TEDxNantymoel will take place from 10.30am – 5.30pm on Sunday 20th October at the Mem Community Centre in Nantymoel. The independently organised event, licensed by TED, will feature local speakers and TED Talks videos under the theme of ‘How Green Are Our Valleys?’.
Launched in 2009, TEDx is programme of locally organised events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience. Some of the best talks from TEDx events have later featured on TED.com and received millions of views from audiences across the world.
Announcing the speakers, lead organiser of TEDxNantymoel, Andy Caress, said:
“I’m excited to bring together such an inspirational and passionate group of people to share their stores and ideas with the community. The audience will hear talks on a wide variety of topics, all based around the colour or theme of ‘green’. This theme opens the doors for so many fascinating perspectives, whether the link is related to the environment, feeling ‘green with envy’ or ‘green around the gills’, signalling fresh beginnings or new growth, or been given the ‘green light’ to develop a new skill for instance, we’re confident there will be something to enthuse and enlighten everyone to attends.”
Speakers at TEDxNantymoel include:
- Alison Westwood, a meningitis survivor, retired physiotherapist and social entrepreneur as founder of Baobab Bach CIC.
- Carl Gough, an internationally recognised performance storyteller and social business consultant.
- Dave Muckell, an employability officer, life coach, business owner and a director of men’s mental wellbeing support group Lads and Dads CIC.
- Filippo Drera, a UK airline fleet engineer striving to balance the benefits and challenges of the aviation industry and its environmental impact.
- Julian Cash MBE, co-founder and chair of Community Furniture Aid, recycling donated household items to furnish the homes for those in need.
- Karen Zecca, a doctoral researcher focuses on enhancing education for individuals with disabilities, particularly within physical education and sport.
- Liz Clifton, a leadership coach and mentor, Reiki and animal Reiki teacher and founder of the Family Dog Connection Limited and take34u™️ mission.
- Lydia Godden, Energy Learning Network Coordinator and author of two research papers including ‘Sharing Power, Spreading Wealth’ (2024).
- Martin Downes, Lead Consultant: Learning & Development at Cwmpas, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and creator of ‘Start Something Good®’.
- Natalie Sargent, Development Manager at The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which tackles the high levels of deprivation in former mining communities.
- Stephen Cunnah, Policy and External Affairs Manager at charity Sustrans Cymru, former aide to Mark Drakeford MS and current Cardiff councillor.
- Toni Brace, Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner and body language trainer.
TEDxNantymoel is supported by Awen Cultural Trust, a registered charity whose purpose is to ‘make people’s lives better’. They do this ‘by providing opportunity for people and communities to experience, enjoy and be inspired together, by culture’ across theatres, libraries and other venues within the South Wales valleys communities. To find out more about their work, please visit www.awen-wales.com.
Awen Cultural Trust Chief Executive, Richard Hughes, said:
“We are grateful for the number and quality of applications we received from people who were keen to speak at this year’s TEDxNantymoel event. Without doubt, the county borough of Bridgend is full of inspirational individuals with interesting stories to tell, and I look forward to hearing them next month.”
Tickets are available from https://awenboxoffice.com/whats-on/tedx-nantymoel-how-green-are-our-valleys/. The tickets are ‘pay what you can’, starting from £2, and include refreshments and a light buffet lunch. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own reusable cup for tea/coffee.
For more information about TEDxNantymoel, please visit:
https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/57615 or https://www.facebook.com/TEDxNantymoel.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
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, TED Talks 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.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through the Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED’s many programs and initiatives.
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