By IW Observer.co.uk
Messages from the Island went out to the world from the first TEDxLukelyBrook event, held at the Quay Arts Centre on Wednesday (March 2).
The theme of the event was ‘If Not Now, When?’ and students from schools across the Island were invited to watch the TEDtalks live at the Riverside Centre, and had the opportunity to talk to and ask questions of the speakers at their own Watch Party.
The event opened with 19-year-old Beth Brookfield performing If Not Now, When, a song she had written and produced herself.
Important topics were discussed during the day from a wide selection of speakers. James Green explained the key to success, Mart Drake-Knight joint founder of local company Teemill, shared his passion for recycling and eliminating waste. Dr Adrian Gill, Vestas’ chief engineer told the audience that instead of discussing climate change as a subject, we must discuss how to stop it.
Many speakers included their own experiences and how they came to do what they do, or how they became successful, inspiring others not to give up on their dreams.
Tina Jennings took the audience back to when she was six years old, emphasising how there’s always a choice.
Narrated by Tom Stroud, Josh Barry’s moving talk on redefining disability explored his struggle with cerebral palsy.
Kim Davis presented an influential talk on success using the arts, which inspired many school students in the Watch Party. Paralympian, Will Perry, opened up about the struggles of being a paralympian in the pool, but also the pressures of public reaction to his dwarfism outside of it. Using the internet can be a struggle, especially for those with a disability, Clive Loseby presented an eye-opening talk on how websites aren’t always disability friendly and Tim Sissons explained how to approach every day with a positive mindset.
The last speaker was former CNN anchor, Gina London. She ended the event with a powerful talk on what authenticity means and how to be your authentic self.
Dale Howarth, Organiser of TEDxLukelyBrook, said: “The whole event was about taking the best of the Isle of Wight to the world, and we certainly achieved that. The response from businesses across the Island has been both incredible and selfless.
The Island speakers, and the international speakers we were able to attract to do TED talks here were exceptional and the feedback so far has been so positive.
“For example Jon Carter of Betapak described the day as ‘Amazing and life-changing, I’ve taken some great headlines across business and life. All the speakers were exceptional’.
I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone that was part of the day and the whole team that made it happen.”
You can watch the live stream of the day on-line at youtube.com/watch?v=Oj3a8NFqpLU.
Press Release