Jepchumba at TEDxEuston 2012 - ""Asking "Why""

She is feisty, she is smart, she is determined. Jepchumba has been known to describe herself as a 'mad scientist.' Her twin passions are digital media and Africa. As a child, this incredibly talented, innovative thinker constantly asked the question, 'why?" As an adult she has not yet lost that habit, nor does she intend to. Her hugely entertaining, yet inspiring, TEDxEuston 2012 talk invites us to challenge the conventional wisdom of outgrowing the phase when we ask questions, when wide-eyed we ask, 'why?

Watch her brilliant talk HERE!

Jepchumba is an African digital artist and digital enthusiast who works hard to combine her two passions: Digital media and Africa. Originally from Kenya, she haslived around the world developing her interest in philosophy, art and technology. Jepchumba has a Masters in Digital Media with experience in New Media project management and digital production She specializes in Web Design, Digital Art, Audio/Visual Production and User Interface/User Experience.Jepchumba is also the founder of African Digital Art Network, dedicated to the African Digital Media industry. Jepchumba continues to focus on the intersection between technology, creativity and design. Follow Jepchumba @digitalafrican

Ndidi Nwuneli at TEDxEuston 2012 - "Rage for Change"

When Nina Simone sang Young, gifted and black, she might have had Ndidi Nwuneli in mind: she has a degree from Harvard and was named by Forbes as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa. Yet guiding principle seems to be; ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' On a trip to Guatemela as a student, she found herself wondering why this supposedly very poor country was ‘so much more advanced than so many African countries? Why? What is the reason?” She believed four key principles were at work in Guatemala: leadership, effectiveness, accountability and professionalism. This led to her  quitting a high profile job in the US and returning to Nigeria to found  a non-profit organization dedicated to breeding an  “army of committed change agents”, young people, business owners and social entrepreneurs who care about making a difference. Her latest venture, which she shared with passion at the TEDxEuston 2012 is an agribusiness and agro-processing company which aims at displacing imports with locally sourced, high quality substitutes. Her talk challenges the conventional wisdom of accepting the status quo.

Watch her brilliant talk here.

Ndidi Nwuneli is a director of Sahel Capital Partners, a leading advisory firm focused on the agribusiness and manufacturing sectors, and the co-founder of AACE Foods, an agro-processing company. Through her work with Sahel and AACE, she has also shaped agriculture strategy and policy and supported a range of clients in Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia. Ndidi started her career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, working in their Chicago, New York and Johannesburg offices. She returned to Nigeria in 2000 to fulfill her passion for promoting entrepreneurship and leadership development in Africa. She served as the pioneer executive director of the FATE Foundation from 2000, and then established LEAP Africa and NIA in 2002 and 2003 respectively. NIA empowers female university students to achieve their highest potential in life, while LEAP Africa provides leadership, ethics and management training and coaching for youth, business owners, social entrepreneurs and the public sector. LEAP also conducts leadership research and has published numerous books including: Defying the Odds: Case Studies of Nigerian Companies that have Survived Generations, Rage for Change and Building a Culture of Ethics. Ndidi holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She was recognized as a Global Leader of Tomorrow and Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and received a National Honour, Member of the Federal Republic in 2004. Ndidi is married with two children.

TEDxEuston Salon 2013 - Great things on small doses!

This excellent piece was contributed by Adaugo (Diggi) Amajuoyi - enjoy!

TEDxEuston Salon took place on the 6th of April 2013, at the very cool private members bar in Bank called Eight. A discrete black door in an alley way opened up to a winding staircase which led to a beautifully decorated lounge. The dimly lit den began to fill with guests some stood waiting and talking, while others sat patiently in the luxurious sofas, tweeting or taking photos.

Our first speaker for TEDxEuston Salon was Chibundu Onuzu author of brilliant book “The Spider King’s daughter’. She began by thanking the host for the introduction but quickly joked saying that the real reason she was asked to speak was because she had convinced 10 of her friends to attend the last TEDxEuston in December last year :). Chibundu’s talk about “talking” was stimulating , it got everyone reconsider the importance of talking, and gave historical examples of how the break-down of communication often leads to problems that could have been avoided if we simply talked, questioned and challenged what is being said. With the increased accessibility of the internet world wide, we are talking more, tweeting, sharing videos and ideas. Talking more has changed and will change our future. If you want to keep talking to her, follow her on twitter @ChibunduOnuzo!

We then showed a TED video, Kakenya Ntaiya, the girl who demanded school. The audience was moved by Kakenya as she described her experience of female genital mutilation (FGM) and her drive for education, and how after studying in the USA, she returned to village to set up a school for young girls who’s lives will be free of FGM and hopefully have a better future.  I was later approached by a guest who said they had never really known what FGM was and was truly shocked but inspired by how determined Kakenya was in creating change.

After another short break, Dike-Ogu Chukwumerije, the spoken word poet took the stage and performed 2 poems, Nwoyibo and Okwesilieze which was well received by the audience.

Our final speaker Jessica Horn, author, Women’s Rights activits, and founder of Women’s rights activist and founder of Akiiki Consulting. Jessica had the audience in silence, hanging on every word. She shared hilarious and moving stories the incredible women she had met through her work, and left us with the idea of a "Revolutionary love", a love that can inspire change, break barriers of inequality, and would later appear after a hashtag on the tweets made by many of our guests.

The energy of the room was reminiscent of our last TEDxEuston event in December, everyone was buzzing from what they just heard, talking, tweeting, laughing, posing for photos, exchanging business cards. We ended the evening with canapés and music from DJ Dibs (@Deejay_Dibs) who played some great afrobeat tracks that got the guests dancing. Overall it was a fantastic event and our guests left with goodie bags filled with pens, sweets and booklets, and minds full of new ideas about Africa.

The event was sponsored by Shell. They engaged with the community and shared some of their experience on entrepreneurial opportunities in Nigeria, especially the amazing story of Joe Udofia from Vandrezzer Energy, who shared his story briefly about how his company has been supported by SPDC’s local content initiatives in Nigeria and has become a major industry player in just six years. This was particularly interesting for "diasporians" with active plans of returning to the continent.

If you missed the TEDxEuston Salon, keep a look out for our main TEDxEuston event in December. the date will be announced soooooon! 

Thanks to the Oga at the very top Mr Osita Nwegbu (www.ositaphotography.com) for some amazing pictures! All the pictures can be found here! Find below a few to get you going! Enjoy! 

Sadly there are no videos from the event because of a security incident after the event....bear with us!

Inua Ellams at TEDxEuston 2012

Inua Ellams describes himself as word and graphic artist, but we were not sure what to expect until he took to the stage and held the room spellbound with some of the most amazing poetry we have been privileged to listen to. With a combination of poise and confidence this calm poet (sorry - word artist!) took us on a journey so powerful that the audience was oooing and aaing at the end. Much love Inua - There's a lot more to come from you!

Re-live the moments of brilliance here.

Inua Ellams was born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria in 1984. He works as a poet, playwright, performer and graphic designer/artist. He has seven books published including ‘Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales’ (Poetry, Flipped Eye, 2005) ‘The 14th Tale’ (Play, Flipped Eye, 2009) - which was commissioned by the Battersea Arts Centre and awarded a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival, before a sold out run at The National Theatre in London. His third theatre piece, ‘Black T-Shirt Collection’ (Play, Oberon, 2012) also ran at the National Theatre this year and will be touring this autumn. His poems were included in anthologies: Generation Txt (Penned in the Margins, 2006), City State (Penned in the Margins, 2009), The Salt Book of Younger Poets (Salt, 2011), The Shuffle Anthology (Shuffle, 2011 Press). His second pamphlet of poetry Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars (Flipped Eye, 2011) came out last November and he is currently working on a Radio play for the BBC about a dysfunctional Nigerian werewolf family, living in South London. None of these things really say much about Inua’s personality, but he he promises he is a nice guy. ‘Trust me…’ he says ‘… I’m Nigerian’. 

Her Royal Highness, The Nnabagereka (Queen) Sylvia Nagginda Luswata at TEDxEuston 2012 - "Called to serve"

She worked as a Research Consultant at the UN Headquarters, as a Proposal Writer with MAXIMUS Inc. , and as an independent consultant in public relations and business development. No ordinary woman, she is addressed rightfully as her Royal Highness, the Queen of Buganda. Yet, she has dedicated her office to making sure that the marginalized have access to the centre. The Nnabagereka supports an Education Fund that makes education accessible to the least advantaged children through a scholarship scheme. An advocate of equal opportunities in education, she has worked to ensure female participation in education.  She also established the Kampala Ballet and Modern Dance School, the first of its kind in Uganda. At the TEDxEuston 2012, she shares her story of challenging conventional wisdom while remaining a worthy custodian of her people's culture. And yes...it was the first time we had royalty on the TEDxEuston stage!

Watch her fascinating talk here!

Her Royal Highness, The Nnabagereka (Queen) Sylvia Nagginda Luswata is the wife of the King of Buganda, King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. She is a traditional and cultural leader of the people of Buganda, the largest Kingdom in Uganda occupying almost a quarter of the country, with a population exceeding 7 million people. The Nnabagereka’s main focus areas are early childhood care and development; education for girls; vocational training and employment for the youth; empowerment of women, health issues particularly regarding maternal health, the prevention and cure of childhood diseases, nutrition, and sexual reproductive health including the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. She has played a major role in sensitizing and mobilizing the general population on issues of education, health, poverty eradication, culture preservation, and has graciously supported and empowered marginalized groups of youth, women and persons with disabilities. She established the Nnabagereka Development Foundation (NDF) whose mandate is to contribute to uplifting the living standards of all people. In May 2008, the Nnabagereka was chosen by The Netherlands through the Royal Danish Embassy as one of the inspiring women in Uganda to be a torch bearer for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to promote (MDG3) which is about gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Chimamanda Adichie at TEDxEuston 2012 - "We should all be feminists"

Born in 1977, she has risen to become one of the most recognized writers of our time. Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Global talk on the Danger of a Single Story went viral almost as soon as it was put online, and deservedly so and has now been watched almost 4 million times! Her passion for writing is only rivaled by her passion for social justice, for equality, for a world where one's gender does not define you. That passion is present in her profoundly thought-provoking TEDxEuston talk which challenges the way girls are raised in certain societies and which invites us to re-think the conventional wisdom that governs such ideas. She takes on one of the most challenging issues of our times, delivered in a style that is uniquely hers.

Watch her enthralling talk here. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a renowned Nigerian novelist was born in Nigeria in 1977. She grew up in the university town of Nsukka, Enugu State where she attended primary and secondary schools, and briefly studied Medicine and Pharmacy. She then moved to the United States to attend college, graduating summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State University with a major in Communication and a minor in Political Science. She holds a Masters degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins and a Masters degree in African Studies from Yale University.

She was a 2005-2006 Hodder Fellow at Princeton, where she taught introductory fiction. Chimamanda is the author of Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the 2007 Orange Prize For Fiction; and Purple Hibiscus, which won the 2005 Best First Book Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the 2004 Debut Fiction Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. In 2009, her collection of short stories, The Thing around Your Neck was published. She was named one of the twenty most important fiction writers today under 40 years old by The New Yorker and was recently the guest speaker at the 2012 annual commonwealth lecture. She featured in the

April 2012 edition of Time Magazine, celebrated as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. She currently divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

Amina Mohammed at TEDxEuston 2012 - "Choosing a path of service"

Born into a life of privilege, Amina Mohammed was not content to simply enjoy the comforts of that life, but yearned to help those less fortunate than she. She blazed trails and faced down challenges on the path to helping in what way she could. Her motivation is borne out of the simple belief that 'people matter.'  In her TEDxEuston 2012 she reminds us that it is a  moral imperative to care about the plight of the poor and challenges the conventional wisdom of how we deal with poverty.

Watch her enthralling talk HERE.

Amina J Mohammed is the CEO of the Centre for Policy Research and Development Solutions (CPRDS), a think-tank aiming to address the policy and knowledge gaps in Development. She is also an adjunct Professor at Columbia University, New York. From 2005-2011, she served 3 Nigerian Presidents as a Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals, coordinating the expenditure of Debt Relief Funds (US $1bn p.a) aimed at achieving the MDGs in Nigeria. Prior to this, she was the National Coordinator for Education for All in Nigeria (2001-2005). She serves on numerous International advisory panels and boards including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the UN Global Sustainability Panel and Chairs the Advisory Board of the UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on Education.