TEDxJohannesburg has revealed a stellar line-up of speakers for its next event, TEDxJohannesburgSalon. Taking place on Thursday 1 March from 08:00 to 16:30, the event will be held at Tshimologong Digital Precinct in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
The event, presented in the TEDxSalon format and themed Hacking the Farm, is organised with the support of partners Tshimologong Digital Precinct and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Wits University affiliated Tshimologong Digital Precinct is nurturing a burgeoning start-up ecosystem built around interests in digital technology and innovation. While the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands represents an EU member country with a wealth of knowledge and trading expertise in agriculture.
The TEDxSalon format allows the organisers to focus on a specific theme or issue of interest and provides an opportunity to spark robust discussion. The focus for this event is on the exciting changes that the farm is going through—and must go through—as it transforms to meet the challenging demands of a rapidly approaching future.
The array of speakers includes experts from as far afield as the United States of America, Zimbabwe, The Netherlands, Nigeria and Uganda. The South African contingent is equally strong and includes some of the most important local voices in the discussion about the future of our food and our role in it.
The line-up is drawn from a range of farmers, technologists, economists, agronomists, entrepreneurs, researchers, inventors, designers, and activists. “Each speaker will take the farm apart, and put it back together again,” says the organiser, Kelo Kubu.
International speakers are as follows:
Gertjan Meeuws: Horticultural Engineer, Entrepreneur (The Netherlands)
Ed Mabaya: Scholar, Development Practitioner (Zimbabwe, USA)
Frank Wernecke: Drone Master, Incubator, Entrepreneur (Germany)
Emma Naluyima: Veterinarian, Smallholder Farmer (Uganda)
Mojisola Ojebode – Biochemist, Entrepreneur (Nigeria)
South African speakers include the following:
Tracy Ledger: Author, Activist, Food Systems Researcher
Thabi Nkosi: Agricultural Economist
Brian Dick: Cheese Connoisseur, Slow Food Advocate
Thato Moagi: Agripreneur, Nuffield International Scholar 2017/18
Michris Janse Van Rensburg – Farmer, Inventor
This is a particularly strong programme. Book your seats early.
Tickets are available on tedxjohannesburg.co.za/hackingthefarm.html, or you can simply search for TEDxJohannesburgSalon on www.quicket.co.za.
Cost to attend is only R750. Drinks and a full lunch included. Seats are limited.
Lastly, in true TEDxJohannesburg fashion, you can expect your mind to be challenged and stretched. Maybe even fried.
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About TEDx, x = independently organised event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised 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-organised. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Monica Lewinsky, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.
TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organised TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
About Wits University’s Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct
Setswana for “new beginnings”, Tshimologong is Johannesburg’s newest high-tech address in the vibrant inner-city district of Braamfontein, where the incubation of start-ups, the commercialisation of research and the development of high-level digital skills for students, working professionals and unemployed youths takes place. The Precinct was launched in September 2016 with support from major companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Datacentrix, Telkom, ACSA and MMI. Gauteng Province through its Department of E-Government and the City of Johannesburg have also provided significant support. The Precinct also houses the prestigious IBM Research’s Lab Africa – one of only 12 such facilities in the world. Website: www.tshimologong.joburg