NEWS On Tuesday May 8, TEDxUmeå will be held for the fifth consecutive year. The list of speakers includes two researchers from Umeå University: Abrak Saati at the Department of Political Science, and Malcolm Fairbrother at the Department of Sociology. TEDx is a platform for knowledge exchange, reflection, inspiration and new perspectives.
“We have no specific theme this year, which is also a preference from TED's head office – that the day should offer surprises all the time, and nothing should seem predictable,” says Mikael Nygren, member of the organizing team behind TEDxUmeå. “But at the same time we want to stay updated on the most topical issues for our community, so naturally, the environment and gender equality is in focus.
Umeå University’s speakers will talk about democracy, environmental policy and pollution.
Abrak Saati, researcher at the Department of Political Science, will be giving a talk about the crisis for liberal democracy, of which the most manifest expression is Donald Trump’s election to the White House and the continuous efforts to undermine the country’s democratic institutions since his inauguration.
“Similar tendencies can be observed in Europe as well. On our own continent, we see that countries that up until recently appeared to be stable democracies, now experience democratic backsliding. This crisis is also observable on an individual level of analysis. Research shows that citizens - particularly the young - in Europe and in the US express declining support for democracy. My TED-talk will center on these issues, and perhaps even more importantly, on what we can do to reverse the trend and safeguard our democratic societies,” says Abrak Saati.
Malcolm Fairbrother, Professor at the Department of Sociology, will be focusing on our environmental problems.
“Many people know that the world is in serious trouble because of pollution. What people don't know is that there are actually many success stories where environmental policies have worked really well. I want more people to know about the successes, to understand the opportunities, and to recognize the barriers that are preventing us from making real change,” says Malcom Fairbrother.
The other speakers at TEDxUmeå are: Mattias Goldmann, CEO of the green think tank Fores; Thor Rutgersson, writer and musician; Johan Persson, industry designer; Fredrik Lindegren, head of culture at Umeå municipality; Lovette Jallow, feminist and activist; Caroline Ravn, magician; Stina Hägglund, blogger and Siduri Poli, co-founder of Changers Hub.
TEDxUmeå will take place at Norrlandsoperan (tickets required), but can also be followed via live streaming. Umeå University is a proud collaborative partner to TEDxUmeå.
www.tedxumea.comUmeå University's TEDxUmeå web page
TED is a non-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas with an annual conference that takes place in Vancouver, Canada, where some of the world's leading thinkers and doers speak for 18 minutes or less. The first TED conference began in 1984 and has since then grown to include TEDGlobal, TEDWomen and TEDYouth. A TED talk follows strict format in accordance to organizations framework where the talk must be less than 18 minutes in length. Today, local, self-organized TEDx events take place all over the world in the spirit of ideas worth spreading.
Editor: David Meyers