TEDxToronto Announces Second Slate of Speakers for UNCHARTED Digital Event Series This Winter
TORONTO, Jan. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - TEDxToronto today announced its second slate of speakers, set to present at the Winter portion of its digital event series, Uncharted. In its 12th year serving the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), the volunteer-run organization has reimagined its annual event into a digital event series, with the final two parts set to take place at 7 PM on February 4th and March 4th, 2021.
Hosted on cutting-edge live event platform Venue, TEDxToronto's new format was a runaway success in Fall 2020 with almost 1,900 registrants, making for standout events in a digitally dominated calendar. The innovative, interactive virtual experiences put community-building first, featuring exclusive access to breakout sessions with the speakers where conversation amongst fellow curious souls continues.
"Our first speaker slate explored deep themes such as issues in our food and childcare systems, how to become a better ally and live an authentic life, humanizing AI and economics, and the effects of COVID-19 on our communities and globally," co-hosts Gillian Cameron and Kapil Khimdas explain. "Our next group of speakers – made up of some of our community's brightest change-makers – will continue the essential discussion around how we can continue to navigate the Uncharted waters we all find ourselves in."
The speakers for TEDxToronto's Winter digital event series are as follows:
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Actor & Comedian (February 4th)
- Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is a two-time Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as family patriarch Appa in Kim's Convenience. A self-professed nerd, he is a collector of movies, all things Star Wars, and an avid replica prop builder and cosplayer. Most recently, Paul has appeared in The Mandalorian and as a voice actor for Abby Hatcher, Fuzzly Catcher.
Phil De Luna, Clean Energy Innovator (February 4th)
- Phil De Luna leads a $57M collaborative research program to develop disruptive technologies to decarbonize Canada at the National Research Council of Canada. Phil's mission is to help Canada achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 by making renewable fuels from air and water. Listed on Forbes' Top 30 Under 30, Phil is the youngest-ever director in NRC's over 100-year history.
Lydia-Joi Marshall, Researcher & Health Equity Champion (February 4th)
- Lydia-Joi Marshall is a passionate health care professional and researcher endeavouring to foster healthy business relationships and continuously serve as a bridge between the scientific community and the general public. Lydia-Joi is the Vice President of the Black Health Alliance and a Research Associate for #TheActionProject at University Health Network.
Chenny Xia, Entrepreneur & Experience Designer (February 4th)
- Chenny Xia is an experience designer, technologist, and serial entrepreneur focused on creating a more equitable healthcare system through decolonization. As the co-founder of Gotcare, she's transforming how home health is delivered across Canada by leveraging emerging technologies and design thinking methods to reduce the cost of care delivery.
Jason van Bruggen, Filmmaker & Photographer (March 4th)
- Jason van Bruggen is a professional filmmaker and photographer based in Canada. His immersive storytelling expresses a profound interest in the geography of wild spaces, the cultural truths of our time and stories of everyday heroes the world over. Jason's work has been featured by Outside Magazine, National Geographic, Flyfish Journal, and by numerous brands including Patagonia, Best Made Co., and Arc'teryx.
Jay Pitter, Author & Placemaker (March 4th)
- Jay Pitter, MES, is an award-winning placemaker whose practice mitigates growing divides in cities across North America. She spearheads institutional city-building projects specializing in public space design and policy, forgotten densities, mobility equity, gender-responsive design, inclusive public engagement and healing fraught sites. In addition to leading her practice, Ms. Pitter makes significant contributions to urbanism discourse as an author with Penguin Random House and urban planning lecturer.
Gillian Hadfield, Professor of Law & Strategic Management (March 4th)
- Dr. Gillian Hadfield is the director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, a professor of law and of strategic management at the University of Toronto, a faculty affiliate at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and a senior policy advisor at OpenAI. Her current research is focused on innovative design for legal and regulatory systems for AI and other complex global technologies; computational models of human normative systems; and working with machine learning researchers to build ML systems that understand and respond to human norms.
Ryan DeCaire, Mohawk Language Learner and Teacher (March 4th)
- Ryan Decaire is from Wáhta Mohawk Territory. He is Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Centre for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto, a PhD Candidate in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization Program at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, as well as an instructor and curriculum developer at Onkwawén:na Kentyóhkwa, a Kanien'kéha (Mohawk language) immersion school for adults. He is working to revitalize Kanien'kéha and focuses on best practices for developing advanced oral proficiency in adults.
Woven together by speakers across all four digital experiences, the timely theme of Uncharted explores how we can navigate unfamiliar territory, find sources of hope, and chart a better path for our community, together.
Ticket sales are now open to the public and available at this link. Season passes, which include access to the two digital events, are available for $25, while individual event tickets are priced at $15. A limited number of student and subsidized tickets are available for those who qualify, supported by a Pay TEDx Forward program that the organization launched in 2020. Proceeds from ticket sales go towards helping fund TEDxToronto's 100% volunteer-run work in the GTHA community.
TEDxToronto is also looking to recognize and celebrate 100 Frontline workers at our Uncharted digital event series. Frontline workers in Toronto and the GTHA can register at this link to receive their complimentary Frontline worker ticket to Uncharted Part Three on February 4th.
For more information on TEDxToronto, please visit uncharted.tedxtoronto.com.
Follow @TEDxToronto on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of TED Talks are published to TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.
TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; The Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TED Translate, which crowdsources the subtitling of TED Talks so that big ideas can spread across languages and borders; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also offers TED@Work, a program that reimagines TED Talks for workplace learning. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala, and TEDxSHORTS.
Follow TED on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and on LinkedIn.
SOURCE TEDxToronto
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