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TEDxBath returns to The Forum on Saturday 14 October for its next spectacular event with diverse speakers, lively acts and engaging exhibitions under the theme of ‘Unlimited’. The day will be packed with ‘ideas worth sharing’ and will deliver another uplifting and energetic event for a participatory audience of 1,600 people of all ages. 

TEDxBath’s speakers will explore and share ideas that can enrich lives, and help build stronger, thriving communities. Bringing together diverse and powerful ideas from leading change-makers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and activists, the event aims to dismantle barriers to positive change, define new possibilities and boldly seek a better future world. 

TEDxBath

This year’s TEDxBath 2023 speakers include:

Eric Ngalle Charles is a Cameroonian writer, poet, playwright, and human rights activist based in Wales. He was awarded a Creative Wales Award Fellowship in 2017 for his work on migration and memory. Eric’s TEDx talk will explore powerful themes from his life story, including the shocking trauma of his journey as a trafficked teenage migrant from Cameroon to Wales, via Russia.

Julia Samuel MBE is a leading psychotherapist and author. She worked for decades in the NHS and is a Founder Patron of Child Bereavement UK. Her three books, all Sunday Times bestsellers, have been published in 17 foreign territories, and she has written for many national newspapers and contributed to many TV and radio programmes. In her TEDx talk, Julia will explore and share ways we can all understand and better manage the human experience of grief and grieving.

Dr Mhairi Aitken is a leading Sociologist with specialist expertise in AI and digital innovation.  She is an Ethics Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute and was included in the 2023 list of ‘100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics’. Mhairi is also a regular performer at stand-up comedy events, including the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  In her TEDx talk, Mhairi will take a light-hearted look at the crucial social and ethical dimensions of AI and digital innovation.

Charles Sabine OBE is an Emmy Award-winning television journalist who worked for the US Network NBC News for 26 years, before becoming a global spokesman for patients and families suffering degenerative brain diseases. He is active throughout advocacy and charity sectors worldwide and is founder of the Hidden No More Foundation. In his TEDx talk, Charles will explain how we can help to transform approaches to helping those with devastating ailments, including by taking responsibility for our own health.

Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete best known for running and cycling in some of world’s most challenging events. In 2021 she completed a global challenge to run, solo and unsupported, across a mountain range on every continent, including three world-first traverses. She was the first woman in the Silk Road Mountain Race and the Atlas Mountain Race – two of the world’s toughest off-road bike races. Her TEDx talk will inspire the audience to fill their lives with excitement and say yes to adventure – whatever that may mean to each individual. 

Rory Stewart OBE is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He served as an MP from 2010-19 and became a Cabinet Minister as Secretary of State for International Development. Rory is the president of GiveDirectly and a visiting Fellow at yale University.  He hosts the podcast The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell.

Sahra Ahmed Kulmiya is currently researching Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex. She also holds a PhD from Bristol University, an MSc from Birmingham University, and a BSc from Greenwich University. She is passionate about mathematical modelling in the physical sciences. Her TEDx talk will shine a light on the potentially unlimited future power through future research and development, including through quantum computing. 

Erinch Sahan is a business strategist and economist. He is the business and enterprise lead at the Doughnut Economics Action Lab, alongside founder and former TEDxBath speaker Kate Raworth. Enrich was formerly the chief executive of the World Fair Trade Organization and previously worked for Oxfam, Procter & Gamble and Australia’s aid programme. He is a board member of the Social Enterprise World Forum and teaches at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Enrich’s TEDx talk will show how actions are necessary from businesses so as to meet the needs of all people within the means of the living planet, and bring unlimited – and sustainable – benefits for all.

Kudzai Matsvai is an Architectural Designer and EDI activist with a genuine passion for progressive change for under-represented communities. Having trained and worked in Liverpool and London, she has a track record of engaging with diverse communities, including working with young people, and an understanding of co-design and co-creation frameworks. Her primary area of academic interest is Black-British history and its underrepresentation in the architectural space. Kudzai’s talk will explore aspects of her passions for equity and social justice, and how we can move towards a fairer, more balanced and fairly represented society.

TEDxBath Curation Lead, Geoff Rich, said, “We’re so thrilled to be bringing another amazing lineup of TEDx speakers and acts to the largest venue in our home city.”

TEDxBath Lead Organiser, Rhodora Baguilat, added, “We are building TEDxBath as a fully inclusive community. We are looking forward to our event on 14 October and to welcoming people from all backgrounds, ages, genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, and people with visible and invisible disabilities. We are passionate and proud to reflect diversity in our audiences, our city, and on our stage.”

TEDxBath is run by a group of volunteers, who have come together each year to make it happen. Volunteer and Comms Lead for 2023, Bob Mytton, explained, “We are proud to be supporting such an exciting local event and bringing the community together.” The organising team is joined by more volunteers on the day.

If you would like to volunteer, sponsor or support the event please go to the website www.tedxbath.co.uk

Tickets are £20, Students £15, and are available to purchase via the website or at the Bath  Box Office https://bathboxoffice.org.uk/whats-on/tedxbath-2023/about