Theme: Eudaimonia

The theme for TEDxBunbury 2016 is Eudaimonia…human flourishing.
The concept of eudaimonia comes to us from the Ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and, most notably, Aristotle. Eudaimonism is a moral philosophy that is part of the system of ‘virtue ethics’, whereby an individual’s character is emphasised as the key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules or consequences. Aristotle was intensely interested in human flourishing. He asked, “What is the highest good of which humans are capable that allows us to flourish?” His answer: eudaimonia.
Eudaimonia literally means “having a good indwelling spirit”. Aristotle maintained that eudaimonia is not created by honour, wealth or power, but by rational, morally right activity. He argued that this rational activity should be demonstrated through the character traits of honesty, pride, friendliness, wittiness, friendships and scientific knowledge. Today we might call this productive self-realisation.
Achieving eudaimonia is not about living the good life…it’s about living a good life.
At TEDxBunbury 2016, we will listen to the stories of people who have searched for their “good” and endeavoured to achieve a state of eudaimonia. Some have found it and held it. Some are still on the journey. All are striving to undertake the best activities of which they are capable…to have a well-lived, good life.

Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School
5 Allen Road
Gelorup, Western Australia, 6230
Australia

Charles Roche

Executive Director of the Mineral Policy Institute

Charles is the Executive Director of the Mineral Policy Institute, a civil society group focusing on the impacts of extractive industries. Charles’ interest and PhD research is centred on the seemingly inevitable conflict and sub-optimum outcomes that arise from industrial mining. He has a special focus on mining legacies in Australia, terrestrial mining in Papua New Guinea and deep sea mining in the Pacific.

Dr. Andy Harkin

Sensorimotor Psychotherapist

For a not inconsiderable portion of the last 30 years Andy has been a student of the body – initially Medical School studies and working as a Doctor, then years of training as a body centred psychotherapist. In the latter regard he specialised in working with people suffering from the legacy of psychological and emotional trauma principally within a method known as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Sometimes this work was helping patients restore a sense of stability inside were none or little existed. Other times this meant helping folk release held trauma from the body. For the last decade Andy has taught this work to Mental Health professionals in North America, throughout Europe and in Australia. Andy lives in Bunbury, Western Australia where he runs his own private practice.

Dr. David Deeley

Landsape Ecologist

Appreciation of the wisdom of the elders and the urgent need for environmental connectedness are two important manifestations of a life lived well for individuals and communities. Elders and Eldership are connected to an ancient time course. They provide a moral compass for our families and our communities.The divine feminine has become undervalued in our western societies, and we can trace ourcurrent plethora of planetary ills back to our lack of balance of the masculine and feminine. We need to balance the feminine and masculine energies in all of us – in our institutions, in our decision-making and in our political processes. We humans are at our best when we are balanced and connected. We can then experience nothing less than a spiritual flourishing.

Lewis Winter

Emergency Management Specialist

Lewis has spent 35 years in the emergency management industry. He has worked for federal, state and local governments, the private sector on innovative projects, and regularly trains government employees in emergency management, including Australian Defence Force personnel. As an emergency management lecturer for Charles Sturt University he coordinates core subjects within the Emergency Management post graduate and undergraduate degrees. Lewis occasionally project manages innovative and complex emergency management issues for industry and government agencies and assists where he can following significant disasters. He is currently overseeing community recovery following the devastating fires in the Shire of Harvey. Lewis will talk to us about why the new emergency maxim is: Be ready now or be ready to face the consequences.

Neville Ellis PhD

Eco-Psychologist

Neville is a Postdoctoral Associate with the Centre for Responsible Citizenship and Sustainability at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. Part eco-psychologist, part human geographer and part systems scientist,Neville is a self-declared academic mongrel whose interests lie at the intersection of ecosystem health and human (mental) health. In his PhD, Neville researched the impact of a changing climate on the sense of place and mental wellbeing of family farmers in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. Neville shows how environmental degradation negatively affects the emotional and psychological wellbeing of people who retain close living and working relationships to the land. Through a mixture of professional research and personal reflection, Neville explores how it is possible for human beings to flourish on a sick planet, and offers some ideas for how we can heal the Earth and ourselves.

Rachel Wotton

Sex Worker and Disability Specialist

As a sex worker who provides sexual services to clients with disability, Rachel often hears about the negative reactions and attitudes people are faced with when trying to discover what their bodies will – and wont – do. While seeing a sex worker is not for everyone, Rachel’s personal experience shows that, for some, it can be an educative and fun experience.

Sash Milne

Writer and Social Activist

Sash Milne is a writer and social activist. With a Masters degree in Social Change, Sash creates creative community centred projects that are designed to encourage lasting social change at a grass roots level. She is well known for her Nothing New Project, for spearheading the creation of Project Bunbury and for generally advocating for real world connection between humans. Sash encourages out-of-the-box social thinking, alternative economies and community building through her essays, which have been shared all over the world. You can find a collection of her work on her blog Inked in Colour. In her talk, Sash will ask us, “What is time and how can it build a united community”?

Shaun Nannup

Reconciliation Leader and Healer

Shaun Nannup describes himself as a human being, an Indigenous man and a father. His purpose in life is to connect people through his stories. If you have sat through a ‘welcome to country’ by Shaun you will know how connected he is. He is connected to the ancestors. He knows their stories. He knows what must be done. He is a leader of reconciliation. However, he also understands the struggle. As a teenager, sitting on country he just got angrier and angrier, and he didn’t understand why. He could not feel the connection to Earth, he had something blocking his energy connection. This impacted on many aspects of his life. He, like most Indigenous people was carrying trans generational trauma. This trauma stops or limits connections, not only to Earth but to each other. By healing this trauma, he could connect to himself and therefore to the land.