>> Reflections on Attending My First Live TED Talk(s) at TEDxLondon's Festival of Ideas 💡


Hello everyone and welcome back - to your favorite Blog!

After watching many interesting TED talks on YouTube over the years and often wondering, why they seemingly never took place where I lived and why I had never been able to attend one, it finally happened this year! What an informative start to 2025. The event was called: 'TEDxLondon - Festival of Ideas' and took place last Sunday. I also heard they are in their 6th year already! The day was split into two sessions, with several speakers taking the stage in the morning and the other half after lunch. On one hand, I thought it was good to learn more about a variety of issues I was not deeply aware of up until this point; on the other hand, I felt somewhat helpless learning about yet another crisis that I might not be able to do much about. This is why I appreciate when a TED talk outlines a specific course of action towards the end, so you know where to start if you want to do something about it. Or when speakers share information about their own projects they started and demonstrate how they were able to improve the situation so far.

TEDxLondon - Part of the speaker Line-Up

TED Hosts - blurry photos from my balcony seat. What more could you ask for?

Here are some topics and issues that were highlighted and discussed during the event: We heard Andre Anderson talk about how to turn council houses into publishing houses, encouraging people from low-income households to get creative and share their stories. We experienced an exclusive original piece created by a small number of young participants from the Hackney Empire Creative Futures programme, designed to support and fuel young artists and creative entrepreneurs aged 16 to 18. This programme aims to make the creative arts accessible to all young people. On another note, did you know that 7 out of 10 British Oscar winners were privately educated? This raises the issue of 'fair' access to the arts as a viable option for finding purpose and making a living this way. Being able to express yourself creatively is a luxury but if there is one upside, when it comes to technology, it is that you CAN now put your stuff out there. You might not get an award or any recognition at all ever - but at least it is out there for people to find and maybe even connect with.



You can call me Ivonne because that is my name. Pressing point of discussion:
My hair is mahogany for the winter time. I will get back to blonde in Spring. 

As much as I enjoy listening to and watching interesting TED Talks, I don't think I could ever do it. If I would HAVE TO DO IT I would choose - growing up in East Germany and how important it is to build confidence in East Germans because they have been trained to not think much of themselves, to remain silent and not question the system at all. Ok, this but with a shorter title. Public speaking is not something I would readily sign up for. Paradoxically enough, singing in front of an audience, I absolutely LOVE!! I don't know why this is. I have no explanation for it. Maybe I just trust my abilities. :) Only a singer knows what it is like when you are standing there, singing and sharing your emotions while the audience gets to feel what you are feeling. It is hard to describe. It is very special in the right setting. I have seen a few musicians in London who landed high-end gigs only to be ignored by the audience completely. That sucked.


A lot of these TED Talks aim to inspire action. They want people to recognize and understand the problem, to react and respond to it. Yet, not everyone is willing to step outside the group and speak up (yet) because, after all, it is still a risky endeavor. When it comes to being outspoken: The problem is that when good people - and there are a lot of them too probably sitting quietly in a corner somewhere - collectively remain silent, the self-serving, money hungry individuals with no self-confidence issues or conscience, have no problem with taking the lead and the megaphone to push their agendas. The crowd that follows, probably addicted to their phones and social media (with ceo's of these companies holding a megaphone too) make for a big group of willing followers/supporters of whatever crazy point on the agenda is next. Sharp minds are able to take action to counter such movements. A sharp mind is not what excessive social media use will get you. Leadership knows that. Isolated, aimless people make good followers. Sadly.

We also learned about the use of AI to study the soundscape of coral reefs
 to support conservation and restoration

TEDxLondon - Part of the speaker Line-Up

Here are more topics that were discussed on stage: Jolyon Maugham KC founded Good Law Project in 2017. He briefly touched on the topic of 'dark money' which refers to political spending by organizations that are not required to disclose their donors. This type of funding often comes from various sources, including corporations and wealthy individuals and can significantly influence elections and policy decisions without transparency. Good Law Project uses the law to hold power to account, protect the environment and ensure no one is left behind. It uses the law to tackle important issues of unlawfulness, wrongdoing and disadvantage and remains almost entirely funded by members of the public, which keeps it fiercely independent. Another speaker was Nathalie McDermott, Founder and CEO of Heard, a charity that works with people and the media to inspire content and communication that changes hearts and minds. Nathalie started out as a journalist and is passionate about finding common ground on important issues, such as climate change, poverty, domestic abuse and migration. HEARD connects media professionals with people who have directly experienced different issues, supports them to get the best out of media engagements and uses insights from research to help storytellers land their message and engage audiences.


Mein Fazit dieser Veranstaltung: It was a good experience and I'm glad I went there. I enjoy learning and growing as a person. One advice I have for the organizers, please give each presentation a name. Every YouTube Ted Talk has a title. It would have been easier to list on here and find the person/cause again on the internet after. If you want to learn more, sooner or later these talks will probably be accessible online as well. I know why I like attending events like this, because they let you know and make you aware that after all, you are not the only concerned citizen and something can be done. Especially when we bring together the right group of people. It is called: SYNERGYThere is power in numbers and a group dynamic. People with different skill sets get together in real life to tackle a big issue. I think, if enough people wake up to this possibility, something big might actually get done. Thank you for stopping by here today. Always good to see you. 😊


all photos © IBreakTheNews.com


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