CR: TedX Manchester
By Lauren Barclay
Following two years of cancelled performances, TedX returned to Manchester last weekend.
On Saturday 12th March, the Bridgewater Hall welcomed 12 speakers and a musical performance to entertain a Manchester audience of over 1700.
Founder and organiser, Herb Kim, opened the event reflecting on the past two years. “We clearly learned how much we valued being in contact with people”, she said.
The packed hall was then treated to a Saturday of inspiration. With talks from immunology to parenting, and even dinosaurs.
Session one of the day kicked of with Alex Edmans talk on corporations and individuals using what’s in their hands to both build profit and increase morality, before Dr Jenna Macciochi shared with us how our immune systems are our wellness system.
Professor of Evolution and Behaviour, Nichola Raihani, took then to the stage to share her research and thoughts on modern parenting. Reflecting on the difficulties of covid parenting, Nichola told audiences “Admitting we need help from others is not a failure, it’s the sign that we’re human.”
Nichola’s talk looked at the behaviour of different species, and how they parent. She spoke of the importance of groups of caregivers to human children, including parents and nurseries. Research shows humans to be cooperative breeders, highlighting the age-old saying- it takes a village to raise a child.
From parenting to palaeontology, Ichthyosaur expert Dean Lomax shared his sea-dragon find.
In the fourth talk of the day, Dr Lomax, shared his experience of Unearthing the Rutland Sea dragon, a Jurassic giant from the age of dinosaurs. The fossil, which is longer than a double decker bus, was discovered at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve during routine maintenance in January 2021.
It is the biggest and most complete skeleton of its kind found in the UK to date and is also thought to be the first ichthyosaur of its species found in the country. Dr Lomax and his team will continue to work on the research and conservation of this discovery.
After lunch, the session opened with a talk from Charles Spencer, explaining to us how to hack our senses. Helen Pitcher, shared her story of how small inventions can make a huge difference in our lives. Meanwhile, Tahmima Anam made waves as she spoke about women wielding silence to claim our respect in the workplace.
Before the break, audiences were treated to a musical performance, from Ukulele boyband, Ukebox.
The final session of the day saw Christina Gravert, talking about how experiments and evidence pave our way to a better future, Carlton Cummins sharing the importance of supercharging the battery for a sustainable future, and scientist Helen Nuttall on the remarkable resilience of the brain.
Talks concluded with comedian Daliso Chaponda, who spoke on the unlikely partnership of comedy and pain.
The day was huge hit for the audience in Manchester, with many taking to twitter to share their thoughts.
Luckily, we won’t have to wait too long for more, as the day is planned to return in March 2023.