In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Campus 6 Auditorium Hall
KIIT University
Patia
Bhubaneswr, Orissa, 751024
India

James “Combo” Marino

Dancer

James "Combo" Marino is one of the best known and regarded names of the artistic world who has made the likes of Camila Cabello, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake and big brands like Nike, Target, Adidas. He is an artist whose passion for life will move you to be your best. Born and raised in East Hartford, CT, and after playing pre professional in Italy after high school, this soccer player turned dancer started his career in the entertainment industry in New York City. He is a globally acclaimed dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles and shares with us his part of story of how life took a difficult turn for him but he turned his failures into success by taking it on a positive note, coupled with immensely persistent hard work, hours of rigorous practice, and with years of sore and aching feet and using his creativity to turn into what he is today. His dance tutorials and choreographies have crossed million views on Youtube.

Jason Suran

Mentalist

Jason Suran is a New York based performer who is a mentalist and a mind-reader whose psychological illusions have been featured on television and radio networks such as NC and FOX and in venues that range from Carnegie Hall to the United States Pentagon. Jason has earned widespread acclaim for his groundbreaking immersive performances including the Time Out NY recommended 'séance experience' The Other Side. He was named a New York Times "Up Next" artist to watch. His virtual show "Reconnected" became a smash hit selling out over 300 performances. Since March 2020, he has performed and lectured virtually around the globe for thousands of people including shows for Apple, Facebook and Uber. His work has also been featured on NY1 And NY Public Radio as well as in Forbes, Time Out and Buzzfeed. His work continues to fascinate people’s minds and let them slip into a different world of ingenuity altogether.

Mick Storr

Physicist

Hailing from France Dr. Mick Storr talks about the modern engineering marvel, the large hadron collider and CERN. His talk starts off with telling us about the location and the massive scale of this megastructure. Not only does his talk tell us about CERN and its workings but also the very philosophy and motivation for building such an intriguing structure with collaboration from multiple countries. Listen to his talk to learn about how one of the biggest scientific wonders uncovers new secrets of the universe and also helps the entire world with knowing about the latest research and innovations happening at CERN.

Namita Choudhary

Singer

Namita Choudhary, an Indian Bollywood singer,mesmerizing the audience with her melodious voice having over 402K monthly listeners on Spotify and over 20M views on YouTube, famous for the songs featuring 'Chaap Tilak' to the unplugged version of 'Jashn-e-Bahara' among others.Singing beloved musical numbers, she astonished all the attendees with her voice. This still isn't a description enough for her!

Nidhi Pant

Innovationist

Chemical engineer turned entrepreneur, Ms. Nidhi Pant is a dedicated and inspiring woman from Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. From co-founding S4S Technologies under her belt to being conferred the Women Transforming India Award by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the United Nations (UN), she has become a force to reckon. She works at the intersection of agriculture, gender, energy access and financial inclusion. Her vision is to empower women to decision-makers by transforming women farmers into micro-entrepreneurs. She also trains Small Holder Women Farmers to be Entrepreneurs by providing the right combination of - technology, finance, and market. Specially mentioned on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, she is the key driver in the entrepreneurship movement. Her work with over 3700 women farmers and serving over 550 food industry clients is one that has left an imprint ushering in a new era. Her resolve to transform lives whilst working hard is heartening and appreciated.

Pankaja Sethi

Designer

Ms.Pankaja Sethi is a wandering Indian textile designer working with indigenous women and weavers of India. Her story started with recreating, reviving and reinterpreting traditional forms into contemporary textiles. Her experimentation on running unstitched fabric across rural and semi-urban spaces of India is creating a space for the new audience that is interested in nuances of lost tradition and participating in creating transitions adapted from Indian traditions. Being the founder of "Kala Aur Katha" and "Pankaja Sethi Studio", she aims to revive indigenous designs and educate and inspire younger generations. Her textile artwork gained a spot at the ‘Fabric of Being‘ exhibition at the Nairobi Summit, ICPD supported by UNFPA in 2019. She is recipient of Ministry of Culture fellowship 2018-20, Sahapedia-UNESCO fellowship 2017-18. Her designs also gained spotlight at the 'Lakme Fashion Week' in 2018. Her work continues to fascinate and influence people's minds.

Patrick Kilonzo Mwalua

Environmentalist

Patrick Kilonzo Mwalua was born in Kajire in Taita county, southern Kenya, an area that’s known for having many wildlife parks with a wide variety of animals. As a little boy, he was quite familiar with animals as he’d had several encounters with animals such as buffalos, elephants, zebras, and antelopes. Soon he began to develop an interest in animals and would later go ahead to acquire training in animal healthcare and work in a conservation organization. In March 2016, Patrick Kilonzo Mwalua started a project that would later make him famous for saving the ecosystem. He has been buying and transporting water for long distances to Tsavo West National Park, a park for wildlife in a region that's known to be suffering from several episodes of drought since 2014. Listen to how he achieved this momentous task and the obstacles he had to overcome in the process.

Ranjithsinh Disale

Educationalist

Hailing from Maharashtra, Mr. Ranjithsinh Disale is a true inspiration. His talk is about how he has changed the rural education landscape in India through his ingenuity and pure determination to change the world for good. Listen to his talk on how he made developments step by step from figuring out the most basic problems in the education system to finding ingenious solutions for them such as inventing QR-coded textbooks so everyone can get access to education with ease.

Shailendra Singh

Wildlife Conservationist

Dr. Shailendra Singh started his journey of conservation at the tender age of 9 years to winning the Behler Turtle conservation award, considered to be the 'Nobel Prize' in its field, he has made his mark in this era. Bringing sweeping transformation in the biological landscape by bringing three critically endangered turtles back from the brink of extinction, rescuing 35,000 turtles and protecting 18 of India's 29 turtle species, he has proved that as long as one persists with ingenuity, one can bring a difference in saving the world.

Shataf Figar

Actor

Shataf Figar started acting at age 36, has successfully transitioned from Tollywood and theatre to prestigious projects on the national scene. This Kolkata born actor has certainly left a mark in various movie industries. From making his debut in the film “Kolkata Calling” in 2014 to starring in “Brahman Naman”, a 2016 Indian comedy film directed by Qaushiq Mukherjee that was shown in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and playing numerous incredible characters in between, in films such as Shershaah, Khoj, Cockpit, Made in China, Breathe: Into the shadows, Aarya and Extraction his journey has certainly been an inspiring one. His hard work and passion for acting are something that influences minds and is really admirable.

Vasudevan Gnana Gandhi

Scientist

Vasudevan Gnana Gandhi is an Indian rocket scientist, a Padma Shri awardee, and a retired ISRO scientist, he is known as the pioneer of cryogenic rocket science in India. His contributions are reported behind the development of booster liquid stages of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and the uprating of the VIKAS engine. He is also honoured with the Aeronautical Society of India Award. He is currently working as senior VP at the private aerospace company "Skyroot Aerospace". He has researched in the field of rocket propulsion widely covering Sold, Liquid, and Cryogenic rockets for the last 38 years. A man of knowledge with immense perseverance, his journey is one that would inspire and lead you to persevere and strive for excellence.