Some of Leicester’s best known institutions and organisations are getting behind an inspiring event, which is set to bring some of the Leicester’s best thinkers and community activists to the city this year.

TEDxLeicester 2016 will take place on Wednesday 26th October 2016 at Curve Theatre in the city centre. Delegates will access a full-day programme of 16 exceptional speakers, 4 fantastic performers, plus lunch.

The event’s headline partners include LCB Depot, Curve Theatre and University of Leicester.

President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester Professor Paul Boyle said: “Universities are all about world-changing research and the purpose of TED, to spread ideas and knowledge by bringing together leading thinkers, speaks right to the core of our mission. As a University ranked in the top 1 per cent in the world we are committed to excellence, and we are proud to be associated with this exciting initiative that sees exceptional people in our city come together to share their knowledge and experiences in an inspirational context.”

Other event sponsors include Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership, East Midlands’ Chamber of Commerce, as well as local Schools and Colleges, including Leicester College, Gateway College, Beauchamp College and Leicester High School for Girls. A host of local businesses such as Colab Creative, Orange Reel, Mayura Print, Cofresh, Motion Hiro and Jubbub Design are also supporting the conference.  The TEDxLeicester’s Every Journey Matters event is proud to be a part of the annual Leicester Business Festival. A complete list of our partners is available on our website www.TEDxLeicester.com/Partners/

Siddhi Trivedi, TEDxLeicester co- organiser added: “The city has embraced TEDxLeicester. We are extremely grateful to all our partners. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to put this event on. This is the first year we have embarked on an event 5times larger than last year. This year we are working with organisations from all sectors in Leicester and we have been overwhelmed by their support and enthusiasm.

“We have an outstanding line up of speakers and performers some well-known in our community, some less known. All will be able to leave our guests thinking, and hopefully taking home some “ideas worth spreading”. They all have ‘ideas worth sharing’. We expect the audience, those present on the day, and people who watch the videos afterwards, to go away intrigued, challenged, inspired and entertained.”

TEDxLeicester’s headline event will feature a host of speakers and performers from the Leicester area and will be based on the theme ‘Every Journey Matters’. It focuses on the past, present and future of some of society’s biggest challenges, told by Leicester’s very own wealth of expertise, including John Everitt on conservation, Hassan Akkad on the refugee crisis, and Simon Cole QPM on the Prevent Strategy.

Other speakers and performers include Mohammed Abbas, Andy Gilbert, Maytham Al-Hilo, Jessica Okoro, Geoff Rowe BEM, Dr Jay Banerjee, Kamlesh Purohit, Raj Gawera, Dr Turi King, Jim Shields, Ellah Kandi, Cosmocular, Emmanu’-EL Apostolic GA, Matt Hampson, Marc Wileman and an exceptional production from Leicester’s very own TED performer Aakash Odedra.

For more details about individual speakers and performers visit www.tedxleicester.com.

‘Every Journey Matters’ aims to bring the Leicester community together to kick-start conversation and action surrounding the personal, professional, emotional and technological challenges we all face, which impacts on how we live, work and study, both now and in the future.

Image appears courtesy of TEDx website