If it's worth sharing - it's at TEDxPretoria

This will be Pretoria's second TEDx - a localised offshoot of the hugely popular Technology, Education and Design (TED) series of talks, which has become an international movement under the banner 'Ideas worth spreading'. The talks, which are freely available online, are widely recognised as one of the world's most inspiring sources of fresh thinking on a wide range of cultural and scientific subjects.

Speakers

The line-up for TEDxPretoria 2014 comprises a diverse range of thought-shifters, from social entrepreneurs and techno-geeks to educators, poets, Morgan Beatbox as MC and even a stand-up comedian.

• Swiss-born innovator York Zucchi, an investor in break-through African enterprises across technology, tourism, publishing and health-care

• Award-winning performance poet Puno Selesho
• Serial innovator and ideas facilitator, Oran Cohen
• Bio-mimicry practitioner and trainer Claire Janisch, founder and director of BiomimicrySA
• Digital designer Griffiths Sibeko, winner of this year's MTN Best App Garage Developer 2014
• Cyber security researcher and software developer Jabu Mtsweni, co-organizer of Random Hacks of Kindness
• Raconteur, author and stand-up comedian, Don Packet, Head of Perspective at Perspective Shifters, Missing Link
• Education pioneer Darryn van den Berg, MD for the group PassionFor

• Author, brand-builder and motivational speaker Thato Kgatlhanye

Like all TED and TEDx talks, the Pretoria event is open-source and not for material or political gain. It is organised under free licence by an independent team of professionals, graduates and students who share a burning desire to challenge accepted wisdom and spark deep conversations and connections in their communities.

Sponsors

The headline sponsor for this year's event is Standard Bank. Other sponsors include T-Systems, The Innovation Hub, Exxaro Resources, Blank Canvas International - curating and hosting the lunch experience themed 'food worth sharing' and the Southern African Innovation Network (SAINe).

Eco backpacks

Delegates to TEDxPretoria 2014 will take away not only a sense of limitless possibilities, but also the tangible results of a good idea in the form of a tech-savvy, eco-friendly backpack.

The backpacks, created from upcycled plastic, are designed to provide school students with a sturdy, comfortable book bag which also doubles as a charging station for a Consol solar jar light for night-time studying. The bags are created by a start-up, Rethaka Trading in Rustenburg. The project, which already employs eight full-time staff, has been selected for incubation funding by Standard Bank.

For more information, go to www.tedxpretoria.co.za.