Theme: My Other Side

There’s a side of me that hates the way my voice sounds.
There’s a side of me that works like a machine.
There’s a side of me that slowly grinds my fear down.
There’s a side where I’m a princess in a dream.
There’s a side of me that hurts when mum and dad fight.
There’s a side of me that no one gets to see.
There’s a side of me escaping in the dark night.
There’s a side of you that lives alongside me.
On one side I can run away from sadness.
Another side just can’t make up my mind.
A side of me wants to embrace the madness
I don’t know what my other side might find.
There’s a side of me that feels a thousand years old.
There’s a side of me that hopes that you’re the one.
There’s a side of me that wants to change the whole world.
There’s a side of me that’s missing when you’re gone.

Odense Teater
Jernbanegade 21
Odense, Syddanmark, 5000
Denmark

Alexander Mathiasen

Computer scientist

Alexander Mathiasen is a computer science PhD student at Aarhus University. A charismatic and engaging speaker, Alexander shares his love for learning everywhere he goes. At Aarhus University, Alexander takes his passion one step further, to learning about learning. To achieve this, he studies the mathematics of machines trying to learn. During his research Alexander realized there was another side to advanced computer intelligence: that even the smartest of computers are still pretty dumb! They don’t work how we want them to, they malfunction, and they make mistakes. Too bad humans aren’t much better - we can be idiots too! At TEDxOdense 2018 machine learning researcher Alexander Mathiasen will take us into the mind of idiot computers - and idiot people. Find out how to make machines think smarter and learn better by working together. In this unusual, technical and intriguingly complex talk, Alexander will explain exactly how many idiots it takes to make an Einstein.

Andreas Okholm

Kite energy designer

Take a very special flight on a power station in the sky. Andreas Okholm and his team are developing a lighter-than-air wind turbine based around a kite that can fly itself. Combining the latest in drone technology, kite engineering and power generation, Andreas paves the way for power generation on the go. Enjoy this very special demonstration, as we take to the sky, and soar into a future of clean, mobile, renewable energy. In a world where a high-tech wind turbine can become as simple as flying a kite, take a look at the other side of energy. If energy was free, what would you power?

Aske Kreilgaard

Artist

In 2015, Danish artist Aske Kreilgaard left behind the life he had always known. He took a leap of faith and followed his dream to explore the world. A few months into his travels he found himself in Calais, France. Aske’s life changed forever when he saw the neighbouring Refugee and migrant camp, known as the Calais Jungle. Here, he was truly needed. Aske lived and worked among thousands of refugees. The extreme conditions in the Calais Jungle were described by Human Rights Watch as “Like Living Hell”. Many of the refugees at the camp were unaccompanied minors. With the support of volunteers and organizations like ‘Save the Children’ and ‘Help Refugees’ Aske founded ‘Baloos Youth Centre’. Through this initiative, he brought art, creativity and hope to the young children here who needed it most. Aske Kreilgaard will share with you a world of loss and hope. See a side of the world you’ve never seen before through his captivating talk, full of real-life stories.

Bjarke Hellden

Performer

Bjarke Hellden is passionate about movement – and has been his whole life. He is a talented athlete within parkour, freerunning/street stunts and pole dancing. Currently Bjarke works as a performer and coach at House of Pole in Copenhagen. On top of this, he has been a member of the Danish performance team JiYo since 2007.

Hardeep Dhanjal

Human Development Expert

Second generation immigrant Hardeep Dhanjal’s parents emigrated from India in the early 70’s. During his childhood Hardeep experienced many challenges at home. Difficult early years made him strong and able to cope with bigger challenges as an adult. His struggle became the fuel to achieve his goals. Hardeep held on to his vision and succeeded in 2008 with the rap group "Overseas" - the biggest selling international group in India. Performing for audiences of 30 thousand fans, and more than 200 million TV viewers worldwide. But his success came to an abrupt end as he got captured in the music industry’s ruthless corporate world. Hardeep shares both struggles and success. Learn to activate the effort to rise from the ashes and take responsibility in life.

Heather Hansen

Speech expert

What happens when the natives suddenly become the foreigners - not in their own land, but in their own language? For every 1 person born into English, there are 5 who migrate to this language when communicating internationally. On a global scale, this quite literally means that there are more voices that stand out, than fit in. Heather Hansen is director of the corporate training firm Global Speech Academy where she helps talented global professionals speak with clarity and confidence in international settings. It’s hard to imagine anyone more qualified to do her job, since Heather knows all about global communication first hand, after having lived in 6 different countries already!

Irina Antonescu

Biopharmacist Irina Antonescu takes us on a fascinating journey inside the human body. Everybody is different on the inside, and drugs affect each person in a different way. Irina combines mathematical formulas and experimental data. Explore the world of drug kinetics - how drugs move through your body in exactly the right way.

Kajsa Vala

Musician

Danish-Icelandic artist Kajsa Vala combines a wonderful mix of rock, folk and country, with a string of Nordic melancholy. Kajsa is an incredibly skilled guitarist whos elegant voice is both strong and vulnerable at the same time. An accomplished winner of the Fatter Eskil Prize, it is with great pride that TEDxOdense welcome this talented and hauntingly beautiful performer to the stage. Kajsa invites you to take the bad with the good, the all-wrong with the all-right - there’s something about the twilight that gets you through the night.

Katrine Pedersen

PhonoSapien

Are machines making humans act more like machines? Head of Education at ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Katrine Pedersen knows how to look at the world in a different way. With eyes glued to smartphones, have we evolved to become “Phonosapians”? Katrine takes us inside the Art & Tech Lab, where she encourages you to re-code computers with human algorithms. What happens when we code for humanity, instead of for machinery? Computers can’t always see what art can show. Art creates pathways for subversion, for political understanding, for solidarity among coalition builders. Art teaches us that lives other than our own have value. What happens when we inject art into technology? Would you become a Human Algorithm Designer or will you end up as a Phonosapian?

Kay Xander Mellish

Communications expert

A former journalist whose work has appeared everywhere from The Wall Street Journal to Mother Jones, Kay has worked primarily in corporate communications since coming to Denmark. Her passion, lies in helping others who are going through the same experience as she did - coming to Denmark from another culture. Kay has become known as an expert on Danish culture. She has published the humorous and helpful books How to Live in Denmark and How to Work in Denmark. She also runs a popular podcast called How to Live in Denmark, which has been downloaded more than 500,000 times. Due to her skill as a speaker and her comprehensive knowledge of Danish culture, Kay is a popular public speaker on Scandinavian culture and the unwritten rules of the Danish workplace. What does it mean to truly fit in? How do you really feel at home in a new society? She will tell us about the other side of culture - culture seen as an outsider.

Mariyah LeBerg

Performer

Winner of Best Live Act at the Danish Music Awards, Mariya Le Berg takes to the stage with her electrifying gypsy punk performance. With a Jehovah’s Witness mother and a Lebanese Muslim father, the one thing they agreed on was that rock music was not the best career choice for their daughter. As it turns out, you can motivate a rock star by forbidding her to sing. Mariyah left everything she knew behind, and found a new identity through her music. After touring stadiums around the world, and featuring in TV documentaries about her life, isn’t it time you discovered the visually stunning electric energy of Mariyah Le Berg?

Mette Sillesen

Futurist

Mette Sillesen is a futurist operating in the sweet spot of technology and spirituality. She has been working as a futurist since 2012, when she completed her Master’s in Innovation, Management, Marketing & Business Communication from Copenhagen Business School. Her approach to the future is deeply rooted in our constant search for meaning - for meeting the magic and the divine. Mette believes that spirituality can be harnessed to change the way we communicate, collaborate and cooperate. How many likes do you need to get to go to Heaven? How many blog posts does it take to gain eternal life? Does technology help us answer the questions we once asked of religion? Can we connect to our souls as easily as we connect to WIFI? Mette makes sure to ask the important questions - and these lead her to fascinating answers! Join bold and thought-provoking futurist Mette Sillesen on a spiritual journey - with technology. Enter the unusual universe of a “High Tech - High Touch” megatrend.

Mikkel Gundersen

Mentalist

Explore the other side of your mind. Mind-pilot and mental expert Mikkel Gundersen, a skilled mind reader who intelligently influences and reads your thoughts. Mikkel uses his unusual skills to design new mental tricks. With 25 years of performance experience, his tricks have featured on Las Vegas stages and Danish TV. Mikkel’s unique insights helps you unlock the hidden mysteries of your mind.

Torben Iversen

Storyteller

Actor and director Torben Iversen is an engaging and humorous storyteller entrusted with the honour of portraying the poster-boy of Odense: Hans Christian Andersen. Torben is a great example of this year’s TEDxOdense theme My Other Side - after all, he has lived a double life for 30 years. During this time Torben has been wearing the hat of the beloved author and bringing his stories to life through over 6500 performances. On the one side, Torben is an actor, performer and artist, and on the other side he represents the most beloved children's stories. At TEDxOdense 2018, Torben will talk about the contrast between the innocence of the fairytale world and the harsh reality of life. Is it time to grow up? Or should we remain childlike forever?

Uffe Madsen

Final companion

Uffe Madsen may be the last person you ever meet. His generous spirit, relaxed demeanour and sympathetic personality have led him to volunteer for a very special role. As a “Final Companion”, Uffe takes time to sit alongside dying strangers, so they needn't be alone in their last hours. Ældre Sagen, the organization where Uffe volunteers, is a nationwide charity offering a wealth of advice, information and support with challenges that the elderly are dealing with. In 2016, Uffe and others volunteering as “Vågetjenesten” (in English “Watching Service”) like him helped 548 dying individuals by making sure that they didn’t have to die alone. Uffe Madsen will tell us moving stories from his time spent beside dying strangers. His talk will illustrate the importance of having a “Watching Service”, so that the many sick and elderly around the world can pass over to the other side in the care and security of another person’s comforting presence.