minds because whether we choose it or not, we're all in this together.

City Recital Hall
2 Angel Pl, Sydney
Sydney, New South Wales, 2000
Australia

Andrew Pask

Professor Andrew Pask is a leading geneticist and conservation biologist at the University of Melbourne’s School of Biosciences. He’s at the forefront of using comparative mammalian genetics to uncover the deeply conserved genomic networks that drive key developmental processes — and the evolutionary tweaks that create biodiversity. Andrew’s work has helped decode the genomes of several marsupials, including the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (thylacine), offering critical insights into the biology of these iconic species. As founder of the Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research (TIGRR) Lab, and in partnership with Colossal Biosciences, he’s spearheading groundbreaking efforts to explore the possibility of de-extinction — and applying that knowledge to help safeguard today’s most vulnerable marsupials. Beyond the lab, Andrew is committed to real-world conservation impact. He recently established Australia’s first living cell biobank at Museums Victoria, a major step toward preserving the genetic diversity of our unique fauna for generations to come. Through innovation, collaboration, and a passion for Australia's wildlife, Andrew is working to create a future where we don’t just conserve biodiversity — we have the tools to restore it. https://tigrrlab.science.unimelb.edu.au/ https://colossal.com/thylacine/ https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pasklab/ @AJ_Pask

Barry Irvin

Barry Irvin is Executive Chairman of the Bega Group, one of Australia's largest dairy and food companies with revenues exceeding $3 billion. Bega Group supplies both the Australian and international markets with a product portfolio that ranges from dairy ingredients to a number of Australia's most iconic brands including Vegemite, Farmers Union, Dare, Dairy Farmers and Daily Juice. Bega Group began as a co-operative based in a small regional community and largely produced Cheese products for the Australian market. Since deregulation of the Australian Dairy industry Bega Group has grown to include 20 manufacturing sites across the country, operate Australia's largest chilled distribution network and service customers in Australia and more than 40 countries around the world. Bega Group is an ASX listed company with shareholders ranging from retail investors (including many of the original dairy farming families) and large institutional investors. Barry grew up on his family dairy farm which his son Andrew now operates, Andrew is the sixth generation to farm in the Bega Valley. The long history with farming has meant that Barry has had a particular interest in sustainable agricultural production and championed a number of environmentally focused projects. Most recently Barry has led the establishment of a Regional Circularity Co-operative with the ambition of making the Bega Valley the most circular region in the world. Barry has always believed in giving back to the community and is the long-term Chairman of Giant Steps Australia an organisation that provides services to children and adults with autism.

Corey Bradshaw

Professor Corey Bradshaw joined Flinders University in January 2017 as the Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology. He is the Director of the Global Ecology Laboratory and lead Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures and was formerly a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage where he led its Modelling Node. From 2008–2015 Corey was at the University of Adelaide (Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change 2015–2016), and from 2004–2008, Senior then Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University. He was an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tasmania from 1999–2004. Corey’s research is mainly in global-change ecology — how human endeavour and climate fluctuations have altered past, present and future ecosystems. His most important contributions have been in applied ecology, biodiversity conservation, theoretical ecology, extinction dynamics, human demography, species responses to climate change, disease ecology, and applying ecological theory and modelling techniques to hindcast prehistoric ecosystems. Corey’s work has provided environmental policy advice around the world, and his papers are highly cited.

Damon Gameau

Damon Gameau is an award winning film maker and impact campaigner. He is known for his films That Sugar Film, 2040, Regenerating Australian and soon to be released Future Council. Damon is a previous TEDX speaker and was a nominee for NSW Australian of the Year in 2020.

Danya Vears

Danya Vears is an Associate Professor in Ethics and Professionalism at Deakin University where she teaches bioethics and research methods to medical students. Prior to this role, she was a Principal Research Fellow and Team Leader at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She also holds an honorary guest professor position at KU Leuven in Belgium where she completed her first postdoctoral fellowship position. Prior to completing her PhD in bioethics, Danya trained as a genetic counsellor which she believes shapes the way she thinks about the world and therefore her research. Danya’s research uses empirical (predominantly qualitative) and theoretical methodologies to explore ethical issues relating to implementing genomic technologies across a range of settings, including diagnostic genomic sequencing for rare disease and genomic newborn screening. Danya serves on both national and international professional bodies, such as the Human Genetics Society of Australasia and Global Alliance for Genomics and Health. She is also on the Policy and Ethics Committee and the Scientific Program Committee of the European Society for Human Genetics.

Gina Chick

Gina Chick is a rewilding facilitator, adventurer, writer and speaker. Gina was one of ten participants of the first series of Alone Australia, made by iTV and screened on SBS in 2023. After 67 days of unforgettable moments of searing vulnerability, Gina was the last person standing, and the second woman to win an Alone solo challenge. Her determination, passion, and love of the natural world endeared her to more than 5.5 million people around Australia. Gina's articles have been published in The Guardian, news.com.au, Mamamia and SBS online. Her first book, We Are the Stars, published in 2024 by Simon & Schuster, is a bestselling memoir of love, connection and the glorious power of letting go. https://www.instagram.com/gigiamazonia

Hiva Grube

Hiva is a 13 year old Norfolk Islander on a mission to protect Earth’s wild spaces. Armed with his camera and an insatiable curiosity for birds and their habitats, Hiva advocates for a planet that is rich in biodiverse forests and abundant in humans that care about nature. Every time he learns of another bird species going extinct, Hiva hears the wake-up call - and he wants you to hear it too! Birds are the ambassadors of our biodiversity, exhibiting countless variations of colour, shape, size and function that reflect the ecosystem around them - as they disappear, so do our chances of saving our planet. Hiva wants to show his human friends that they too are part of nature, so that we can all start safeguarding our wild spaces for future generations. For more information on Hiva’s mission, visit www.wildtavake.com

Ilé Ilû

Ilé Ilû (House of Rhythm) is a women’s rhythm empowerment collective based in Sydney/Central Coast on the lands of the Gadigal, Bidjigal, and Darkinjung people. The name ILÉ ILÛ, which translates to “House of Drums” in the African Yoruba language, honours the group’s rhythmic roots in Afro-Brazilian culture. Through their artistry and music, they naturally uplift spirits and bring people closer to the heartbeat of life. With this music, we connect to the people who created these rhythms especially the women, creators of life and music even through struggles and hardship They held on to memory, to rhythm, to spirit They sang in secret They drummed in code They danced the stories that could not be spoken out loud Their music became an act of resistance, a calling, a prayer, a celebration of survival Hoje batemos os tambores We play these rhythms Not because there is no pain, not because there is no sorrow, but because we must find joy Joy is “sagrada” … sacred And our bodies are a house of those stories our bodies are a house of rhythm! Led by multi-instrumentalist artist, cultural educator and creative director Marina Da Silva, their shows are a vibrant reclamation and celebration of feminine power, diversity, and the universal language of rhythm. www.houseofrhythm.com.au

Isabelle Reinecke and Aunty McRose Elu

Dr Aunty McRose Elu is a Saibai Seisia Elder - a formidable leader and scholar. Since 1980, Dr Elu has been drawing global attention to the impact of climate change on the Torres Strait, including speaking at the UN and to business and political leaders. Building on this long history of climate organising she is part of the Australian Climate Case, a landmark class action taking the federal government to court for failing to prevent climate change. She is an Executive Producer and Writer on the new documentary Testimony which follows this case. She brings to this role her power as a visionary on story and keeper of deep cultural knowledge and guidance on protocols and Ailan Kustom. Isabelle Reinecke is a lawyer and the founding Executive Director of Grata Fund, a leading not-profit based at the University of NSW that campaigns, incubates litigation and funds people and communities challenging systemic gridlocks across human rights, climate injustice and democratic freedoms. For more on this story, watch out for the forthcoming documentary, Testimony, www.testimony-film.com www.gratafund.org.au www.australianclimatecase.org.au Instagram: @gratafund @australianclimatecase @isabelle.reinecke

Joseph Wijaya

Joseph Recycling began in 2022, inspired by a moment when 10-year-old Joseph Wijaya saw his friends collecting metal and cables from rivers while fishing. Realising the value of recycling, and with encouragement from his father, Joseph decided to start his own initiative to collect and process recyclables while giving back to his community. In March 2022, he delivered his first recycling bin to a local co-working space. By 2025, his network has grown to over 200 members, including schools, homes, and businesses. Each week, Joseph collects, sorts, and processes recyclables, partnering with a facility in Java when needed. Funds raised help pay for children’s education. In 2023, he paid for 24 children to attend school, and in 2024, he supported 30. He believes every child deserves the chance to learn and grow into future leaders. Joseph also leads beach cleanups and runs a plastic collection program where children earn English lessons focused on sustainability. He now creates and sells keyrings at markets to support his mission. In 2025, he launched a recycling curriculum to educate remote schools. At just 13, Joseph dreams of building a school where students can pay their fees with plastic waste—turning trash into opportunity.

Kevin Heath

Kevin Heath, affectionately known as Kev to those closest to him, hails from K’Gari (Fraser Island, Queensland), the ancestral lands of the Butchulla people. While he now calls Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs home, his roots deeply inform his impactful work. As an Aboriginal Health Worker within his Local Health District, Kevin is a driving force behind holistic health programs in schools and community organizations, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to community well-being. Kevin is also a proud and influential Community Ambassador for R U OK?, a national suicide prevention charity. Balancing his demanding professional life with a deep commitment to his heritage, Kevin actively seeks to expand his knowledge of Aboriginal cultural lore. Through his consultancy work, he shares the richness and history of the world's oldest living culture, fostering understanding and contributing to a more unified society. Above all, Kevin's greatest joy comes from his role as a father to his daughters, Kobi (3) and Kaia (1), his "little Boori's" who are the guiding light in his life.

Luke O'Shea

Luke O'Shea is an Australian singer-songwriter and storyteller who has written, recorded and produced eight albums and won seventeen Golden Guitar Awards at the Country Music Awards of Australia

Marie-Anne Melidonis

Marie-Anne Melidonis is a retail professional with extensive experience in product innovation and range curation. She is currently the Head of Global Sourcing and Product Quality at Officeworks, Australia’s leading retailer of technology, stationery, education resources, furniture, art supplies, and print and create. Marie-Anne is passionate about combining creativity and sustainability to drive success, designing products to help Australians work, learn, create and connect. Previously, Marie-Anne held positions at other prominent Australian retailers including Spotlight Retail Group, Adairs, Myer and Target.

Matt Kuperholz

Matt Kuperholz is an accomplished Artificial Intelligence scientist and advisor with a wealth of experience applying AI to real world client challenges spanning over 3 decades (including for over 40 of the ASX top 50 clients). He is driven by a passion for optimising humanity with technology and has established himself as an expert thought-leader, sharing his knowledge and insights on AI and its far-reaching impact. His contributions have earned him recognition and accolades, including from the Analytical Industry Body of Australia's top analytics leader in the first year this prize was awarded. // Matt has been a Professor of Practice for The Centre for AI and the Future of Work with Deakin University and was the Chief Data Scientist for PwC Australia (10 years) as well as the Advanced Analytics leader for Deloitte Australia (8 years). Since 2017 Matt lead the development of Responsible AI solutions and has been focused on pioneering solutions with government and private enterprise for the complex issues associated with AI ethics, performance management and governance both in Australia and internationally.

Monty Badami

Dr. Monty Badami is an anthropologist and world-class speaker, facilitator and coach. Apart from holding a PhD in anthropology; he’s a university lecturer, Army Reserves officer, faculty member of The School of Life and co-presents a podcast called The Meaning Of.... He combines his knowledge of Army Leadership with evolutionary evidence and cross-cultural research to demonstrate how our creativity, diversity and imperfection is essential to our adaptability and success as a species. Monty recognised that organisations were missing a vital strategic edge by failing to appreciate the untapped potential of a more anthropological approach to education and business. He has spent most of his research living with the Paniya, a marginalised indigenous group in India, who were slaves until quite recently. It is here that he fully developed his social and ethical foundations and nurtured a deep appreciation for the innovation and resilience of humans all over the world. Monty runs a social enterprise 'Habitus' to make the world a better place, and families and communities are at the heart of that. As such, he uses the profits made from corporate clients and private schools to help Habitus deliver cutting edge, research inspired, socially inclusive programs to public schools and marginalised communities in need.

Ruby Rodgers

Ruby Rodgers is ready to take the world by storm, and she’s still only 15 years old. Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Climate Change Warrior, Student, Leader – it’s only just the start for this talented and dedicated young woman. When you’re from a big musical family and spend your life surrounded by musicians, it’s so entrenched in your DNA that making music is almost as important as breathing. Her debut single, Hits the Heart was released through EMI Australia / Universal Music in December 2024. Ruby was recently invited to be one of only eight schoolchildren from around the globe to take part in Damon Gameau’s documentary film, Future Council. Future Council gathered a host of inspiring young minds who each brought their own personal experiences and “superpowers” to the table (Ruby’s superpower was as a songwriter / poet / storyteller). They travel across Europe spending time in nature, learning about eco solutions, sharing their concerns and fears for the future, and confronting multinational mega-polluters.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson is a multi-New York Times and Amazon best-selling author, podcaster, social philosopher and renegade. She is the host of the podcast Wild with Sarah Wilson and writes the popular Substack newsletter This is Precious, which has an engaged community of 57,000 subscribers. Sarah is known globally for founding the I Quit Sugar movement - a digital wellness program and 13 award-winning books that sell in 52 countries - which saw millions around the world transform their health. In 2022 Sarah sold the business and donated 100 per cent of the proceeds to charity. Her New York Times bestseller First, We Make the Beast Beautiful is described by Mark Manson as “the best book on living with anxiety that I’ve ever read” and was featured as a book of the year on NBC’s Today Show. Her book This One Wild & Precious Life won the 2021 US Gold Nautilus Award. Sarah is an advisor to corporations and universities on media, mental health and existential risk. She’s guest lectured for the University of Cambridge’s Sustainability and Leadership masters course and partnered with organisations such as the Climate Council, Harvard University and Intelligence Squared on campaigns.

Simon Holmes à Court

Simon Holmes à Court is an energy analyst, clean tech investor and climate philanthropist. He is the founder of Climate 200, the community crowdfunding initiative that helped to elect seven new community independents to the Australian Parliament during the 2022 federal election. Simon began his career as a software engineer in Silicon Valley during the first dotcom wave, then spent more than a decade in precision farm water management. He was a driving force behind the country’s first community-owned wind farm, Hepburn Wind, near Daylesford in Central Victoria. Simon is a director at the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network, an advisor to the Smart Energy Council and writes regularly about the transformation of Australia’s energy sector. www.climate200.com.au

Tanya Latty

Assoc. Prof Tanya Latty is an insect ecologist with broad interests in insect behaviour and ecology. Her lab motto is ‘Saving the world with insects (and other invertebrates)’. Her research focuses on a range of challenges including developing better pollination systems for farms, finding ways to create pollinator friendly cities, developing sustainable insect management strategies for agriculture, and using the amazing collective intelligence of ants, bees and slime moulds as inspiration for new technologies. She is fascinated by the behaviour of organisms and is particularly interested in understanding how group-living organisms make collective decisions. She studies a wide range of organisms (including slime moulds, social insects and velvet worms) and has a special fondness for ‘weird’ and under-studied taxa. She is passionate about invertebrate conservation and strongly believes that the two goals of protecting invertebrate biodiversity and improving human health and wellbeing can go hand in hand. Tanya has won several prestigious grants and awards including an ARC fellowship, and a Branco Weiss society in science fellowship (awarded to only 10 people globally each year, in any field of science). She is an active science communicator and has worked in TV, radio and print media. She is president of the Australian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour, co-founder of ‘Invertebrates Australia’ an organisation dedicated to conservation of Australian invertebrates and sits on the education committee for the Australian Entomological Society.

Tim Buckley

The director of Climate Energy Finance, Tim has 35 years financial markets experience, including providing public interest related financial analysis on the energy transition since 2013, studying China, India and Australia. Tim founded Climate Energy Finance Australasia in 2022, having co-founded and worked with the global energy finance thinktank IEEFA over 2013-2021. For 17 years Tim was a Managing Director at Citigroup, Head of Australasian Equity Research. Tim has published over 100 reports on the global energy transition. Website: https://climateenergyfinance.org