Queen’s University Belfast has hosted a sold-out TEDx event, bringing together leading thinkers, researchers, students and community innovators.
This year’s theme, ‘Hope and History’, was inspired by the renowned line by alumnus and Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney from The Cure at Troy, with invited speakers and attendees encouraged to consider how lessons from the past can help shape the possibilities of the future.
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Professor Sir Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s, said:
“As we celebrate our 180th year, and our seventh year of TEDx at Queen’s, we are particularly proud of the stellar line-up of speakers and the diversity of lively discussions hosted this year showcasing a range of storytelling, political and scientific insights as well as cultural commentary.
“TEDx has quickly become a key event in the Queen’s calendar and is central to our mission as a university to provide a space for open debate and dialogue."
The evening was hosted by award-wining journalist, broadcaster and Queen's alumna, Babita Sharma.
A surprise guest took to the stage, former US Envoy to Northern Ireland and Queen’s Honorary Professor, Dr Joseph Kennedy III, who delivered an engaging talk exploring the US political landscape. This rounded off a two-day visit to Queen’s, where he met with a number of students and community groups, as well as taking part in a series of cultural events.
Other key highlights included Dr Emma Humphries, a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, who looked at the relationship between language, culture and social inequality in her talk: 'Is Sabrina Carpenter saving the English Language?'
Orla Smyth, Queen’s alumna and founder and owner of café chain Kaffe O, delivered an emotive talk, sharing her own personal experience as an organ transplant recipient: 'My hope is we can make the Transplant Waiting List history'.
Professor Richard Miles, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University, sparked a debate on crises and catastrophes through his talk: 'Boiling the Frog: Why we should embrace crisis, exploring why societies have long been gripped by predictions of impending catastrophe.
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The audience also enjoyed live operatic performances from Jenny Bourke and Rachel Finnegan, including ‘Happy Days are Here Again’, ‘The Flower Duet’ and ‘O Holy Night’. Jenny Bourke is an alumna of Queen's and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Rachel Finnegan is a second-year student at The School of Music and Sonic Arts at Queen’s.
The event was closed by Dr Gail McConnell, reader in English, and a fellow of the Seamus Heaney Centre and the Mitchell Institute, with a reading from 'The Cure at Troy'.
For more information, visit the TEDxQUB webpage: https://www.qub.ac.uk/public-engagement/TEDxQUB/Hope,History/
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