TEDxBristol 2019 will officially open its speaker search and release Early Bird ticket sales at its launch event at Bristol’s Old Vic Theatre on Sunday 5th May.
Bristol Old Vic will be the location of TEDxBristol 2019 on Sunday 17th November. TEDxBristol is one of the largest TEDx events in the UK and Europe. Expanding on 2015’s sell-out success and 2017’s two-day takeover of Colston Hall, this year’s event will take place in three parts in line with this year’s theme: “Reflect: Rethink: Reboot.”
Mel Rodrigues, Creative Director TEDxBristol, said: “We’re really excited to be bringing TEDxBristol back this November, and to be hosting a day of world-class talks and inspirational activities at Bristol Old Vic for the first time. The TEDxBristol team worked with people from all parts of the city to come up with Reflect: Rethink: Reboot – the theme for 2019.
“People wanted us to acknowledge head-on this moment of global uncertainty so that we could find ways to do our best work despite the current climate of political, social, and environmental upheaval. So we’ll be Reflecting on where we are at, Rethinking things that need changing, and Rebooting with stories and ideas that help us move forward despite the uncertain times we live in.
“We are also passionate about nurturing and championing local voices, so we’ll be searching all over for unsung heroes and lesser heard voices from all walks of life, who are our city’s present and future positive change makers.”
The speaker search is open for applications from those starting a dialogue around not just surviving, but thriving in uncertain times. TEDxBristol speakers share best practice and break-through thinking on how to drive innovation and push boundaries in this moment of global uncertainty, polarised opinion, and political upheaval. Reflect: Rethink: Reboot inspires us to consider how we can unpick things that don’t work, modify our brief, steady our focus, and create positive change in a world of constant flux.
Speakers from previous TEDxBristol events have gone on to attain some astounding achievements. Natalie Fee led a campaign that prevented 320 tonnes of single-use plastic being manufactured and has signed a book deal to write the definitive solutions guide to tackling plastic pollution, following her 2017 TEDxBristol talk. Nura Aabe, who also talked at TEDxBristol 2017, is now working in partnership with Barnardos to educate others on the healthcare barriers faced by ethnic minority communities, and has been approached by publishers interested in creating a book on her journey researching Autism in the Somali community. Several of the speakers have been offered TV contracts and investment deals following their TEDxBristol talks.
Mel Rodrigues says, “TEDxBristol is now a calling card. We are hugely proud to be representing Bristol on the world stage, and giving a spring-board to many of our cities lesser-known innovators, agitators and artists.”
As well as the official opening of the speaker search and early bird ticket sales, TEDxBristol is set to launch its new podcast, Reflect: Rethink: Reboot at the event – the first TEDx podcast of its kind – and partners Hodos Consultancy will be running a master class on how to talk like TED.
TEDxBristol is supported by a diverse range of businesses and organisations from across the South West, all of whom are passionate about sharing great ideas and supporting Bristol’s thriving creative and technology sector.
Headline partners include:
Opus Talent Solutions who has supported TEDxBristol’s ‘Fresh Talent’ initiative and Podcast launch
Floating Harbour Films who provide the broadcast quality filming, editing and live-stream content pro-bono
Newicon who have donated value in kind to the tune of £180,000 to develop TEDxBristol’s website and bespoke speaker portal.
TEDxBristol is delighted to also be welcoming on board Bristol Waste and Bristol Water as Associate Partners for 2019. Bristol Harbour Hotel will host the speaker line-up party later in the year and new law firm White Jackman are supporting the volunteer team with pro-bono legal services.
It’s been a year of rapid growth for the TEDxBristol team who for the first time have been able to operate from an inspiring office space in the heart of the city, thanks to the support of new co-working space Runway East.
Over the next six months the team will continue to expand their programme of activity, hosting pop-up speaker pitching events in venues across the city, in order to seek out Bristol’s most diverse and exciting stories and game-changers.
