TED has been a steadfast avenue for sharing ideas worth spreading on all topics – from business to science to societal and global issues – usually in the form of short, powerful talks by people who are passionate and talented in their field.

Starting as a conference in 1984 where Technology, Entertainment and Design came together, today TED has expanded to cover talks in over 100 languages, while independently run events around the world help spread ideas in various communities.

TEDxKL is an annual, independently organised event that embraces the essence of internationally-known TED talk events – discovering, sharing and learning new ideas in various fields to help create a better learning environment. TEDx events are specifically focused on idea-sharing that will contribute to the advancement of the local community.

The theme for 2016’s TEDxKL event on 20th August 2016 is ‘Resonance’, which signifies efforts toward connecting further with participants, amplifying ideas that strike a chord with them, and that they might translate into conscious actions that contribute towards bettering their communities.

The event will  include screenings of TEDTalks videos and presentations from live speakers, as well as exhibitions and opportunities for networking and exchanging ideas during breaks. Also, Barista Guild Asia will be conducting a coffee appreciation session on the day.

Fabrice Schnoller

French engineer, freelance biologist and acoustic researcher Fabrice Schnoller founded the Darewin Project: a research program dedicated to whales and dolphins communication. Their recent collaboration with the New York Times Op-Docs series, resulted in the production of The Click Effect, one of the first VR films to be shot directly underwater capturing the free diving experiences in the oceans with the cetaceans. The film was selected for screening at Sundance, Tribeca and Cannes film festivals.

A Malaysian musician and composer who has written music for theatre, film, dance and TV, for gamelan, martial artists, choral groups, Chinese opera singers, orchestras and electronica, Datin Saidah Rastam was a musical director. She has organised several large-scale theatre and worldwide events including the launch of the Petronas Twin Towers and she is one of the original members of Instant Café Theatre.

 Alena Murang

Alena Murang has learnt the traditional art forms of the Kelabit, Kenyah and Penanpeople since the age of six, including dancing, weaving, design, singing and playing music instruments. Presently, she is a full-time practitioner and pioneer for art forms from Borneo, seeking to learn from tribal elders in the Ulu Baram villages. Alena is also one of the first women to play, perform and teach the sape’ a traditional lute instrument, and started Kelas Sape’ KL in early 2015 with the support from the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Bernard Goh is the Founder and Artistic Director of one of Southeast Asia’s most impressive musical instrumental groups Hands Percussion, which have been part of the Malaysian performing arts scene since 1997. Wowing audiences at home and the world over, their highly acclaimed performances are spellbinding to say the least. They have coached more than 8,000 students in the art through drumming camps and workshops in schools and rural villages.

Mohd Izmir Yamin’s team, Independence-X is the only Malaysian and Southeast Asian team still in the running for the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, out of 16 finalists from around the world. The GLXP challenge calls for privately funded spaceflight teams to be the first to land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon, travel 500 meters on it, and transmit back high-definition video and images. The team that successfully pulls this off wins the USD 20 million prize money.

To encourage more idea-sharing and participation within the local community, various free adventures were organised, called TEDxKL Adventures, which participants joined in such as workshops on creativity and writing, public speaking, drone flying, and nutrition.

There was also the KL Street Names Tour that highlighted the interesting history and fun facts of selected major roads in the city by the authors of the book, Kuala Lumpur Street Names, Mariana Isa and Maganjeet Kaur.

Early bird tickets

Tickets priced at RM106 will be increased to RM127.20 after the promotional period, and closer to the event date will be sold at RM159, which is the normal price. All prices are inclusive of 6% GST. Head over to tedxkl2016.peatix.com to get your tickets.

Date: 20th August 2016
Venue: Calvary Convention Centre, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
Address: Jalan Jalil Perkasa 1, Taman Teknologi Malaysia, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ( GPS Coordinates: 3.05022, 101.6798429)

If you’d like more information, visit www.tedxkl.com and www.facebook.com/TEDxKL