TEDxSoweto 2011 - The Future is Inevitable

Bronwen McConkey, Director of Social Enterprise at Fusion Universal, talks about The Virtual School.

On September 24 we streamed this year's TEDxSoweto conference "The Future is Inevitable" live from the Miagi Centre for Music, Soweto.

The future will shock and surprise in equal measure. Take connectivity. The line between “me” and “we” will continue to blur as ubiquitous links become the dominant feature of life. What form will society evolve into – a network of diversity or a global ubuntu? Augmented reality and artificial intelligence beckon; will we harness technology to transcend our human abilities or will machines become more like us? Traditional institutions break down everyday and new and virtual ones emerge everywhere. Who gets to make the new rules? Where do we draw the new boundaries? Even the amorphous markets are changing shape and form. What new paradigms will govern as we gravitate east? Can we grow our economies without destroying the planet?

TEDxSoweto 2011 will take us on a rollercoaster ride that will bring us face-to-face with our deepest fears and our highest hopes about tomorrow. Teachers, visionaries and thinkers will reveal possibilities about what’s coming. From that, we hope to gain insight into the anticipated twists and turns of this thrilling but sometimes terrifying human adventure.

Welcome to the future.

Programme

Sessions 1: 10:00 – 11:45
Lerothodi Leeuw, Astrophysicist
Jenny Buccos, Global Citizen

Session 2: 12:15 – 13:30
Tiaan Franken, Animation Director
Rita Doherty, Communication Strategist
Patience Mthunzi, Biophotonicist
Stafford Masie, Tech Entrepreneur

Session 3: 14:15 – 15:30
Bronwen McConkey, e-Learning
Mariéme Jamme, Social Entrepreneur
Taddy Blecher, Educationist

Session 4: 16:00 – 17:00
Spoek Mathambo, Afro-Futurist
Ariane Cornell, Space Advocate
Dirty Paraffin, Musicians

For more details please visit www.tedxsoweto.co.za

What is TEDx?

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxSoweto, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxSoweto event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

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