John will be sharing the tale of their adventure on the high seas. Those of us lucky to see his brilliant five minute talk atIgnite Cardiff a few weeks before they set off will know that we’re in for a treat.

10% of all ticket sales for the event will be going to Atlantic Dash’s chosen charities, and we will be making a collection on the day.

Following on from the huge success of the 2011 event, which saw tickets selling out in under an hour, organisers Claire Scantlebury and Neil Cocker are thrilled to be working with the University.

“We are really pleased to have Cardiff University on board as our primary sponsor for our next event” Claire commented, “we think the University is a perfect match for TEDxCardiff. Our event is all about inspiring people through interesting and innovative talks as well as enhancing Cardiff’s reputation, two things that the University is also very passionate about.”

The event, which this year included talks from a wide range of thought leaders including award winning science fiction author Alastair Reynolds, the first Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest Tori James, and the now globally renowned talk by Rome Viharo and Maf Lewis on Google Consciousness which has received more than 135,000 views online to date, has gone from strength to strength.

TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) is an annual event where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. TED has gained a global reputation largely thanks to its inspirational speakers. Since its inception in 1984, TED has grown into a world-renowned forum, attracting the likes of Al Gore, Sir Richard Branson, Jane Goodall and Bill Gates. For those that can’t make it to TED, the conference ethos of ‘ideas worth spreading’ is made available on a more local basis through licensed TEDx events. Now into its third year, TEDxCardiff is still growing in popularity attracting audience members from across the UK.

Sandra Elliott, Director of Communications and International Relations said: “Cardiff University and TED have a shared commitment to spreading ideas across the world.

“The University is delighted to be the primary sponsor of TEDxCardiff in 2012. The incredible multidisciplinary exchange of ideas that TED provides will be of great interest to our staff, students and the wider community. With speakers challenged to give the talk of their lives we’re confident TEDxCardiff will again be a ‘must have’ ticket for 2012.”

Dr Kelly Page, Cardiff Business School, spoke at last year’s event and her talk is available to watch online.

TEDxCardiff 2012 will be held at the Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday 31 March, tickets are expected to go on sale late January. The event will also be streamed live online for those that don’t manage to get a ticket.

To keep up to date with the event and register your details, visit: www.TEDxCardiff.co.uk.

‘We are really pleased to have Cardiff University on board as our primary sponsor for our next event’ organisers Claire Scantlebury commented, ‘we think they are a perfect match for TEDxCardiff. Our event is all about inspiring people though interesting and innovative talks as well as enhancing Cardiff’s reputation, two things that the University is also very passionate about’.

The event, which last year included talks from a wide range of thought leaders including award winning science fiction author Alastair Reynolds, the first Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest Tori James, and the now globally renowned talk by Rome Viharo and Maf Lewis on Google Consciousness which has received more than 135,000 views online to date, seems to be going from strength to strength.

TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) is an annual conference that has gained a global reputation largely thanks to its inspirational speakers. Since its inception in 1984, TED has grown into a world renowned
forum, attracting the likes of Al Gore, Jane Goodall and Bill Gates. For those that can’t make it to TED, the conference ethos of ‘ideas worth spreading’ is made available on a more local basis through licensed TEDx events.

Now into its third year, TEDxCardiff is still growing in popularity and has gathered great support from local businesses as well as attracting audience members from across the UK.

TEDxCardiff is organised entirely by volunteers in their spare time, and has been made possible by the input of a handful of brilliant organisations such as Cardiff University, Sequence, Huw David Design, Crimzn, and the Wales Millennium Centre itself. The volunteers are led by entrepreneur Neil Cocker, and co-founder of Cardiff Web Scene, Claire Scantlebury.

His experiences from delivery of UK and international projects and conferences on leadership, sustainability and innovation confirmed the need for big changes in the way the world of life, work and government is taught and designed. He’s convinced that this is possible using tools, ideas and knowledge we already have.

Andy works to help organisations change inside out; sustainability and climate programmes with Business in the Community, the Welsh Assembly and Chinese government are starting to show the way that learning and change can be achieved. He is a Council Member of Countryside Council for Wales and a Board Member of Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales, and lives with his family on the coast in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, where he recently completed the design and build of an eco house near the surf.

Lionel is President of ASSAP (The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena) and Patricia is First Lady. )Lionel is also the President of BUFORA (the British UFO Research Association) His showbiz career started with Anglia TV and BBC Look East way back in the ‘fifties.

He’s now a popular TV and Radio presenter and celebrity guest on chat shows. He’s also a singer-songwriter with a CD album of Unsolved Mystery songs for Voice Print Records: Lionel’s lead singer for John Downes and the Amphibians. He’s also the author of over 250 books.

His qualifications include a Government Teaching Certificate from Cambridge University’s Institute of Education with an Advanced Main Subject Distinction, an Upper Second Class BA Honours Degree, Fellowship of the College of Preceptors (equivalent to a Masters degree) and Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Management (equivalent to an MBA or an M.Sc in Management Science).

He’s currently Director of Media Studies at Cardiff Academy.  He’s a member of the Ghost Club, Mensa and the Welsh Academy.  As a former Harley Davidson owner currently riding a big Kawasaki 1500 Drifter, he’s President of a Bikers’ Charity called Jumbo, who take kids with special needs and their parents for fun days out.  He’s also a fully ordained Anglican Priest.  He’s a qualified weight–training instructor and a Dan Grade martial arts instructor.

He often works an eighteen hour day seven days a week – and he loves every minute of it!

http://www.lionel-fanthorpe.com

For over two decades B.S. Sathyaprakash (Sathya for his family and friends) is engaged in research to detect these ripples called gravitational waves, from cataclysmic cosmic events such as exploding stars, colliding black holes and the big bang. His personal goal is to observe and understand black holes and gravity using gravitational radiation.  He is the head of the gravitational physics group at Cardiff University – a centre for modelling astronomical sources of gravitational radiation, discovering innovative algorithms to search for this radiation and analyzing data from gravitational-wave detectors using massive computer clusters.

Although there is firm indirect evidence that certain astronomical systems do emit gravitational waves, so far no one has detected them directly.  Sathya and his team are part of a worldwide effort, called the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, to detect these elusive waves using kilometer long laser interferometers in the US, Europe and Japan. Recently, Sathya helped develop the science case for building such a detector in India. He has been involved in the European design study of a third generation underground detector with a 30 km baseline called the Einstein Telescope, chairing the group that developed the science case for this ambitious venture.

He has written widely about media, culture and politics. His books, since 2000, include Constructing Public Opinion (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), Citizens or Consumers: What the media tell us about political participation (Open University Press, 2005), Shoot First and Ask Questions Later: Media Coverage of the War in Iraq (Peter Lang, 2005), Climate Change and the Media (Peter Lang 2009) and The world of 24 hour news (Peter Lang 2010).  He has also written books on media audiences, cultural policy and media and race.

He has worked with the BBC on the coverage of the Iraq War, 24 hour news and the use of user generated content in news; with the BBC Trust on coverage of devolved politics; with the Office of Science and Innovation on media coverage of science; with the Guardian on the independence of British journalism; with Channel Four on the coverage of Islam; as well as doing research on the media and political citizenship and media and the public understanding of science for the Economic and Social Research Council and is currently involved with two European Social Fund projects on the democratic deficit/new models of local media and digital platforms: learning, change and nation branding.  At the heart of all these projects is a keen interest in how the media might enhance a diverse and democratic culture in the UK.

Professor Lewis is a regular commentator on media, politics and cultural issues for regional and national US and UK media.

The talk will begin with the proposition that while consumer capitalism has been a very successful model for creating wealth, in the 21^st century it is becoming increasingly obsolete. In developed countries, research shows that it is no longer able to deliver improvements in our quality of life. The proliferation of products has reached a point where increasing consumer choice makes our lives more burdensome, not less. The range of products expands, but the time we have to make decisions about them does not. The more we have, the less value each new possession has. And most alarmingly, the economic growth it encourages is enormously damaging to our environment, with potentially disastrous consequences.

These points chime with the way many people feel. At the dawn of the 21^st century, we were wealthier than at any time in human history, yet few people felt that we were living in a golden age. The talk will address how our cultural and information industries keep us on the treadmill of consumption – and how they limit our vision of what constitutes progress. If we are to find a way out of this cul de sac, Professor Lewis will argue, we must begin by changing the way we organise media and communications. We need a cultural environment that encourages rather than stifles new ideas about what guides our economy and our society.

Archaeology encompasses the entirety of human life and as such provides a focus for broader discussions on the human condition.  Public outreach has been a focus of archaeological excavations for some time but Jacqui is committed to providing both physical and intellectual access to the entire range of archaeological activity, from scienctific analysis to social theory. To do this she has created a series of events that speak to different audience groups.

Future Animals: friend or food?

Jacqui led the project: Future Animals: friend or food? in 2010, offering young people an insight into and an exploration of artificial selection – a key aspect of Charles Darwin’s research into the origin of species by natural selection.  The project was a creative engagement event that used the archaeology of domestic dog to encourage broader debate and discussion on the place of humans and animals in the modern world.

Based on their evolutionary investigations the group produced with their own designs for the animals of the future, aided by archaeologists and scientists from the University and by award-winning artist Paul Evans.  In addition to offering hands-on creative challenges and experience, the project offered scope for ethical debate about our past, present and future relationship with animals – is it right, for example, for us to change the way that animals look and behave, just so that we can eat well or have a cute and cuddly companion?

The project is an initiative between the Schools of History and Archaeology and Biosciences along with external partners Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Techniquest, and artist Paul Evans

Building on this success Jacqui has developed Guerilla Archaeology, a collective that delivers outreach and engagement events to new audiences, for example at music festivals, and engages audiences through interactive challenges.

Back to the Future

Human and animals have walked the earth together for millions of years.  In response to climatic and social changes our relationship over time has evolved from minimal intervention to complete control, from wild and hunted to domesticated and farmed. The developments in our relationship are written in the bodies of our four legged friends and can be traced within single species from the wild wolf to the handbag Chihuahua, from the mighty aurochs to the domestic cow and the wild boar to the miniature pig.
Today increasing population, habitat destruction and climate changes further challenge the human:animal bond, but what of the future?   With developments in technology our future animals are limited only by our imaginations society now has to decide how we want animals to change.  Using the creative process as a tool ‘ Future Animals’ challenges everyone to create creatures fit for the climatic and social challenges we face. So do we want a racing tortoise for our entertainment or a swimming sheep to survive rising sea levels?  And at what cost?

His research, spanning the social and medical sciences, has provided many new insights – particularly the great extent to which assault resulting in NHS treatment is not reported to the police and the substantial mental health impact on victims in terms of posttraumatic disorder and other conditions.

The inter-disciplinary Violence Research Group (VRG), formed by Professor Shepherd, has played a major role in the UK and internationally in epidemiology, management and prevention of violence.  Part of this research was the evaluation of urban centre closed-circuit television using police and A&E data; demonstrating that increased surveillance and targeted policing of violence “hot spots” reduces physical harm.  The violence prevention model then implemented meant that there were 106 fewer people treated for violence related injuries during December 2009 at Cardiff A & E compared to the number of incidents handled in 2000.

Professor Shepherd was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for excellence in Higher Education in 2009 for his groundbreaking work in violence prevention.