In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Be'er Sheva, HaDarom
Israel

Alfie Gelbard

Spoken Word Artist

Alfie (Or) Gelbard is a poet and spoken-word artist. He facilitates teens writing and spoken-word groups at the Spoken-Noar national community. Currently, he is part of a psychobiology research lab, and working on a Master's thesis in the Psychology of Sexuality and Gender at the Lautman Interdisciplinary Program for Excelling Students at Tel Aviv University. ​ Gelbard is a 2015 European Universities Debating Championship finalist and a 2015 Israel Universities Debating Championship finalist.

Daphna Slonim

Psychiatrist

Daphna Slonim, MD is a Board Certified psychiatrist in Israel and California. She is the director of DSA Medical Clinic in Beverly Hills, USA. Dr. Slonim taught her techniques to detect and remove subconscious blocks to happiness, health, and success to psychologists in NATO projects and at the Mashabim Trauma Center in Kiryat Shmona, Israel. She is the author of The First Key: How to Remove Subconscious Sabotage.

Hiyo Wong

Youth Speaker

Hiyo Wong is 15 years old. She is messianic, believing that Jesus is the Messiah. She has a different way of thinking. She currently lives at Porya-Ilit, near the Sea of Galilee, and her differences stem from her status as a minority in Israel. ​ She is nervous (and excited) to speak in English at TEDxBGU.

Limor Aharonson-Daniel

Department Head of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, BGU

Professor Limor Aharonson-Daniel, PhD is the founding director of the PReparED Center for Emergency Response Research. She is the head of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University. She specializes in injury epidemiology. Dr. Aharonson-Daniel is a member of the CDC's International Collaborative Effort on injury statistics, the American Public Health Association, and a director on the board of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine.

Noa Ovadia

Debate Club President at Ben Gurion University

Noa Ovadia is pursuing a degree in Education and Gender Studies at Ben-Gurion University. She was born in Ramat Gan, but moved to the United States with her family at the age of four. After high school, Noa made Aliyah through Garin Tzabar, which helps youth from abroad come to Israel to serve in the IDF. During her army service, Noa spent three years in Combat Engineering, serving as a mines and demolitions instructor, and later as an Officer of Instruction. ​ Today, Noa is the President of the Ben Gurion Debate Society, and coaches high school students in debate.

Oren Ailam

Street Artist

Oren Ailam graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and is a street artist and industrial designer. In his art, Oren integrates poetic writing and technology into street objects. He pushes the limits between collaboration with the municipalities and under-cover illegal street art. ​His poems have provoked media attention and discussion, connecting him to diverse peoples, including adventurous travellers, victims of trauma, religious Jews who lost their faith, non-believers who found faith, the transgender community, and beyond.

Ori Lahav

Co-founder & General Manager of Outbrain

Ori Lahav is the Co-Founder and General Manager of Outbrain. He oversees the company's research and development center located in Netanya, Israel. Prior to co-founding Outbrain, Ori led the research and development groups in search and classification at Shopping.com, which was acquired by eBay for $634 million. Previously, Ori was a leader at the video streaming server group at Vsoft. He is a graduate in practical engineering from the Rupin Academic Institute and holds the rank of Major as a reserve officer in the Israeli Navy.

Roey Tzezana

Co-founder of ​TeleBuddy

Roey Tzezana, PhD, is a research fellow in the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and manages the program for Futures Studies at Lahav Executive Education in Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University. His first book, Guide to the Future, focused public attention on the disruptive influence of emerging technologies on society. Tzezana has founded and is the director of The Simpolitix Project for political forecasting, and is ‘living the future’ as co-founder of TeleBuddy: a start-up company helping people connect via telepresence robots everywhere in the world.

Uri Rozen

CEO & Chief Editor of Mako, Keshet Broadcasting Digital

Uri Rozen is the CEO and Chief Editor of Mako, Keshet Broadcasting's digital arm. Previously, he was the acting CEO of Channel 10 News and the Chief News Editor of Maariv. He has a background in high-tech and software development, after serving in 8200, a well-known intelligence unit in the Israeli military. Rozen’s book, The Naked Editor (2015), is about Game Theory and the mass media. He holds a BA in Political Science and Philosophy and an MA in Political Communication from Tel Aviv University. He is currently teaching Journalism at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya.