Happenings - Our Stories

Ndoni Mcunu is a PhD Candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Global Change Institute and the Founder & CEO of Black Women in Science (BWIS). She's passionate about improving the lives of our youth, specifically young women. “I believe that education is a tool to enable improved and informed personal and professional decisions. It could also be a tool to empowering rural and disadvantaged young women to improve their livelihood, ” she says.

On the 18th September 2018 our team decided to take up the opportunity to try something new, in a space we’ve recently been welcomed to utilise.

What We Do: Take TEDx beyond the stage to new audiences, to expose, engage and inspire 'ideas worth spreading'

Every year, Greenpop - in partnership with the Platbos Forest Reserve - brings people together in the Platbos Forest to plant thousands of trees, dance to live local bands, learn from sustainability leaders, camp under the stars, and be inspired by collective action.

Meet Dane Rossenrode, TEDxCapeTown’s Web and IT Team Lead. Dane has been part of the family since 2015, after he came to hear about TEDx through Kirsten Eddy, a friend and past TEDxCapeTown team member. He recalls hearing about the Open Day via Facebook, decided to attend, and has been volunteering since.

Here follows a small introduction to the force of nature that is Wyomia Mouwers. Wyomia joined the TEDxCapeTown team in 2015 after attending a recruitment drive and she hasn’t looked back since.

As per usual, the first question on our lips is what exactly drew Wyomia to TEDx and what she loves about working with the TEDxCapeTown team. “I enjoy interacting with like-minded people who want to make a positive contribution in society”, she answered. Furthermore, she boasts about how TEDx enables her to explore and develop skills in a safe environment of encouraging individuals.

Dr. Kerry Sink is the Marine Programme Manager and Principal Scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). She loves what she does, which entails exploring the ocean and mapping all the habitat types in South Africa’s oceans, assessing the state of marine biodiversity, supporting the establishment of Marine Protected Areas, and training a new generation of marine scientists with a passion for sustainable oceans.

Dane Duplessis is based at the port of Cape Town, where he works as a coordinator for the non-profit organisation Biblia, a South African Christian NGO, that inspects boats in an effort to find victims of slave labour. His key responsibility is to create awareness around slave labour among international fisherman that enter the port. “I am passionate about human rights and business governance,” he says.

Tim Conibear is the Founding Director of Waves for Change (W4C), a Surf Therapy organisation that is looking to make the provision of therapy more child-friendly. W4C is a multi-award winning organisation based in Cape Town, led by surfers and mental health professionals, in partnership with township communities and the University of Cape Town.

Michael Markovina, is a Consultant for Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) SmartFish Programme, and the co-founder of Moving Sushi, a non profit company that ‘uses scientific exploration and open access data to better understand the social, economic and biological needs for the conservation and sustainable use of key African marine resources.’ [Source MovingSushi.com]

Meet Richard Hardiman, the CEO of RanMarine Technology BV, an environmental technology company specifically focused on using drones in ports, harbo

Hayley McLellan, an Environmental Campaigner at the Two Oceans Aquarium, is passionate about a healthy environment and conscious, sustainable living choices.

Dr. Serge Raemaekers is the Co-founder and Project Director of ABALOBI, a non-profit organisation. The programme aims to build traditional fishers’ agency to partake in decisions around the state of local marine resources and help fishers empower themselves to connect directly with restaurants and consumers for the sale of their artisanal products.

Professor Wendy Foden is a conservation biologist who focuses on providing scientifically robust and pragmatic support for biodiversity conservation in the face of climate change.

Bronwyn Janse, like many of our other team members, was inspired to join TEDxCapeTown after attending the 2015 main event in Cape Town.

Devon Concar, Storyteller and the Lead of the Community Engagement Portfolio, says he finds it difficult to say no to anything TEDx since he joined the team in 2015.

2017 marked the third year that the TEDxCapeTown Community Engagement team ran an independent activation at the Rocking the Daisies festival. Our activations are geared to encourage interaction and dialogue around the 'ideas worth spreading' from our speakers that have been on the TEDxCapeTown stage.

This year TEDxCapeTown was selected by Vega School, a top branding, business, and design institute, to participate in the Vega Brand Challenge.

What We Do: Take TEDx beyond the stage to new audiences, to expose, engage and inspire 'ideas worth spreading'.

In the spirit of celebrating our unique heritage this month, 8 young speakers between the age of 16 to 24 years, take to the [email protected] stage to share their take on the importance

Tavonga Clarah Chauke is a student at the South African Law School. She applied to be a [email protected] speaker because of her passion for the development of Millennials, especially in Africa.

Miranda Bambata is a student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. We asked her what inspired her to apply to become a speaker at [email protected], to which she responded: “I want to discover what else I am capable of. I believe the experience will open my mind, give me the courage to share my ideas and teach me to trust myself more.

Pozisa Manisi, a student at the University of the Western Cape, is inspired by Oprah Winfrey, among others, as she esteems qualities exhibited, such as leadership, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and motivational speaking - qualities she is currently developing in her own life.

Qaqamba Sibayi is a student at the Deutsche Internationale Schule Kapstadt. She has applied to speak at [email protected] in the hopes that it will give her a voice to potentially move one person towards healing.

Lauren Brooks, a student at the University of Cape Town, applied to be a [email protected] speaker because she wanted to gain speaking experience. She also seized the opportunity to share her idea with a diverse audience on what she terms “a unique platform”.