BulanLifestyle.com

I attended the annual Tedx Weld Quay conference yesterday. This is the 2nd one ever held. Last year I couldnt get tickets because they were sold out but I managed to meet the speakers after the talk and was so taken by the positive energy of the team and speakers that I promised that I would attend the next one. So, the moment the tickets were released, I bought in! It was another sold out event. Quite a few of my friends wanted to attend but they didnt manage to get the tickets. For me, I admire the spirit of the organisers, their passion in putting an event like this together and curating a group of diverse yet inspirational speakers. Admittedly, not all the speakers spoke or presented well, but all of them had passion and a special story to tell. Ironically, the speaker who had the worse delivery had the most interesting and inspiring story that grabbed my full attention. Someone asked me, who was your favourite speaker. I had to pause and think about the answer because to be honest, they were all incredible people and their stories have fueled the fire in me to make some changes.

It’s made me think, what have I done in my life that I could tell a group of strangers to inspire them?

“TED is an annual event where the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share their passions. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design – three broad subject areas that are shaping our future. n 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. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event.

In line with TED’s mission of Ideas Worth Spreading, TEDxWeldQuay aspires to be a catalyst; which aims to inspire, change and cultivate the minds of the Penang community and the world beyond. Being a platform, TEDxWeldQuay looks to undertake its mission by showcasing undiscovered treasures and talents from the local and international scene. At the same time, we hope to also showcase Penang, the Pearl of the Orient, to the rest of the world through TEDxWeldQuay. ”

Speakers:

Matt Brandon

Matt Brandon is a Malaysia based humanitarian and travel photographer, who collaborates with NGOs to tell their stories and to train their field staff to do the same. Well known as a photographer and international workshop instructor, Matt’s images have been used by clients such as Partner Aid International, NeighborWorks, the BBC, Honda Motor Corporation, and Bombadier Transport Corporation, Asian Geographic, KLM Airlines and others. His photographic pursuits have taken him to the land of Egypt, Tibet, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives, Philippines, Malaysia to name a few. Matt also is known for teaching presenters how to present their message in the most effective and memorable way. This makes Matt a great teacher to any workshop or classroom. Matt is also a key member of the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers, he’s on the advisory board for Focus for Humanity and on the design board for Think Tank Photo, a camera bag manufacturer.

Recently Matt founded the On Field Media Project to train the staff of non-profits to use appropriate technology to produce timely as well as quality images. Matt and the OFMP staff want non-profits to develop the skills to tell their own story, as well and as often, as possible. Non-profits and NGOs are rich with beautiful, inspiring stories, and OFMP truly believes there’s no one better to tell these beautiful stories, than themselves.

Davina Goh

Actor, Radio talk show host and writer. She shared with us her grueling 8 months training experience with the 32nd Generation warrior monks in Maling Shaolin Kung Fu Academy, Jiangsu Provincetraining in China and what that taught her about life.

Venus Khor

A brand management strategist and entrepreneur. She talks about how brand building and marketing has helped everyone including her volunteer work with physically challenged communities.

KG Krishnan

Journalist, photographer and spoken word artist, his art explores ideas concerning sexuality, gender politics and the intimacy of human relationships in contemporary cultural contexts.

As a commercial photographer and art director, kG Krishnan’s clientele comprises design institutions, fashion designers, advertising agencies, filmmakers, musicians and lifestyle publications – for whom he produces images, film and fashion productions. His work has been published in Malaysia, Singapore, Spain and the UK.

Daniel Chan

Daniel Chan started music at a very raw age, progressing from the electone and picking up the guitar at the age of 12. Coming from an early Christian background, gospel/church music has been his backbone in his progress towards musical creativity.

Mohd Rizwan

Realizing the uninitiated potential of the history, inheritance and culture of the Indian Muslims, he then championed a mission with a group of young volunteers and successfully established an NGO – Indian Muslim Community Organization in 2011. The aim and objective of this NGO is simple – to raise the community’s awareness in returning the history of inheritance of Indian Muslim’s society and their developments.

Priscilla Ho

Founder of Creativity at Heart, a non profit child guidance centre. She is also a certified play therapist. She shares with us how art therapy can give a voice to children in need.

Jason Godfrey

Model and tv presenter and writer, He talks about how the cruel world of modelling has help shaped his future.