Theme: Connecting

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” ― Chief Seattle.

For 2013, TEDxPortofSpain has chosen the theme connecting. We will embark on a journey — filled with stories, songs, and lessons-learned – and the inspiration of those who have demonstrated what is possible when we begin connecting. For 12.12.12 we chose to explore theme Courage. Our 12.12.12 speakers definitely gave some talks worth watching. Please click here to watch the 12.12.12 Talks.

Central Bank Auditorium,
Eric Williams Plaza
Independence Square
Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago

Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh

For over ten years, Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh has worn many hats, university professor, writer and activist and has worked tirelessly to promote authentic economic development. In 2002 he organized the University of the West Indies Symposium on land use options for 77,000 acres of land and infrastructure on the West Coast of Trinidad, which was about to be abandoned due to the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited and the historic sugar industry. From 2006 to 2008 he worked with communities at Chatham and the South West Peninsula to prevent the state from allowing the ALCOA aluminium smelter at Chatham; similarly with La Brea and South West Peninsula from 2006 to 2010 to prevent the state from proceeding with the Alutrint aluminum smelter.

Father Clyde Martin Harvey

When he was awarded the Humming Bird Medal Gold for Religion and Community Service in 2011, Fr. Clyde Martin Harvey was not too enthused about writing HBM after his name. Instead his personal letterhead carries the exclamation, Human Beings Matter, and he promised to be guided by that principle as he sought to respond to the deepest meaning of this national award. Although he likes to say that he is just a parish priest, there is more to Fr. Clyde Martin Harvey than just saying prayers, heaven and hell. Father Clyde Martin Harvey is a tall, stately man who is compassionate and humble. This lecturer, Vicar for Clergy and Hummingbird Gold medal recipient is one of our country’s most charismatic leaders. He comes down from the altar with a practical approach, serving God and his people.

Keegan Taylor and Rondel Benjamin

Throw together the words "bois" and "stick fighting" in a Trinidadian context and one would assume a history lesson is being discussed or something related to our folklore, but in this 21st century, Keegan Taylor and Rondel Benjamin have made these words a part of our modern discussion. These young men have made a piece of our cultural roots relevant again by founding Bois Academy of Trinidad and Tobago (B.A.T.T.).

Erle Rahaman-Noronha

Erle Rahaman-Noronha is the Kenyan-born owner of Wa Samaki Ecosystems and a Carnival lover. He lived in Canada and now resides in Trinidad where he is remodeling a former citrus estate through permaculture restoration. He teaches and practices Permaculture, producing indigenous food crops, tropical fish and cut flowers on his farm which has won Agricultural Entrepreneur awards for forestry, aquaculture and horticulture. In 2011, Rahaman-Noronha was the winner of the National Agricultural Entrepreneur award for Agroforestry.

Dominique Le Gendre

Dominique Le Gendre’s accomplishments are impressive by any standard. Her work and career are a reflection of her love and dedication to music. Her compositions reflect her rich, multi-cultured Caribbean upbringing. Dominique's affair with music began in childhood. Her music career has taken her far past the humble beginnings of sitting under the piano of her neighbour and first piano teacher, Trinidad’s great musicologist and leader of the chorale La Petite Musicale, Olive Walke, to singing in the Assumption Church choir, playing in Bishop Anstey High School’s junior steelband, to training as a classical guitarist in Paris under Ramon De Herrera.

Debrah Lewis

Debrah Lewis is the first Vice President of the International Confederation of Midwives from the Caribbean. After receiving an MSc in Nurse-Midwifery from Columbia University in 1986, she worked in New York as a public and private practice midwife and also volunteered in Africa. Lewis’ leadership led to the formation of the Caribbean Regional Midwifery Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Midwives. She is passionate about strengthening the network of midwives in the Caribbean and ultimately, the world.

Gabrielle Jamela Hosein

Gabrielle Jamela Hosein is actively carving a space that merges art, theory, feminism and activism. She is not your typical academic or educator. Gabrielle explores the social world women and men inhabit through her thinking, feminism, mothering, blogging, activism, poetry, and t-shirt graffiti.

Etienne Charles

Etienne Charles is a Recording Artist, Composer, Arranger, and an Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University. Hailed by The New York Times as “an auteur” he is known as one of the most compelling and exciting young jazz artists of our time, he is known for ushering the genre into groundbreaking new territory by buoyantly tapping into a myriad of styles rooted in his Afro-Caribbean background, exploring the musical depths of the islands, from calypso to Haitian vodou music. Also in the jazz amalgam mix are rock steady, reggae, belair, and rock as well as the influence of Motown and R&B music Charles listened to on his parents' record player when he was growing up.

Attillah Springer

Attillah Springer is a writer and activist born in Trinidad. She is stickfighter in training and has been a flag woman for Phase 2 Pan Groove and 3 Canal’s Jouvay band. She also DJs under the name Tillah Willah. It was while engaging inner city residents on skin bleaching that she developed an interest in using media for advocacy and activism particularly for those whose voices remain silenced by mainstream agendas. In London, she has worked with the London Language and Literacy Unit’s programmes in migrant communities, empowering parents’ indigenous knowledge to engage their children with the English educational system.

Stacy-Marie Ishmael

Stacy-Marie Ishmael lives at the intersection of finance, media and technology. Currently, she works as a product manager at a technology startup in New York. Selected by Business Insider as one of the thirty most important women under 30 in technology in May 2013, one of her nominees commented or her unusual status in the technology industry, "The reason I'm nominating Stacy is that she is that most unusual person - a woman of color in tech who is brilliant at explaining why it's so important that we design technology for everyone, and not just women, but women who do not live in the middle-class world of most of us who read publications like Business Insider.