TEDxLusaka

A DECADE OF IDEAS WORTH SPREADING

A Decade of Ideas Worth Spreading TEDxLusaka turned ten years old in August 2020, and it all started with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A childhood friend had travelled from Canada for Africa’s World Cup and while visiting home to catch up with family and friends in Zambia, he stayed with another of his childhood friends, a guy named Simunza. One day I popped in for a visit, where I found them watching some videos. It wasn’t a movie or a television series, but the people seemed to be saying interesting things. The videos, called TED Talks, were speeches delivered at special TED conferences. In 2007, TED also had a conference in Africa called TED Global. After this event, TED introduced a programme of independently organized events called TEDx. A friend of Simunza’s named Mulumba attended TED Global and later got involved in TEDxSoweto in Johannesburg, where he lived. I found all of this fascinating, and my thoughts naturally turned to whether or not we would be allowed to hold one in Zambia? “You just apply online,” was the answer I received. Shortly after that response, we Skyped Mulumba and consulted about applying. Simunza submitted an application on our behalf and a few weeks later we were granted the TEDx license to hold an event — TEDxLusaka. We recruited another friend, Kupela, to join the first TEDxLusaka Organising Committee – with Mulumba in South Africa and Simunza, Kupela and I in Lusaka. That first year, looking for sponsorship was a nightmare. In those days, people were not as connected online in the way they are today – not in their offices or on their personal devices. The Digital Revolution had yet to fully take off. In those days, we used BlackBerry and Nokia N71 phones. We still had plug-in dongles; there were no MiFis or wireless routers and most importantly, mobile data was very expensive. We had to download some sample TED talks and burn them to DVDs to share with those who had no idea what TED or TED Talks were, let alone TEDx. Most conversations involved several minutes of explaining that we were not from FedEx, the logistics company! That year, only one marketing manager in the almost 10 companies we approached for sponsorship had even heard of TED. Ultimately, we raised no money at all. But we still wanted to hold event. So, I did what you do when you need help — I sent an SOS email to friends and family, explaining what we were planning. I explained that Simunza and I had each put in K500 and we were now asking them to please give us K250 each in order to make TEDxLusaka 2011 happen. The first person to respond was Janice. And then Muchemwa. And then Anna. The list went on, where our friends came through for us. And this teamwork, sacrifice and dedication of an incredible group of people is how TEDxLusaka has always been managed. Over the years, the TED and TEDx brands grew and we didn’t need to spend an hour explaining ourselves. There are a few people we encounter who have never seen a TED Talk, but these are rare occurrences. 2020 is the first year that members of the Organising Committee have not had to put in their own money to ensure the event goes ahead. It’s a strange feeling to be a fully funded event, and not have to let the core team know that they will need to chip in to cover outstanding debts. But this is what volunteering and the TEDx spirit is all about. It has been my privilege to be the driving force behind the team for so many years and it was a blessing when in January 2020, I had to relocate to Eastern province, but I could do so confident that others in the team would step up to take over. And this is exactly what they have done. This year’s theme – Metamorphosis is fitting. We have grown. We have evolved. We have transformed. But at the heart of it, TEDxLusaka is still a platform for local solutions to global problems. And that is an idea worth spreading. Masuka Mutenda TEDxLusaka Curator

TEDxLusaka | VIRTUAL REGISTRATION

Metamorphosis is the process of a profound and usually rather sudden change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism. A decade on from the first TEDxLusaka event held in November 2011, the year 2020 saw the world go through unprecedented change in the modern world. We have reset practically everything and in keeping without first-ever virtual event, the TEDxLusaka organising team felt that Metamorphosis was the ideal theme as it perfectly encapsulated what we are going through right now. Register today to attend TEDxLusaka 2020 – Metamorphosis. Attendance is free. HOW TO REGISTER 1. Prior to signing up, please ensure that you have an email address as you will be required to sign up to our virtual hosting platform, Hopin. 2. Click on our registration link here: https://hopin.to/events/tedxlusaka2020 3. You will be taken to the Hopin website where you will have to type in your first name, last name, email address , create a password and then click then sign-up button. Alternatively, you will be given an option to authorise LinkedIn, Facebook or Google to access the site and complete registration for you. 4. Once you have completed registration you will be able to add the event to your calendar and create a Hopin Profile. Please make sure you save the event to your calendar. 5. On the 26th September 2020 log back into Hopin and watch our first virtual event with us!

TEDxLUSAKA 2020 | PRESS RELEASE

For the past few years the TEDxLusaka team has looked forward to one day in the year where we see our wonderful speakers take to the red circle and deliver remarkable talks about their ideas that are worth spreading. It has always been a captivating day of shared ideas, making new friends, finding new voices and encountering overwhelming community support for an event organised by volunteers and sponsored by corporations and individuals who value this platform of engagement. This year, because of the COVID19 crisis, TEDxLusaka is going virtual. Debating whether we could safely and effectively host our speakers and community, we initially postponed the event; but our TEDxLusaka team had numerous discussions online via Zoom and Whatsapp to ensure that the next and first virtual TEDxLusaka event met the standards that we have always held. This means that you are guaranteed great speakers, compelling ideas and an opportunity to engage with like-minded people who want to listen to and discuss  solutions that will take our communities and country forward. “The show must go on.  Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the TEDxLusaka team and their sponsors are committed to ideas, concepts and stories coming from some of Zambia’s  makers and doers.  TED is about forward thinking, technology and sharing, taking this event to a virtual platform will allow more people to take part and engage with our community.  We are super excited! ” – Sandra Kasaby , TEDxLusaka co-lead organiser Our event will be held on Saturday 26th September 2020 from 14 to 17hrs CAT. For the first time ever, our community has a chance to be part of unique online experiences including break-out and Q&A sessions with speakers. This year’s online experience also enables people located in other countries to join in on the discussions and thoughts that have the potential to change Zambia.  Our seven speakers have been selected and we will be introducing them in the coming days, as they finalise their presentations. Please keep an eye out for behind-the-scenes sneak peeks. The live-stream will be held via Hopin, an engaging virtual event platform, you can download the App or browser; details on this to follow. Once again, we would like to thank our sponsors — GIZ eSkills for Girls programme and ABSA Bank Zambia — for partnering with us to make this an amazing event. We would also like to thank our strategic partner BongoHive Innovation Hub for the wide range of support they offer to TEDxLusaka every year. “One of our main goals is to shape a future worth living around the world. We are therefore particularly delighted to join TEDxLusaka on the journey to bringing the virtual event this year! Together with our partner organization, the Alliance for Community Action, we are currently working on the #SpeakUpGirls project, which gives young women and girls a voice through the use of digital media. As such, it is a wonderful experience to be able leverage on our synergies with TEDxLusaka by providing participants in this project with an opportunity to access additional digital trainings by the wonderful TEDx Organizing Team, mentorship from inspiring alumni and current speakers, and extra digital platforms to give their work visibility. And on top of that, ten of the ladies will be directly contributing to the event as digital volunteers!” – The Civil Society Participation Programme implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) About TEDxLusaka TEDxLusaka conference is registered as a non-profit organization and is held under license from TED as an independently organised event. TEDxLusaka’s Vision: There are many people in Zambia walking around with inspirational ways of thinking, doing business and living life. We believe in the power of these ideas to shape creativity and ingenuity. Through such sharing we hope to make a difference in building the future Zambian society. About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. Media enquiries : mali@tedxlusaka.com

In memory of Dr Mannasseh Phiri

When planning TEDxLusaka 2019, the first speaker to confirm their participation was Dr Mannasseh Phiri. Having worked in the healthcare sector and in broadcasting for many years, Dr Phiri had an abundance of ideas that he wanted to share.