TEDxKinjarling returns to Albany in the new year featuring talks from local and national speakers

TEDxKinjarling is set to return to Albany in February next year with a panel of local and visiting speakers. Six speakers have been announced — five Great Southern residents and one guest presenter. The speakers will tackle this year’s TEDx theme of ‘imagine’. Dr Craig Challen will be the guest speaker, most notable for his involvement in the Thailand cave rescue operation to evacuate 12 children and an adult from the flooded Tham Luang cave system in 2018. Contributions from the speakers will be part of the TEDx online network. Last year’s TEDx was a sellout and gave rise to a number of satellite events including TEDxKinjarling Women and Countdown. This year’s audience will be able to attend a panel discussion with the speakers. Year 5 students from local primary schools have also put together their responses to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. So far, Little Grove and Mt Lockyer Primary schools have submitted their ideas with event organisers hoping for more submissions in the new year. The artwork and ideas will be displayed at the main event in February allowing the public the opportunity to explore the “ideas worth spreading” from our future leaders. Local organiser Kristen Pyrz-Brown said a lot of effort had been put into the audience experience for the 2023 event. “We’ll be inviting our guests to enjoy an evocative musical performance and to wander through a veritable forest of imaginative ideas from local school students on how we can tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” she said. “We are really looking forward to seeing the contributions made by students from local schools, and hope that the fruits of their young imaginations can inspire more of the region’s residents to put their minds to the broader issues we face as a global community.”