TEDx FOLKESTONE VIDEO SCREENING ON 21st JUNE 2017

The last video screening of the recent
TEDx Folkestone: Pushing The Boundaries’ talks
was on at the Lime Bar yesterday evening. This
time, only one speaker, Jim Lockey, was able to
attend so the most interesting part of this event,
the Q&A, was very short. I hope that in the near future there will be other occasions in which
we will have the chance to ask questions to the
​other speakers as well.

Here’s the summary of each talk.

​JIM LOCKEY: THE FORGOTTEN LANGUAGE OF DRAWING
Jim is an artist and educator who works especially with children and teenagers. In this talk, he demonstrates not only that anyone can draw, but also that drawing is essential to unlock our voice.
When people, especially adults, say they cannot draw, they make a statement about their confidence and not about their ability to draw. When given clear instructions to follow, anybody can draw. So why many people think they cannot draw then? It could be because somebody told them they couldn’t, or because culture tells them that drawing is all about proficiency. 
According to Jim, drawings are vessels, containers for ideas, just like writing: drawing and writing are like related languages, each one interpreting the world in a slightly different way.
If people saw drawing in this light, they would draw as much often, they would enjoy it and find that they have more and more things to say.
 
EMILY PEASGOOD: EMILY! DON’T DO THAT!
Emily is a composer and an artist. All her life she tried to fit in but found it very hard because her ideas were always considered ridiculous. Only when she had enough confidence in herself and implemented her ideas, she found happiness and appreciation.
When she was little, she was very shy, very imaginative, and very inquisitive. Her ideas were welcomed with laughter and disbelief and as a result she tried to conform. However, she found out that to be herself she had to stop listening to the naysayers and had to be willing to do something that she had never done.
She invites us not to let ourselves get in the way of who we are, because our ideas are us.

ARPAD CSEH: TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE-A FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Arpad Cseh founded the Climate Opportunity Initiative in 2016. He is also a portfolio manager at UBS Asset Management in the transportation, utilities, energy and social infrastructure sectors. He believes that climate change is man-made and the way tackle it is to make it convenient in the short-term to reduce the negative impact human activities would have on the planet in the long term.
So far, all the initiatives implemented by politicians have failed to deliver concrete results because politicians don’t want to ask their voters to make sacrifices straightaway to benefit others in the distant future. If they did, they will not be re-elected.
However, if countries were given rewards and opportunities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it would be convenient for them to take action now; and Arpad has envisaged such a system that  would work better than the actual climate negotiations.
 
REBECCA ROBERTSON: IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD
Rebecca Robertson is the award-winning founder of Evolution for Women, a website dedicated to giving women professional financial advice, and is passionate about putting women firmly in control of their finances.
In this talk, Rebecca looks at why women in their fifties are in a weaker financial position than men in the same age group (education, salary, work opportunities, divorce) and at the financial services industry.
She believes that if women were in control of their finances, the wealth in the world would be more widespread and not in the hands of just a few people, and she invites the people who are already in control of their finances to help those were not and also to reach out whenever they need financial advice themselves.
 
CHRIS CAGE: CREATING THE CARE WE ALL WANT
Chris Cage is a social entrepreneur and organisational development practitioner, with a background in community and engaged theatre practice. He believes that each one of us can make a difference in the quality of care by being creative.
With few examples, Chris illustrates how creative ideas can change people’s lives for the better. In fact, the Care Quality Commission that regulates care homes in England says that creativity is one of the key characteristics of outstanding care.
To be creative though, people must overcome their fear of being rejected, of making mistakes, and of being made look stupid for suggesting something different. As many stick to what has been tried and tested, no chance is given to potential benefits.
Chris invites everybody, whether working, visiting, or living in a care home, to see the possibilities in every situation because it doesn’t cost a penny but it can make an enormous difference in other people’s lives.

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