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27 January 2015

TEDxWoking brings `ideas worth spreading' to the town

Over 100 delegates attended the first TEDxWoking and over 300 viewers from all corners of the world, including Japan, USA, Australia, Iceland and St Vincent, watched the event live via the website on Friday 23 January 2015, held at the WWF-UK Living Planet Centre, Woking.

The successful, all day event commenced with a welcome address to delegates from David Nussbaum, Chief Executive of the Woking-based WWF-UK. Focusing on the award-winning building, his short speech outlined how through the smart use of design, materials and technology, it has been possible to create a state-of-the-art building which allows people to live in harmony with nature and still be one of the greenest buildings in the UK. He also described the natural fit between WWF-UK's values and Woking as the place to relocate the global organisation's UK headquarters.

Keeping to the same style as all TED and TEDx events, the TEDxWoking event comprised of short, inspirational talks delivered by an array of experienced and expert speakers on a range of topics from: environmental sustainability; the relationship between bees, parasites and diseases; effective and innovative teaching methods; the evolution of arts, culture and theatre and its ability to improve people's well-being; as well as the transformation across a range of topics including self improvement, communications, social media and digital money.

The speaker line up and range of comprehensive talk topics included:

  • Jonathon Porritt CBE: 2015: a year to remember

Founder Director of Forum for the Future, author, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. Forum for the Future is now the UK's leading sustainable development charity.

  • David G W Birch: Light and dark - transforming money for the new economy?

Internationally recognised thought leader in digital money and identity and Director of Consult Hyperion, the technical and strategic consultancy that specialises in electronic transactions.

  • Rosemary Squire OBE: All change - the power of the theatre to transform

Co-founder and Joint CEO of Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), member and trustee of prominent national arts organisations and winner of many notable theatre and business accolades.

  • Tony Lynch: Becoming a champion

Founder of Woking Leadership Academy, member of The President Advisory Council for The John Maxwell Team and recently named as one of the 100 great leadership speakers by Inc.com.

  • Marilyn Scott: Art makes you feel better - a prescription for well-being

Director of the award-winning local gallery, The Lightbox, member and trustee of eminent curation organisations and consultant for a number of new museum developments.

  • Phil Miller: Pop culture is dead!

Former project management expert and co-founder of DreamingFish which specialises in video production and animation.

  • Prof Mark Brown: Simple systems? Why complexity matters in emerging disease

Zoologist and conservationist specialising in bees. Current Professional Chair at Royal Holloway University of London.

  • Dr Chris Bore: Taking the social back from the media

Expert in the mathematics of communication and an enthusiastic user of the social media systems that rest upon it as their technical foundation.

  • Richard Dunne: The best teacher in the world

Head Teacher of Ashley Church of England Primary School in Walton on Thames, an Ofsted graded Outstanding School, which has developed a curriculum that applies learning to real life.

  • Ray Morgan OBE: Transforming us

Qualified accountant and current Chief Executive of Woking Borough Council with 30 years' experience in Local Government with notable achievements in sustainable development and strategies.

  • Mary Fenwick: What works - when you need to recreate your own future?

Columnist for Psychologies magazine, fundraiser, qualified business coach and speaker on happiness at work.

  • Paul Zimmerman: The micronisation of communication in the workplace: working at the speed of change

A specialist in innovative customer and user-centric propositions. Current COO of Invotra, an engagement platform for driving communications and conversations in government and enterprise.

  • Kevin Aires: How memory techniques can unleash children's love of learning

Engineer and current advisor to IBM senior executives who has the ability to take dry technical and business messages and transform them into concepts and stories that engage audiences.

In the spirit of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) and the event's theme `transformation', the TEDxWoking event also incorporated pre-recorded talks from previous TED events around the world. These included:

Speaking about the event, Cllr John Kingsbury, Leader of Woking Borough Council, said: "The first TEDxWoking event was a sell-out event - all tickets were snapped up within two weeks - and the feedback from delegates on the day was very complimentary and positive.

"I, personally, very much enjoyed listening to the varied, knowledgeable and insightful talks delivered by a group of expert, charismatic and talented individuals. In addition, I thought the Living Planet Centre provided the perfect venue for such an inspirational, prestigious and forward-thinking event."

Sam Marshall, Economic Development Officer for Woking Borough Council and the TEDxWoking organiser, also said: "The real-time feedback during the event via Twitter handle was fantastic - the social engagement was extremely positive and it also sparked further debate and created new connections between delegates, speakers and online viewers.

"Since the event, we have received many unsolicited positive messages from the TEDxWoking speakers and delegates about the content, delivery and management of the event. In conjunction with TEDx, we will be undertaking a formal feedback process with the delegates to ascertain demand for a future event."

The TEDxWoking theme `transformation' was inspired by the current verve of the Borough. With the Town Centre landscape evolving into a contemporary city-like street scene, the increase in new businesses choosing to start up and locate in Woking, reinforced with a stronger business development support service and network, Woking is fast becoming the place where ambitious and talented people choose to live, visit and do business.

Launched in 2009, TEDx is a programme of locally organised events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience. The independently organised event, licensed by TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), featured local voices and TED Talks videos.

TEDxWoking was organised, managed and delivered by Woking Borough Council's Economic Development Team and sponsored by local organisations and projects: Locally, DreamingFish, Woking Works and Celebrate Woking.

All the TEDxWoking talks will be published on the main TEDx YouTube channel and the official photographs will be available via the TEDx Flickr stream in the near future. Links to both will also be available on the TEDxWoking website at www.tedxwoking.com

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