Jillian Haslam gives us a greater insight and new depth into finding once's voice in the most difficult of situations and circumstances to make a lasting impact on the world. Admired across continents, Jillian Haslam’s life story has always had a peculiar way of capturing the attention and imagination of her audiences. Born to a British father in India, who chose not to return to England after India’s independence in 1947, she faced a bruising childhood of extreme poverty, malnutrition and disease, living through the deaths of four siblings and her mother, as well as some appalling instances of racist abuse. Now, Jillian is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, trainer, philanthropist, and author of two books, 'Indian.English.' and 'The Irrepressible Mind'. She currently runs six charities for various sectors of the underprivileged in India. She has previously participated in several TEDx events as a speaker. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

As a well-known figure in the business community inside London's Canary Wharf, Ben Brabyn calls entrepreneurs for action to reach out to the public to build heartfelt connections across economic and skills divides. Featured on the BBC documentary ‘Situation Vacant’ (1994), Ben started his career serving with the Royal Marines for five years; eventually being promoted to the rank of Captain. Joining JP Morgan as an analyst, he worked in New York, London and the Middle East, before launching his first digital business in 2001. As the world’s first crowdfunding business, Bmycharity enabled 800,000 donors to deliver more than £50 million to UK charities. Since February 2016, as ‘ambassador’ for the Royal Navy and Heropreneurs, Ben has been the Head of Level39, supporting 200 high-growth technology companies who are transforming the security, productivity and reach of global financial services and other sectors. Most recently he became the Campaign Coordinator for GenieShares. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

From the most ancient times, humanity has looked to the skies to work out the affairs of things on this Earth. Professor Emeritus Michael York takes us through an astonishing journey on ancient beliefs and modern celestial observations to give us an overview of how this timeless pattern of human interaction with the environment continues to this day. Professor Emeritus Michael York is a UK-based American Religious Studies scholar who specialises in the study of pre-Christian European religion and its relation to contemporary Paganism. In 2003, he published 'Pagan Theology', in which he put forward the idea that the ancient pre-Christian and pre-Islamic religions of Eurasia, indigenous religions from across the globe, and contemporary Pagan faiths could all be constituted as forms of paganism. His publications include 'The Emerging Network' (1995), 'The Divine versus the Asurian: An Interpretation of Indo-European Cult and Myth' (1995), and 'Pagan Ethics: Paganism as a World Religion' (2016). His interests remain in New Religious Movements in general and in the more amorphous movements of New Age and Contemporary Western Paganism. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Being creative is increasingly difficult in the modern world, particularly during these times of global migration and different views of beauty, each of which reflect these problematic processes. In this mutual interview, the Reverend David William Parry and Haralampi G. Oroschakoff draw on their personal experiences as creatives struggling to express artistic desires on conceptual art in a meaningful way. An award-winning theatrical poet and Central Asia enthusiast, the Reverend David William Parry is also an LGBTQ activist, playwright, producer, essayist, broadcaster, actor, director, founding member of Theo-Humanist Arts and a frantically busy Social Gospel pastor to South London’s disadvantaged. David is writing his Dr.Philos. at Aarhus University, Denmark, on the arts. Indeed, his critically acclaimed lyrical collections, 'Caliban’s Redemption', and 'The Grammar of Witchcraft' explore Shakespearean noir, whilst his staged productions, 'The Botanist Monsieur Jordan and The Sorcerer-Dervish Mastali Shah', 'Shakespeare: A Comedy in Ten Scenes', along with 'Shakespeare Tonight', actively engage with highbrow gags for global audiences. His most recent book is called 'Mount Athos Inside Me: Essays on Religion, Swedenborg and Arts'. Haralampi G. Oroschakoff is an Austrian painter, draftsman and writer and is the offspring of an old, exiled Russian family. He lives and works in Berlin, Vienna and Cannes. Haralampi is considered a pioneer of the East-West dialogue in art and a renewer of the reception of Eastern iconography in Western painting. He attracted attention in the eighties with drawings, text collages, installations, and video performances. He has numerous exhibitions, lectureships and publications in the international culture industry since the early 1980s. Haralampi is the author of 'Die Battenberg Affäre' and one of the authors of 'Moskau-Berlin Stereogramme'. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Music can never be limited or stifled while musicians are constantly looking for new and exciting ways to express harmony. In this performance, Gabriele Pollina uses new types of atmospheric sound and instrument to mix rhythm and melody for a new generation of audiences. Gabriele Pollina is a multi-instrumentalist from Italy. His passion for music began when he received his first drum kit at the age of six. Surrounded by a very musical environment his percussive skills grew fast and at the age of eleven he was already playing in his first band. After several years of drum training gigs and recordings he felt that something was missing in his musical development, something that could combine rhythm and melody. He found his answer in an instrument called handpan! He approached on this in 2013 and after only 6 months he won the first prize at the Handpan Race, a contest organised by the Handpan Festival in Milan. During the following years he recorded his first album as a soloist and he started a long music trip through Australia and Asia. Now he's based in London, where he is teaching and performing. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Awakening the voices of women in the past to speak in modern times about their war-torn experiences, Gerrie Skeens and Julia Munrow dramatise the actual words and early feminist struggles of the causes behind the First World War in a striking and insightful manner. Gerrie Skeens is an actress, model, writer, director and photographer. Known for her roles in 'Ravenswood' and 'Red River', Gerrie has appeared in countless productions and won awards in various ceremonies including the 14/48 London Festival, Living Skies Student Film Festival and Pasadena Eclipse International Film Festival. In 2018, she played the part of Nina in 'Ward 6', Queen Elizabeth in 'Richard III' and Medea in a solo show. In collaboration with JAG Art, she appeared in PoArtry of the Revolution, a joint Russian/English language production which she co-wrote, translated and directed. Julia Munrow was the Artistic Director of MOMI Actors and directed the 'Playback Company' featured on LWT's Nightlife. The writer of 'Silent Women? Black in the Frame' and 'News from No-man's Land' for the National Film Theatre, her novel, 'Please Don't Keep In Touch' was shortlisted for the Woman's Fiction award. Julia’s film and TV credits include the BBC’s 'Elisabeth II in Love Again' and 'Mercy in Mankind'. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

In this challenging and thought-provoking talk, Professor Andy Clark draws on years of extensive research into the theories and evidences surrounding the 'extended mind'. Andy Clark is Professor of Cognitive Philosophy at the University of Sussex. He is the author of several books including 'Natural-Born Cyborgs' (Oxford University Press 2003), 'Supersizing the Mind' (Oxford University Press 2008) and 'Surfing Uncertainty' (Oxford University Press, 2016). His current research interests include human-technology interaction, embodiment, and the predictive brain. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Sölvi Fannar draws on his immense knowledge and interest in human emotions along with modern research into the complexities of the many gender orientations to challenge us to ask 'what unites the 112 gender identities?' Ultimately, he suggests it is not where we are coming from, but rather where we are going. Sölvi Fannar is an actor, model, health professional, writer, poet, multi-athlete, musician and artist, dubbed a 'Renaissance Man' and 'Iceland's Bruce Lee'. Born in Iceland but now based in London, his first taste of acting came in the feature film 'Atomic Station' at the age of 12. After this, there was no turning back. Following his studies at the Icelandic Film School, Sölvi has been involved in film, TV and media projects worldwide and is now the ‘agent’ for Icelandic actor and current World’s Strongest Man, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, also known as Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane in 'Game of Thrones.' His two most recent films are 'Three Dots and a Dash' and 'Operation Ragnarok'. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx