TEDxCanberra Women 2023: Two steps forward

We all know that when it comes to global gender equity, there's still so much work to be done. It's time to reset, to rethink, to collectively imagine different ways forward. 

At TEDxCanberra Women 2023, we’re joyfully celebrating those taking bold strides into the future, those working unapologetically to make big dreams become reality. 

Join us as we watch talks from the global TED Women event held in Atlanta USA last month, then invite Canberrans who are leading the conversation about the power of girls and women to be creators and changemakers for a panel discussion, moderated by social innovator Dr Nina Terrey.

Whether working on new models of equity and inclusion or blazing trails as pioneers, this year's speakers demonstrate luminous new thinking and ideas designed to enchant, uplift and inspire us all.

WHAT TO EXPECT

TEDxCanberra Women 2023 will be held in-person in the Theatrette at the National Film and Sound Archive.

Your registration will give you access to:

• Welcome to Country ceremony
• Selected TED Talks from the global TEDWomen2023 event
• Panel discussion
• Drinks and canapes

The event runs from 5:30pm to 7:45pm - with networking first, followed by the watch party and panel discussion from 6:15pm.

TEDxCanberra Women 2023 is open to everyone inclusive of all identities across the gender spectrum.

OUR SPEAKERS

Our speakers will make you laugh, cry and - most importantly - feel inspired by their world-changing stories. They include:

• CHANTALE ZUZI LEADER is the founder of Refugee Can Be, a nonprofit organisation providing secondary education, life skills and leadership training to girls in the Rwamwanja refugee camp in Uganda. Leader had lived in Rwamwanja herself as a teenager, having fled violence in her home country of the Democratic Republic Congo. During her time in the camp, Leader became a passionate advocate for other young refugee women and served as a liaison between residents and the camp's United Nations workers. In September 2018, she immigrated to the United States.
• MAIRA KALMAN is known is known for her distinctly drawn storybooks, New Yorker covers, and the illustrated version of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. She blends a childlike delight with an adult's wry take on the world in work containing carefully observed moments and briskly captured insights. With her late husband, the designer Tibor Kalman, she spent several decades designing objects (notably watches and clocks) and publications at the pioneering design studio M&Co. Playful and irreverent, Kalman has established herself as a cultural force. She has published more than 30 books and exhibited at numerous museums.
• OLEKSANDRA MATVIICHUK responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by helping to create the Tribunal for Putin initiative, in an effort to document international crimes taking place in the regions under attack. As head of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), she works to protect human rights and establish democracy in Ukraine. CCL also works to develop legislative changes, exercise public oversight of law enforcement agencies and judiciary, conduct educational activities for young people and implement international solidarity programs for the region. Under her leadership, CCL was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power.
• LAETITIA KY is a TED Idea Search winner based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, who uses her own hair to form (and photograph) extraordinary sculptures that speak to the contemporary human condition. Taking cues from the African tradition of women using mud to support their hairstyles, Ky uses wires and thread to shape her hair, adapting elements of traditional Ivorian culture in her work. A multi-talented artist with a business administration degree, Ky also brings her skills to the worlds of music, painting and fashion design. 
• SELINA WALKER is a respected emerging elder and leader who has promoted reconciliation as Co-chair of the ACT Reconciliation Council. As a founding member of Yerrabi Yurwang Child and Family Aboriginal Corporation, she helps improve outcomes for Aboriginal families and children, especially those in out-of-home care. Selina advocates for Indigenous people within the justice system as a member of the ACT Victims of Crime and Justice Committee and has held roles to improve all children’s educational outcomes in the Catholic school system. 
• OLIVIA GRANDJEAN-THOMSEN is an innovator, brand builder and storyteller who works with founders to drive growth and commercial success for their tech startups and scaleups at Stone & Chalk Group. She has provided mentorship for Women in Media, Cicada Innovations, Startup Victoria, the Australian Women in Security Network and Women Speak Cyber. Previously, she was the Strategy Lead and Head of Content at My Health Record – a high profile digital transformation project at the Australian Digital Health Agency. She has also worked at an independent non-profit institute for active policy that initiates strategic debate on the most pressing social, economic and structural issues facing Australia and the world today.

• PRERANA MEHTA's mandate, as the Head of Strategic Partnerships Group at CSIRO, is to grow the organisation’s national, state and global engagements to support strategic science partnerships that focus on solving complex challenges through innovation, science and technology. She was previously Deputy CEO and Chief of Ecosystem Development at AustCyber. Prior to this role, Prerana was Minister Counsellor, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in Singapore, leading Austrade’s operations in promoting trade and investment opportunities from Australia to the ASEAN region. She is a member of AICD and provides board advisory services to several startups. Board roles include BraveHER and the ACT Australia Indonesia Business Council.

We are delighted that our event will once again be hosted by Canberra-based women's advocate, Dr Nina Terrey, who returns to TEDxCanberra Women for the fourth year in a row.

OUR PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

TEDxCanberra would not be possible without the generous support of our local and regional partners:

COVIDSAFE ARRANGEMENTS

Our event will be held under the ACT Public Health Directions that apply at the time of the event. We maintain a COVIDsafe arrangement at our event. If you are ill on the day of the event, and/or are required to self-isolate under ACT Public Health Directions, you will always be offered a free exchange or refund.