TEDx brings its worldwide mission to create ‘ideas worth sharing’ to Donegal for the very first time with the stimulating and challenging theme of ‘Beyond Borders’.
TEDxBallybofey, to be held April 12th, has an interesting line up of speakers, including many Donegal natives, who will deliver TED-style talks.
The event will take place in the Balor Theatre at 6.45pm and will feature TEDTalks videos, original speakers and music.
Hundreds of people expressed an interest in speaking at the event and event organisers Leah Fairman from The BASE Enterprise Centre, Emma Boylan from Outside the Box and Conor Malone from The Balor Theatre had a tough job deciding who to choose.
In end, the team choose a wide variety of speakers who all have quite a different viewpoints on what ‘Beyond Borders’ means to them.
The evening promises inspiring, thought-provoking and illuminating talks packed with local and national speakers – many of whom live and or work in Donegal connection. Using a combination of live TED-style speakers and pre-recorded TED talks we’ll explore borders in every sense of the word – physical, geographical, technical, spiritual and mental.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a programme of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx programme, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.
Get ready for an immersive, engaging and compelling evening proving, as we all know, “Up here it’s different!”
Emma Boylan commented; “Leah and I were talking over coffee about motivational talks and inspiring ideas! And we both said we’d love if more people in Donegal knew about TED, conor got on board from the Balor Theatre…and so TEDxBallybofey was born! We really wanted people in Donegal to know more about TED and TEDx and to inspire them by listening to stories from native Donegal people who have thought ‘Beyond Borders’
Speakers at TEDxBallybofey include:
Simon Berrow
Founder member of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and is currently their Head of Science
Ian Harkin
CEO and Co-Founder of Lottie Dolls
Nikki Bradley
Most Inspiring Person of the Year’ by Outsider Magazine and the winner of one of Ten Outstanding Young People awards in Ireland
Katie McGloin
Katie McGloin, 17, is the National Youth Entrepreneur of the Year & a European Enterprise Bronze Medalist. She is one of U Magazine 30 Most Inspiring Women under 30.
Susan McFeely
Susan is a National Team leader of the NGO, Shine- supporting people affected by mental ill health. She has presented nationally and international conferences on mental health and has published in psychoanalytic journals.
Paddy Cullivan
Paddy is a musician, a writer and a performer. His multimedia historical shows ‘Solutionism’, ‘The 10 Dark Secrets of the Irish Revolution’ and ’26 + 6 = 1′ have been performed all over Ireland and beyond.
Alan Hook
Alan Hook is a Lecturer in Interactive Media and Research in New Media and Play at Ulster University.
Maria Gallo
Maria Gallo is a philanthropy researcher, with internationally recognised and award-winning research in alumni engagement. She holds a doctorate from the University of Sheffield in higher education and is the author of several publications on alumni engagement and volunteering.
Susan Adams
Susan is an environmentalist and educator in conservation and climate change. She was awarded Eco Unesco leader of the Year in 2017 for her work in schools leading young people to make a direct impact on their environment.
Greg Hughes from Highland Radio will be compere for the night
Leah Fairman commented; “I’m really passionate about TED talks and their ability to motivate, inspire and educate. Having been a fan for so long I’m really proud to be bringing the first ever TEDx event to Donegal with Emma and Conor’s help. The ‘Beyond Borders’ theme has been chosen to challenge our conventional understanding of what it means to be surrounded by a border. I’m very excited by the quality of our speakers and the range of topics they cover.”
TEDx Ballybofey tickets are €30 available from The Balor Arts Centre Box Office on 0749131840 or online at www.balorartscentre.com. This event is limited to just 100 attendees so don’t miss out – book early!
