#TEDxCT speaker profile: Carlo Randall

Give us some background about yourself and your career/initiative?

Randall: I am a bush doctor, entrepreneur and artist born in Cape Town, South Africa. With 20 years of experience, I have an established practise in Cape Town, and I worked for Stellenbosch University as a research assistant and lecturer on Indigenous Medicinal Plants used in South Africa. I am an advocate and custodian for the livelihood of indigenous medicinal plants and remedies.

I work with indigenous plant remedies, an oral knowledge acquired by travelling in search of indigenous healers. For a large part of my life, I lived a nomadic lifestyle, the same as the Khoi & San. I believe in taking ownership of the knowledge of your experience and that Knowledge and Self is powerful. The truth heals.

Is this your first TEDx presentation and how are you feeling about it?

Randall:No. I spoke at TEDxTableMountain in 2013. I'm feeling more nervous and anxious than the first because TEDxCapeTown has a larger audience.

What is your interpretation of the theme Here/Hear to Listen?

Randall:It speaks to where we are physically and the message heard.

How will your presentation relate to the theme?

Randall:They will hear trauma of being denied an indigenous identity or will they be listening to the dynamic leap...

What are you looking forward to the most about TEDxCapeTown this year?

Randall:To the event being a success and meeting people who are making a change in people's lives...

TEDxCapeTown 2016: Tech-enabled to go green and enhance audience experience

For the first time since 2011, TEDxCapeTown is committed to a more tech-enabled team and delivery of the event. Audience members can expect to experience a web-enabled application, implemented by Accenture South Africa, allowing them to view the programme of the day, listed speakers and their bios and directly engage via the TEDxCapeTown social channels in-app.

For the second consecutive year, Accenture South Africa has decided to partner with the largest TEDx event on the African continent, to demonstrate and share contributions to innovation. Accenture strongly identifies with the ethos of TEDx which exists to discuss ideas worth spreading.

“Accenture and TEDx believe passionately in the power of innovation to change attitudes, perceptions and behaviours. In South Africa, Accenture remains committed to playing a strategic role in supporting our clients and helping to drive sustainable economic growth,” says Suren Govender, managing director of Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture Digital. “Our focus at TEDx this year really is to listen to the ideas local TEDx folks have and assist by translating these ideas – from strategy to outcome – into meaningful and actionable results that could contribute to job creation and growing the economy.”