TEDxPlainesWilhems: A ‘food for thought’ conference

A unique conference is organised by TEDxPlainesWilhems on Friday 20 May 2016, as from 17:00 hrs at the Trianon Convention Centre. The conference is organised by a team of around ten volunteers along with an additional number of volunteers contributing on the day of the conference. The US Embassy in Mauritius is partnering for the event. TEDxPlainesWilhems is a live event, where grass-root intellectuals, creative minds and leading experts are invited to present their one idea worth sharing to a live select audience in a well prepared talk of between 3 to 18 minutes each. The idea is to provide an open local and global platform for exchange of ideas and research, networking and partnerships leading to ideas becoming opportunities for bringing desirable change in Mauritius. TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Previous speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Sir Richard Branson.

Speakers for TEDxPlainesWilhems

LINZY BACKBOTTE “The soul of self belief” Well known Mauritian singer Linzy Backbotte will share with us how singing unlocks the soul of self belief and develops our inner strength. DHANJAY JHURRY “Nanomedicine in cancer” Professor Jhurry will share cutting edge nanotechnology research in cancer treatment at the Center for Biomedical and Biomaterials Research (CBBR) in Réduit. Dhanjay Jhurry is the National Research Chair in Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at the Mauritius Research Council (MRC). GAETAN SIEW “Port-Louis: Economic capital of culture” Gaetan Siew will share how cities across the world have developed and generated an entire economy around culture and how Port-Louis could aspire to that. World citizen & traveller Gaetan Siew is the present Chairman of Construction Industry Board and of Smart Mauritius. ASTRID DALAIS “Porlwi by Night” Astrid will share the making of ‘Porlwi by Night’ project and the economic, cultural and social impact it had in Mauritius. She co-founded Move For Art which specialises in corporate cultural events as well as launched the iconic ‘Porlwi by Night’ SHAMEEM OOZEERALLY “The science of languages” Shameem Oozeerally will share his research around how science is at the heart of our daily language. How can different knowledge systems be coherently integrated to the understanding of language? This is one of the questions that form part of his work. HUDAA NEETOO “Seafood industry technology” Hudaa will share how we can create and add value to our seafood industry by leveraging on an emerging food processing technology. Hudaa Neetoo, lecturer at the University of Mauritius, is an active researcher in the area of food science and microbiology. VIDIA MOONEEGAN “Technology disruption” Considered a pioneer of the Mauritius IT-BPO industry, Vidia will be sharing how technology is disrupting business models and people’s lives and creating a new landscape of opportunities. Vidia Mooneegan is the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Ceridian, a cloud Human Capital Management software and services company. ZAHEER ALLAM “Down to Earth!” Zaheer Allam will elaborate on an ancient technique of construction which could be less polluting and yet cheaper: Rammed Earth Passionate about Architecture & Urbanism, Zaheer Allam has been a UN Speaker on Sustainable Energy. VAGISH RAMBORUN “Agriculture youth unemployment” What do you do after years of study and no jobs? Vagish will discuss how simple agriculture can help keep your sanity whilst generating income. He is a Research Assistant and PhD student on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change at the University of Mauritius.