Speakers

Embracing the Unknown

Gayathri

Gayathri performs three songs from her debut album 'The Unknown' and speak about the inspiration, the creative process of songwriting, using live voice looping, DIY percussion and some ol' fashioned guitar-weilding.

How Does Our Use of Language Contribute to or Hinder the Building of a Just and Compassionate Society?

Julian Burnside

An undeniably potent issue in Australia at the moment is that of the treatment of Asylum Seekers. Julian Burnside gives a fascinating 'non-political' talk about his views on the fair treatment of refugees and reflects on how our use of language shapes the society we live in and how we view the ...

Humans, Robots, Social Nets, and Collective Intelligence

Dr. Nikolaos Mavridis

This talk looks into the brief history of embodied intelligence in our planet, natural vs. artificial and individual vs. collective intelligence, before showcasing number of examples of human-machine interaction, and further examine systems that aim to increase participation and harness the collective ...

Impact Through Empowerment - The Story of the Thank You Movement

Justine Flynn

Justine is co-founder and Director of Brand and People at Thankyou Group, a social enterprise that exists to fund life-changing projects in developing nations. Thank you Group's products are now ranged in over 4000 outlets and to date, the organisation has funded safe water access for 107,903 people, ...

Safeguarding the World's Most Valuable Resource, Food: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Brian Lainoff

Brian Lainoff traces the story of the world's crop diversity from the beginning of agriculture nearly 13,000 years ago through the pioneer of crop diversity, Nicolai Vavilov, to the icy tundra in Svalbard where lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

When the Europeans encountered the Indigenous people of the Americas

Dr. Luis Eduardo Luna

Luis Eduardo Luna has a Ph.D. from the Department of Comparative Religion Stockholm University (1989) and an honorary doctoral degree from St. Lawrence, Canton, New York (2002).

#ListenLearnLead

Jill Huntley

Many working women in the Gulf region today are faced with numerous challenges in their corporate environment. In her talk, Jill will share insights from Accenture’s International Women's Day 2015 global survey of 3,600 business professionals– entry-level to management – from small, medium and large ...

'Injaz', the World’s First Cloned Camel: The Efforts Behind the Story

Dr. Nisar Ahmad Wani

Dr. Nisar Ahmad Wani heads Reproductive Biology Laboratory at Camel Reproduction Center in Dubai and is credited with the creation of ‘Injaz’, World’s First Cloned Camel. This presentation gives you an insight on the science of cloning and the technology behind creation of ‘Injaz’.

A chat with Nadim Sawalha

Post the play, we're having a chat with the writer of the "Rest Upon the Wind" about his ten years research on Khalil Gibran, about Gibran and his work, and Arab poetry. This is an interactive panel, so the audience will also have a chance to join our conversation with Nadim too.

A Journey Inside the Mind of Extreme Big Wave Riders

Ross Clarke Jones & Tom Carroll

Australian big wave legends Ross Clarke-Jones and two-time word champion Tom Carroll have been chasing some of the world’s biggest and most dangerous waves for over 30 years.