TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells2019

Turmoil To Peace In 9 Seconds by Sarah-Nada Arfa

Turmoil To Peace In 9 Seconds | Sarah-Nada Arfa

Most of us have heard "take a deep breath” when faced with a challenging situation but, because breathing happens automatically, we rarely give breath the attention it deserves as a tool to calm our minds, heal our bodies and contribute to a more peaceful world. By exploring the power of deep inhalation and exhalation in times of turmoil, we can calm our fight-or-flight reaction and teach our bodies to be more at peace. Sarah-Nada Arfa is a breath coach, yoga teacher, bodyworker and corporate finance lawyer. Her areas of expertise range from the business world to the healing realm. She has 5 degrees (2 undergraduate, 3 postgraduate) and has taught and lectured at a top ranked university (Kings College London).

As a breath therapy coach, Sarah works with clients one on one to teach breath work and inner peace strategies that support their healing. In the past Sarah has suffered a stroke, double pulmonary embolisms and had doctors tell her she had no chance of living a normal life. It was in a hospital bed, numb & confined, that she realised the healing power of her breath.

You can find Sarah on Instagram and LinkedIn.


Why We're Dependent On Plants For Medicine by Sophie Lamb & Naomi Murray

Why We're Dependent On Plants For Medicine | Sophie Lamb & Naomi Murray

From hedgerow to health, Sophie and Naomi’s childhood was punctuated by regular herb picking outings with their father and two other sisters in the Highlands of Scotland where the family lived. Through their talk, they will help us to view the landscape that herbal medicine has to offer in an age of science, the burden of degenerative disease and antibiotic resistance. Medical herbalist Sophie Lamb and her sister Naomi Murray are daughters to Scotland’s longest practicing medical herbalist, Brian Lamb, and come from a long line of doctors dating back nearly 300 years.

You can find Naomi on instagram and her facebook page and follow Sophie on instagram and facebook.


An Idea Is Not Enough by Don Smith

An Idea Is Not Enough | Don Smith

All of us come up with great ideas, but getting that idea off the ground takes a great deal of dedication and hard work. Don began a new career as an Inventor in 2016 after working for twenty-five years as an award winning Creative Director in advertising, marketing and digital design. His first invention, the 1nhaler, is a revolutionary, single dose, respiratory inhaler, designed to help millions of people globally to receive the medication and vaccinations they need, cheaply, conveniently and sustainably. In his talk, he gives an insight into what it takes to push a good idea to real-world greatness.

You can find Don on LinkedIn, Medium, and Twitter. Read his original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Every Child Deserves To Grow by John Mulford

Every Child Deserves To Grow | John Mulford

Due to urbanisation, safety concerns and other factors, today’s children have less contact with nature than any generation before them. This comes with many consequences for both human health and conservation.

Drawing from his experiences of school science, environmental work and gardening, year 11 student John explains why the solution to this problem should start with plants. He believes that plants have the potential to demonstrate our intrinsic link with nature, to support wildlife, to foster a love of science and to unite communities. He believes that every child should have a green space in their school where they can grow fruit, vegetables, trees and other plants while simultaneously learning about nutrition, wildlife and science.

Read John’s original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Why Working Out Isn't Working Out by Darryl Edwards

Why Working Out Isn't Working Out | Darryl Edwards

For all its health benefits if exercise came in pill form, we would only be too eager to take our medicine. But is working-out as medicine too difficult a pill for the majority of us to swallow? By understanding that nature has hard-wired us to hate exercise, but encourages us to love movement, we can examine our attitudes to exercise. If working out isn’t working out, what should we do instead? Play advocate, movement coach and author of the April 2018 best-selling book Animal Moves, Primal Play Method founder Darryl Edwards encourages us to re-examine the way we view exercise and get up and moving.

You can find Darryl on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Read his original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


How Grief Can Help Us Win When We Lose by Sophie Sabbage

How Grief Can Help Us Win When We Lose | Sophie Sabbage

Living with ‘terminal’ cancer for over four years has transformed Sophie’s relationship with grief and loss. Her first book, The Cancer Whisperer, has been translated into twelve languages and her second book, Lifeshocks – And how to love them, is a Sunday Times bestseller. Sophie has been teaching people how to flourish in the face of adversity for over twenty years and believes that loss is as inevitable as naked trees in winter. We are designed for it, but not prepared for it. We are taught to acquire and achieve, not to relinquish and let go. But what if we can win when we lose?

Sophie’s talk redefines our relationship with loss. It challenges prevailing definitions of grief and restores sorrow to its rightful purpose in our lives. Her talk illuminates what loss can give us, even as it takes away. 

You can learn more about Sophie on Facebook, Twitter, and her website. Read her original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


In Praise Of Everyday Words by Sarah Salway

In Praise Of Everyday Words | Sarah Salway

Forget Sticks and Stones, it’s words that are powerful. As a writer and poet, Sarah’s material is the individual word: what each one tells us about our history, and also what we lose when we let certain ones – conker, holly, turnip – get taken out of our dictionaries. Her TEDx talk is a love letter to words – to their meanings, as well as how they taste in our mouths and sound in our ears.

You can find Sarah on Twitter, facebook, instagram, and her website. Read her original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Challenge The Echo Chamber by Adam Greenwood

Challenge The Echo Chamber | Adam Greenwood

Imagine a world where you truly believed that everybody agreed with you about everything. Imagine a world where people with different opinions to you on politics, religion, sport etc simply could not be seen or heard.

With algorithms deciding who we see, meet and hear online, this is becoming a reality. And it won’t be long until this reality moves into the real world…

Award-winning agency founder Adam Greenwood implores us to break out of the echo chamber and engage with ideas that we might not encounter on our carefully curated social media feeds. Doing so may just make the world a more human place!

You can find Adam on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read his original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


The Invisible Victims Of Crime by Michelle Raymond

The Invisible Victims Of Crime | Michelle Raymond

When a crime hits the headlines, a light is shone on the perpetrator, their victim, and sometimes even the surrounding community. The motivations of the criminal, the suffering of their accuser, the reactions of neighbours and community leaders: these all receive publicity ensuring the world knows their story. What isn't so readily known is how all that publicity affects the perpetrator's family, and the forgotten victims of crime that it creates.

Michelle Raymond shares her story of the time she spent married to a man accused of some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, and how she became the indirect victim of his crimes through publicity and stigma. For every crime there is a sprawling network of hidden victims who will never have an opportunity to find vindication in court. Michelle's story is a striking reminder not to forget them.

You can find Michelle on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Read her original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Rhythm & Blues by Rob Picazo

Rhythm & Blues | Rob Picazo

Rob Picazo is a Rhythm & Blues singer and guitarist born in Madrid and based in the South East of England. He combines soulful vocals, relatable lyrics and bluesy melodies, all the while influenced by great Soul and Blues performers such as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Dan Penn. Following a two month trip through the South of the US, filming a documentary about roots music, Rob has played in popular venues throughout Sussex, Kent and London, and opened for great artists such as Gwyn Ashton, Brooks Williams, Martin Harley and Dom Pipkin. His first album, Spanish Moss, was released to acclaim on the 29th of September 2017.

You can find Rob on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as his website. Read his original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


3 Seconds And 2 Ears For 1 Name by Matthew Whitfield

3 Seconds And 2 Ears For 1 Name | Matthew Whitfield

Why are our listening skills so poor? What would we wish for if we could really listen? Why are we all so bad at remembering names? What are the 3 things do you need to know to become a "name ninja", and be that person known for being awesome at remembering everyones name?

Fighter pilot and self-proclaimed Name Ninja, Matthew Whitfield, shares 3 sure-fire tips for remembering names, starting with introducing yourself properly, then listening and using a person's name when you are introduced.

You can find Matthew on Twitter. Read his original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Leishmaniasis: A Love Letter To A Flesh Eating Parasite by Pip Stewart

Leishmaniasis: A Love Letter To A Flesh Eating Parasite | Pip Stewart

Journalist, poet and presenter Pip Stewart found herself in a relationship with a flesh-eating parasite, leishmaniasis, after a world-first, 2.5 month, paddling expedition through dense Amazon jungle. A firm believer that everyone, and everything, can teach you something, Pip advocates the power of listening to achieve genuine, meaningful connection to better understand yourself, others and the natural world around you. In this TEDx talk, she educates us about flesh-eating parasite that plagues many people around the world and encourages us to find compassion for the plights of others.

You can find Pip on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Read her original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Culture Before Curriculum by Andrew Hammond

Culture Before Curriculum | Andrew Hammond

Our children are more than the sum of their school grades. Behind every GCSE or SATs result lies a whole person with incalculable, untapped potential and myriad facets and capacities just waiting to be discovered. The only limits on our potential are the self-prophesying myths peddled in school about our learning abilities, our intelligence and our capacity to make progress. What a child shows she knows in school is not an accurate measure of her lifelong learning ability or her human potential. Schools are for growing minds but nothing stifles growth like ranking or grading.

Head teacher Andrew Hammond believes that it’s not how smart you are that counts, it is how you are smart and makes a case for redesigning our schools so that our children can pursue their natural inclinations and in so doing, find their self-worth.   

You can find Andrew on Twitter and learn more about him on his website. Read his original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


Fire & Water: The Value of Control Amid Chaos by Chris Williams & Max Thorpe

Fire & Water: The Value of Control Amid Chaos | Chris Williams & Max Thorpe

What are the most important tools in the game of life? Max Thorpe and Chris Williams argue that grit – the ability to persevere through difficulty - and resilience - the ability to rise after you fall – are the critical and defining characteristics of personal growth and human progress. Drawing on their near-death experience when rowing across the Atlantic Ocean – regarded as the most dramatic and perilous sequence of events in ocean rowing history – they offer clarity on how just a few simple steps can help you discover and engage these traits, enabling you to create, innovate, endure, and achieve more than you ever thought was possible.

You can find Max on Instagram, Chris on Instagram, and the two of them together on Instagram. Read their original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.


This Is Us Inclusive Youth Dance by This Is Us Youth Dance Company

This Is Us Inclusive Youth Dance | This Is Us Youth Dance Company

This Is Us Youth Dance Company are an inclusive company that have been based at Bishops Down Primary for almost three years. Their Inclusive class is open to anybody who loves or wants to dance and be creative and currently include dancers between the ages of 6-14. Their performance at TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells encourages us to let the joy of dance move our limbs and warm our hearts.

You can find This Is Us on their website, Facebook and Instagram. Read their original TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells 2019 Speaker profile here.