FIT FOR THE FUTURE9 May, 2019

Sherborne

An independent event organised by local volunteers, TEDxSherborne is part of the global TED community that believes in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, communities and, ultimately, the world. TEDxSherborne has been carefully curated to reflect some of the key issues facing our community, and offers a unique opportunity for everyone to come together to explorethe future of our town andits people.

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CREATE THE CONVERSATION during the day and connect with our global community using #TEDxSherborne in your social media activity.

WELCOME to the inaugural TEDxSherborne – a day of inspiring talks aimed at stimulating conversation and inspiring action.

Staging TEDxSherborne has been a community affair in itself. Scores of talented local people from across our schools, local businesses and community groups have generously given their time, energy and talents to support our core team of volunteers in making today special.

Today offers us all an opportunity to pause and reflect on the future we want to create. We will reflect on the issues under our noses and on those coming overthe hill at us, considering how we can meet themhead on together.

Sherborne is an ancient rural market town, facing challenges familiar to other communities around the world. It is also a centre of excellence in secondary education, with a cluster of outstanding private and state secondary schools in and around the town.We therefore share the responsibility and privilegeof meeting the challenges of preparing both ourplace and people – especially our young people – for the future.

Hence our theme, ‘Fit for the Future: People and Place’.

We are delighted to welcome an outstanding lineupof speakers and performers to the TEDxSherborne stage to share their work, their ‘ideas worth spreading’. These ideas will help to create the conversation today and hopefully lead to both contemplation and action in the weeks and months that follow. There will be also performances and films related to our theme, a healthy and nutritious lunch and plentiful refreshments, as well as time to connect with our speakers and your fellow TEDx-ers.

We are incredibly grateful to Sherborne Girls school for allowing us to be one of the very first events to take place in their amazing new Arts Centre. Those of you fortunate enough to be part of our live audience will be joined by our webcast audience from across town, surrounding villages and (much) further afield.

May I once again thank our inspirational speakers and performers, our core team and our small army of volunteers who help us out throughout the year and on the day, our pro bono partners for their generous support…and, of course, you for joining us today!

On with the show!

Tony CookeLicensee & Chair, TEDxSherborne

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Session 19:30-11:15am

Tom Payne

Jocasta Cox

Kierhan Ellis

Interlude 1: Drama

Stella Mortarotti

Coffee in the Foyer

Session 212:00-1:00pm

Short Film “Cheer Up Luv”

Interlude 2: Poetry

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Interlude 3: Music

Julie Plumley

Lunch in the Foyer

OUR DAY

“I must choose between despair and energy. I choose the latter.” John Keats

Photo: Ottie Marsh & Freddie Dick-Read

Session 32:00-3:15pm

Interlude 4: Dance

Susan Elderkin

Benjamin Wild

Joshua Shortman

Adam Stones

Tea in the Foyer

Session 44:00-5:45pm

Rory MacLean

Short Film ‘I, Daniel Blake’

Andrew Grundell

Chloe Dick

Laurence Hayward

Close

“I must choose between despair and energy. I choose the latter.” John Keats

SPEAKERS

Tom PayneTom is an author and journalist who writes on poetry, education, celebrity and ageing for publications including The Daily Telegraph. An English teacher at Sherborne School, Tom also teaches a Latin class at The Gryphon. His talk will draw on the wisdom of the ancients to suggest a healthier approach to getting old.

Jocasta CoxJocasta, aged 14, joined St Mary’s School, Shaftesbury in 2018, after living overseas for 11 years (in Australia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic). Jocasta, who enjoys Model United Nations and is an MUN award-winner, will be discussing the plastics problem, and what we can do about it.

Kierhan EllisKierhan is a 32-year-old personal trainer with Evolve Fitness Training. His career has taken him all over the UK and he has also worked in the US, coaching in states

including New York and Massachusetts. In a talk focused on what it means to be a man in today’s world, Kierhan will draw on his own experiences and those of his friends and peers.

Stella MortarottiStella is a year 10 pupil at Leweston. Fourteen-year-old Stella has traveled extensively with her family, which has given her a love of meeting people, a broad view of the world and a passion for informing and inspiring others. Her talk will suggest that the community has a vital role to play in education, relieving overstretched schools ofthe PSHE element ofthe syllabus.

Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieA recorded talk by novelist Chimamanda Adichie,in which she warns of the danger of a single story. Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature, inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgottenby recent generationsof westerners.

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Julie PlumleyJulie is the daughter of a Dorset farmer. After qualifying as a social worker, Julie worked with families and young people for 30 years before setting up Future Roots, a care farm for young people facing serious challenges, eleven years ago. Julie will explore the issue of youth disaffection and crime through the prism of her experience of working with one troubled local teen.

Susan ElderkinSusan is a bibliotherapist who prescribes books for life’s afflictions, and co-authored The Novel Cure. The author of The Voices, and Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains, she now runs creative writing workshops from her home in Somerset. Her talk will suggest that mindful reading can, of itself, be a radical act.

Dr Benjamin Wild, FRHistSBenjamin is a cultural historian (and teacher of

history at Sherborne School) who writes and lectures about the history of dress and convenes courses for the Victoria & Albert Museum. He will be talking about Alan Turing, and, more broadly, on the value of those on the margin.

Joshua ShortmanJosh joined The Gryphon Sixth Form in September after moving to Dorset from Warwickshire. A keen public speaker, Josh has participated in debating tournaments at Warwick University and the Oxford Student Union. His talk will ask whether democracy works, and discuss how our political system might evolve to meet our needs better.

Adam StonesAdam attended Sherborne School in the 90s, andlater worked at the International College. A life-changing bike ride across the USA prompted his entry into journalism, and, later, into social change communications. He now lives and works in Amsterdam, and will be advocating for cycling as an agent of social change.

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Rory MacLeanRory–born in Canada, living in Yetminster–is one of Britain’s most expressive and adventurous travel writers. His books, which have been translated intoa dozen languages, include UK top tens Stalin’s Nose and Under the Dragon. Drawing on his experiences as a diarist, travel writer and world citizen, Rory will be talking about the importance of the stories we tell ourselves.

Andrew GrundellAndrew is a Dorset native whose career lay in manufacturing until a recent life-changing experience of coping with family crisis led him to sell his companies and become a mental health advocate. Andrew’s talk will address the coming mental health crisis, and also suggest a possible new approach to dealing with it.

Chloë DickChloë, 17, is studying for her International Baccalaureate at Sherborne Girls. Chloë previously studied at the British International School in New York. Her talk will

address the importance of conservation, and how each of us can do our bit in protecting biodiversity.

Laurence HaywardLaurence is currently studying for his GCSEs at Sturminster Newton High School. Laurence was a Member of Youth Parliament for Dorset from Feb ’18-Feb ’19, and will be exploring the issue of political engagement among the young in his talk.

Our special thanks go to our Photographer-in-Residence, Joss Barratt, and his wonderfully talented team of A-level photographers from across all of Sherborne’s secondary schools for taking these beautiful portrait photosof our speakers.

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“We do need hope, of course we do, but the one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere.”Greta Thunberg

Photo: Myles Fearon

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Tony CookeRebecca de PeletLaura BarberChris BirdEmma DrakeAnnette CreminTom RimmerJon RidingKeith SewardJoss BarrattPhivi SpyridonosMichela FranciniMichelle ParishRuth SullivanNicki EdwardsKate ReynoldsEmma RamsayJane StewartEmma MorrisSteve LeeJemma Dempsey Katherine MasseyLiz MurrayHolly GeorgeGlen CheyneKate CoxClaire WorsleyHarriet McKayKate WhitlockCharlotte CoulseyMike Fenton-WilkinsonClaire MasonAmy WrightJamie ClarkMatt Bone

Licensee & ChairProgramme CuratorProject ManagerHead of Speaker SupportHead of CreativeHead of CommunicationsHead of Schools ProgrammeHead of Community OutreachVideographer-in-ResidencePhotographer-in-ResidenceArtist-in-ResidenceChief StewardProject AssistantSchools ProgrammeSchools ProgrammeSchools ProgrammeSpeaker Support Speaker SupportCommunity OutreachCommunity Outreach CommunicationsCommunicationsCommunicationsCommunications Communications Communications Communications Communications Communications Communications Creative Creative Creative Creative Creative

OUR TEAM

Photos: Sasha MacKenzie (top) Hannah Lee (left)

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”Simone de Beauvoir

HUGE THANKS TO...

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS

FUNDERS

MEDIA PARTNERS

PRO BONO SPONSORS

• Sharon Murphy for the Speakers’ Dinner catering• Debs Edlmann for hosting the Speakers’ Dinner• Jess Gould and her team at Chartwells for providing the event lunch and refreshments• Claire Kennedy of TEDxExeter for all her support• The team at Sherborne Girls for working with us to stage TEDxSherborne• Alistair Kerley for composing original music for TEDxSherborne• Philippa Chapman for assisting with project evaluation• Phivi Spyridonos for designing the TEDxSherborne ‘X’ logo• Louis de Pelet for producing the 3D TEDx logos• Jane Brady for designing the event programme• Taff Martin for enabling us to partner with Abbey 104 FM• Terry Bennett for producing TEDxSherborne content for Abbey 104 FM• Glen Cheyne for promoting us in the Sherborne Times• Myles Fearon, Charlotte Clothier, Mary Bedford, Jiayi Ding, Wiktoria Magnuszweska, Hannah Lee, Ottie Marsh, Freddie Dick-Read, Sophie Connolly, Lucy Fortescue, Emilia Luders and Sasha McKenzie for creating their amazing photographs for the #WeAreSherborne exhibition

AND...

Photo: Charlotte Clothier

“We can only see a shortdistance ahead, but we cansee the plenty there thatneeds to be done.”Alan Turing

14Photos: Wiktoria Magnuszewska (top) Mary Bedford (left)

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not thatthey are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They makeone story become theonly story.”Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

TEDxSherborne is a community initiative,by Sherborne, for Sherborne.

TEDxSherborne.com

Photos: Lucy Fortescue (front), Jiayi Ding (above)

Sherborne