Theme: A few of our favourite things

On Sunday, 6 December, at the National Film and Sound Archive’s Arc Cinema, you’ll be able to attend TEDxCanberra 2015 – A few of our favourite things!

It is shaping up to be a magical afternoon of live presenters, performers, and screened TED Talks. We are working on a new shorter format to start early in the afternoon and finish with drinks in the early evening. The Arc Cinema is a smaller space than recent events, so we’ll have even more opportunities to strike up conversations with new and old friends, and share ideas. We’ll be back to our full-day format in 2016.

National Film and Sound Archive Arc Cinema
McCoy Circuit
ACTON, Australian Capital Territory, 2601
Australia

CJ Bowerbird

Slam poet

CJ Bowerbird tells stories through verse. He explores what it is to be human, writing about things we have lost, things we never had and things that are slipping through our fingers. His poetry has been called ‘earnest’. Others have commented on his ‘musicality’, ‘lighthearted but serious intent’, and ‘mesmorizing lyrics and beautifully fluid show’. CJ has been dispatching poetry from his home in Canberra, Australia, for the past seven years. He has been a featured performer at the Woodford Folk Festival, the Bookworm International Literary Festival in China and at the You Are Here and Art, Not Apart festivals in Canberra. He has performed in several cities in Australia , Indonesia, China and the US, and has read poetry on ABC National Radio. CJ Bowerbird’s storytelling skills were recognised on 1 December 2012, when he was crowned the Australian Poetry Slam Champion, beating a high-class field of poets from across Australia.

Dina McMillan

Domestic violence expert

Dr Dina McMillan is a social psychologist with a Master’s degree and PhD from Stanford University in California. In 2006 she identified the specific tactics used by abusers to establish and maintain abusive relationships. Dr McMillan published a ground-breaking book, But He Says He Loves Me: How to Avoid Being Trapped in a Manipulative Relationship, which offers rare insight into the minds of abusive predators and details the careful strategy of manipulation they use to ensnare women in abusive relationships. This knowledge has been crafted into a unique set of prevention programs called Unmasking the Abuser, designed for early intervention and improved response. It offers a simple way to reduce the number of teen girls and women in abusive relationships with tools to clearly identify the manipulative tactics used by abusers even in the first stages of a relationship. It also highlights the ways teen girls and women can assess their own vulnerability and then minimise it.

John Feehan

Entomologist and dung beetle expert

John spent 31 years at CSIRO working on the Dung Beetle Program. He has had five insects named after him – an ant, two grasshoppers and a mite. He has also had an Australian native species of Dung Beetle named after him. In 1997 he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his services to Australian Agriculture, and was an ACT Finalist for Australian of the Year in 2011.

Phillip Jones

Raconteur

With a background in fine dining, the arts, social entrepreneurship and consulting, it was natural that Phillip should cultivate a taste for the Martini. His blog, the Martini Whisperer has become the authoritative source of information about Australian craft spirits and Martini culture in general. He was given the moniker after ordering 12 individual bespoke Martinis at a Melbourne cocktail lounge for a troupe of thespians to great effect. In 2013 he conceived the Centenary Martini to mark the 100th Birthday of Canberra, featuring all Australian craft spirits, which was debuted by Robyn Archer AO at the National Press Club. According to the Western Australian newspaper at the time, ‘it was the best thing to come out of Canberra for years’. He also possibly ordered the first Martini in a remote Oman desert resort recently after an impromptu lesson with the bartender, and his wife would wishes he had chosen landscape painting or bushwalking as a healthier choice of hobby.

Shorty and Chow

Jazz-funk-prog musicians

Shorty and Chow use dual guitar and sax lines to create smooth and emotional melodic lines that both excite and soothe. Their music is a unique blend of Jazz, Progressive Rock, Groove and Funk with a hint of Eastern influence. A combination of risk-taking improvisation, sophisticated composition and a mature sense of dialogue between the musicians.