TEDxReykjavik

Ideas worth sharing... in Iceland

[tedxreykjavik]

TEDxReykjavíkSalon: Beyond Social Media by TEDx Reykjavík Via Flickr: The third TEDxReykjavíkSalon, Beyond Social Media, was held at Listastofan on June 15th, 2017. Photos: Aishling Muller and Linn Phyllis Seeger.

[tedxreykjavik]

TEDxReykjavík

Reimagine || 9. sept

Tickets to TEDxReykjavík 2017 are NOW AVAILABLE!

Special Early Bird price: 4900.- get them while you still can!

Get ready to #REIMAGINE the world with us on September 9 - watch this space for news about speakers and program! #TEDxRVK17

[tedxreykjavik]

#REIMAGINE

SAVE THE DATE! That’s right friends, we are officially announcing the date of the 2017 TEDxReykjavík event! 🙌 Join us on September 9th and learn how we can rethink ideas and improve our lives in previously unexplored ways, as we present 7 speakers from 7 different walks of life who all share a common factor: reimagining the norm. Tickets will be on sale soon! Follow our page and the event to make sure you can get tickets to TEDxReykjavík: Reimagine, the seventh installation of TEDxReykjavík. See you there!

[tedxreykjavik]

It's time for women to run for office

With warmth and wit, Halla Tómasdóttir shares how she overcame media bias, changed the tone of the political debate and surprised her entire nation when she ran for president of Iceland -- inspiring the next generation of leaders along the way. "What we see, we can be," she says. "It matters that women run."

[teded]

[teded]

For decades, researchers have asked, “What happens when we communicate?” One interpretation, called the transmission model, views communication as a message that moves directly from one person to another, similar to someone tossing a ball and walking away. But in reality, this simplistic model doesn’t account for communication’s complexity. Enter the transactional model, which acknowledges the many added challenges of communicating. With this model, it’s more accurate to think of communication between people as a game of catch.

From the TED-Ed Lesson How miscommunication happens (and how to avoid it) - Katherine Hampsten

Animation by @rewfoe

[teded]

[teded]

Reading and stories can be an escape from real life, a window into another world – but have you ever considered how new fictional experiences might change your perspective on real, everyday life?

Never too late to crack into this amazing pile of reading recommendations from TED & TED-Ed.

From the TED-Ed Lesson How fiction can change reality - Jessica Wise

Animation by Augenblick Studios

[tedxreykjavik]

Nick Jameson is an actor, comedian, slam poet (or a rapper, as he likes to say) and most of all a musician. Nick currently lives in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he is working on a new solo album and a one-man show, as well as regularly performing stand-up comedy and solo concerts. In this performance, he delights us with three different acts: a rap piece to make us reflect on how we apply purpose and meaning in our life (Only a breath away), a humorous piece dedicated to Iceland and its wonders, and lastly a beautiful song where he plays his mandolin, Sarah.

[tedxreykjavik]

Una Torfadóttir and Margrét Snorradóttir are newly graduated students at Hagaskóli middle school and have been friends since kindergarten. At sixteen, they are both active feminists who explore creative ways to get their message across. In 2015, Una wrote a poem titled Elsku stelpur ("Dear Girls") which deals with issues that young girls face each day and sparked a much-needed dialogue on young women's standing in modern society. Margrét founded the feminist group Ronja at Hagaskóli which provided a platform for young feminists to share their ideas, get involved, and introduce others to feminism and equality. In their talk Una and Margrét talk about the need for women to take up room and what they can accomplish by doing so.

[tedxreykjavik]

Vilborg is passionate about nature and the outdoors, and most of all about encouraging others to daydream and set goals in their own life. While hiking in the Himalayas to fulfill another of her dreams, she encountered many difficulties, on a personal, physical and interpersonal level, which have helped her deepen her willingness to fight for what she wanted. In her talk, she narrates her struggles to encourage us to keep dreaming our dreams, and to always keep our goals in mind, whatever stage in the process we are in. Vilborg tells us that we should always consider ourselves a winner in our own life. Vilborg is an explorer, and adventurer and a motivational speaker. She was born and raised in Iceland, and feels very fortunate to have grown up surrounded by mountains and glaciers. Vilborg is avidly pursuing her dreams, and she crossed the Greenland glacier in 2012 and became the first Icelandic person to ski solo from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.

[tedxreykjavik]

In his talk, heart surgeon Tómas Guðbjartsson shares his passion for the conservation of the Icelandic highlands – the “heart of Iceland”. Tómas argues that the issue is of a global interest, as the Icelandic wilderness areas are unique and still among the largest in Europe, and that we need to take action in order to protect them. By educating children and their families about the nature‘s "anatomy" and challenging shortsighted governmental plans which involve power plants and fragmentation of the highlands, Tómas believes a change can be made. Tómas Guðbjartsson is a cardiothoracic surgeon and a professor of surgery at Landspítali University Hospital. Alongside his medical studies he worked as a mountain guide in the Icelandic highlands, becoming enamored with Iceland‘s unique landscapes. The Icelandic wilderness has a special place in his heart and he spends all of his free time outdoors, hiking, back country skiing and introducing people to the natural treasures of Iceland.

[tedxreykjavik]

In this talk, Vignir Gudmundsson shares his belief that coding is a key part in the 21st century literacy and that we need to introduce our kids to Computer Science early in their lives. Vignir argues that introducing kids to Computer Science early is not just about jobs or foreseeable economic changes. It’s about understanding how the world around us works, where coding is a tool that challenges our creativity and enables us to invent new things. Moreover, why don’t we allow kids to decide for themselves if they love to create amazing things with code? Vignir graduated from Reykjavik University with a BSc. degree in Mathematics and a MSc. degree in Computer Science. He is the CEO and co-founder of Radiant Games and the chairman for the Icelandic Gaming Industry federation (IGI). In the last 2 years, Vignir and his co-founders at Radiant Games have worked hard at trying to create the best playful coding experiences possible. The first experience that they have created is a mobile coding game called Box Island, which introduces kids to the fundamentals of coding through an exciting adventure.

[tedxreykjavik]

In her talk, Tara shares how she became one of the founders of the hashtag movement #égerekkitabú (#ImNotTaboo), which inspired Icelanders to come out with stories of their own struggles with mental health. She argues that social media has the power to break down barriers of stigma and can help improve peoples’ lives. Tara is a photographer and aspiring filmmaker who in 2015 came out with her depression, after secretly fighting the illness on her own for 11 years. Since then, Tara has been actively fighting against the stigma attached to mental illnesses. She founded the Faces of Depression project where she photographed 100 Icelanders suffering from depression and was one of the shaping forces behind the Icelandic hashtag movement #égerekkitabú (#ImNotTaboo). Tara is currently working on her next project, a documentary called Depressed Nation.

[tedxreykjavik]

Rachel believes anyone can rise and excel while maintaining positive integrity, remaining honorable, being genuine and staying humble. Her performance is a poem focusing on major life shifts as an impetus for growth and reconciliation with one's self. Rachel Corvo is a writer who after many years was inspired to take up the pen again and come out of writer's hibernation, after developing closer ties with her part-time home, Iceland. An impractical pragmatist, a digital nomad who makes home wherever she lands, an introvert with extrovert tendencies, an impulsive planner and cautiously daring. Born in Hollywood, raised on a farm in the middle-of-nowhere Texas, then back to Hollywood as a teen. Now, home is Iceland and the US - all a very steady diet of juxtaposition. 

[tedxreykjavik]

In their talk, Ugla puts the focus on the binary categories of gender and sex and their personal experience as a trans person in a binary, two dimensional society. They will share personal stories, along with informative and radical ideas about gender, sex and sexuality. This talk aims to challenge your ideas the topic as well as give you ideas on how to improve, be more critical and contribute and learn how to be a better ally to trans and queer people. Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir is a trans and queer activist from Iceland. They have been involved in activism for the past 8 years and have been a part of many NGO‘s, including Samtökin 78 – National Queer Organization, Trans Iceland and IGLYO – International Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Youth and Student Organization. They are currently doing their masters in gender studies at the University of Iceland.

[tedxreykjavik]

In her talk, Martyna discusses the importance of art, not only for the individuals who make and appreciate it, but also for our communities and our world. Why do we have such a hard time paying our artists? She challenges the audience to think about how and why we underestimate art as a profession, what are the underlying assumptions behind it, and why we should change the way we think about it. Martyna Daniel is an artist and cinematographer who started shooting short films at the age of 14. She soon gained viewers in Poland after winning both an audience and jury award in Radkòw in 2005 for her film “A Dream”. Mentored by the Polish director Marek Drazewski, she went on to do other projects in Poland and Switzerland, winning awards at festivals both for her camera and directing skills. After graduating from Prague Film School specializing in cinematography, she moved to Reykjavík where she currently lives. Martyna co-founded an artist-run space in Reykjavík called Listastofan, which offers a wide range of events including life drawing sessions, creative reading nights, exhibitions and workshops and aim to become a valued and diverse cultural heart of Reykjavik.

[tedxreykjavik]

In his talk, Jonathan challenges the way we view experiences, giving an intimate insight into how he came to be in Iceland under heartbreaking circumstances. Upon arriving in Iceland, Jonathan has been able to achieve great things while still feeling miserable and challenges us to think about how it’s possible the times we feel the most pain can actually be the better times for us in the long run. Jonathan Duffy is an Australian born comedian, cabaret performer and award winning filmmaker. He has lived in Reykjavík since 2015 and since arriving he has added a long string of artistic achievements to his resume. He regularly performs stand-up and hosts multiple events around Reykjavík, including the tremendously successful variety night Drag Sugur. He regularly performs the comedy show 'Icetralia' with national treasure Hugleikur Dagsson.

[tedxreykjavik]

In his talk, Vilhjálmur sheds light on how imagination and the stories we choose to tell ourselves affect our everyday lives. Vilhjálmur maintains that there is a direct correlation between your imagination and your quality of life and he tries to illustrate how we can change our own lives by simply being aware of how and why we choose to tell ourselves the stories we do. Vilhjálmur ("Will") Bragason is a writer and a playwright. He studied English at the University of Iceland and UCL before doing an MA at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where his dissertation took the form of a dark comedy, Decomposition: A play for a dead actor, which examined the very nature of the theatre. Vilhjálmur has written several plays both in English and Icelandic. He is passionate about his idea that the stories we choose to tell ourselves can have a huge impact on our everyday lives.