Hackney Empire. Pic: Julian Walker (Flickr)
Letters written by Hackney children and teenagers to young people around the world will be shared with a TEDxEastEnd audience on Saturday.
The work by participants on Ministry of Stories – a Hackney writing and mentoring project – will be showcased alongside 17 other speakers at the event
TEDxEastEnd 2017 continues with last year’s theme of ‘Society Beyond Borders’ and aims to encourage discussion and performance around the issues of science, technology, human rights, history, art and design.
TED, a non-profit organisation, uses conferences across the globe to discuss a wide variety of local and international issues, initiatives and schemes.
Alongside Ministry of Stories, the borough will also be represented by:
The Hackney Artist Development Programme: a Hackney Empire summer programme focusing on 13-19 year olds and their journey into the creative and performing arts.
Jeremy Burge: Hackney resident, technologist and Emoji expert.
Emmanuel Opoku: Imperial College London chemistry student and campaigner for ‘Let Us Learn’- a movement for access to higher education for all young people living in the UK.
Other event speakers include climate change communicator George Marshall, 20-year-old Ratchet Clothing entrepreneur Dhillan Bhardwaj and journalist, broadcaster and Sex Educator of the Year 2016, Alix Fox.
The event, which has sold out for the past five years, brings community focus to Hackney as it aims to break down community borders.
TED has held annual conferences since 1990 and has now become more accessible through TEDx – smaller conferences held around the world that focus on frequent academic, cultural and technological discussion.
By creating TEDx, more countries, universities and communities have been able to take part in the discussion.
Former international TED Conference speakers include former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, inventor of Microsoft Bill Gates and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore.
TEDx prides itself on having inspired 1.8 million Hackney residents over the five years, with “100 percent passion for change” and discussing “ideas worth spreading”.
For full event line-up and tickets for TEDxEastEnd 2017, visit their website.
