TEDxTinHauWomen

Highlights from Last Year’s Event: Lucy Choi on Bridging Modern Society and Opera

As our November event inches closer, let’s throwback to last year’s event to give you a taste of what TEDxTinHauWomen has to offer. Our previous event, “Bridges: Two Become One” brought together a diverse cohort of Hong Kong women to bridge different ideas and people. One of those women was Lucy Choi, who has uplifted Opera in Hong Kong. Here’s a brief recap of her talk:

Lucy Choi is the founder of More Than Musical, a company that delivers modern adaptations of classical opera for audiences today. In her TEDx talk, she recalled her unexpected segway into the world of the opera, and how she turned her passion into a transformative career.

Gifted in music from a young age, Lucy pursued a degree in music at the Hong Kong University, with piano as her instrument. It was only when she suffered from an arm condition, preventing her from playing instruments, that she had to pivot into singing and opera. She was amazed by opera’s potential for emotional expression – how its songs could tell stories of love, sorrow, drama and pain. “Opera is a shared moment of joy and an escape from the world,” she said, “where can you get emotional, connected to strangers and be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.”

Keen to further develop her interest in opera, Lucy moved to London where she often frequented shows in the West End. She noticed many of her fellow attendees were silver-haired, prompting her to ask – is opera just for old people? Historically, opera was known for challenging taboos and social norms, a spirit that Lucy was keen to bring back.

That’s when she founded More Than Musical, breaking down barriers between classical opera and contemporary audiences by producing shorter adaptations of classical opera to make the viewing experience easier and more intimate for audiences.

If there’s one thing to take away from Lucy’s talk, it’s this: “Open up our mind, and channel yourself into the arts, or whatever you may find transformational.”

Watch Lucy’s full talk here, and look out for more inspirational speakers at this year’s event!

A letter from the co-chairs

Hello amazing attendees!

We are delighted to have you join us for our inaugural event. As you will learn from our bios, we have been doing this for some time. This, however, is our first year in Hong Kong and the response from the organising committee, speakers, sponsors, community partners and participants has been incredibly positive. What does that tell us? In bustling Hong Kong, so many of us want to support one another, want to inspire one another, want to learn from one another and want to live the best life possible. There is a genuine desire for connection, community and positive stories of women and girls making change in our city.

We are thrilled to be here with you. Our committee, speakers, sponsors and community partners are more than anything we could have asked for. Please take the time to meet them, say hello and thank them for making this all possible.

We would also like to make a special mention to our Head of Marketing and Communications, Daniella Lopez, who we were so fortunate to have join us from Shanghai and Emma Burton, our Chief Operations Officer, who made us look good, and kept us organized to make today possible.

So, welcome to the TEDxTinHauWomen family. You attendance, support, and willingness to join in the conversation are why we are here and do this. Today is about exploring, laughing, crying, connecting and welcoming this new community. In the spirit of ideas worth sharing, please enjoy TEDxTinHauWomen “Bridges: Two Become One”.

Jen Flowers
Co-Chair TEDxTinHauWomen
Head of Operations, TEDx Licensee

Jen Flowers

Stefanie Myers
Co-Chair TEDxTinHauWomen
Head of Curation and Community

Bio_Pics _0010_Stefanie Myers

See you tomorrow! Registration starts at 1pm, PMQ

Hello everyone!

After four months of meetings, planning and rehearsals, we are ready to go!

We cannot wait to see you all tomorrow and welcome you to the TEDxTinHauWomen community. We wanted to share some important information if you did not get the email last week…

When:
Friday, 3 November 2017

We will start on time, so please come early (and make sure you get a good seat!)

1:00 – 1:45 Registration and light refreshments
1:45 – 3:15 Session One
3:15 – 4:00 Coffee Break & Networking
4:00 – 6:00 Session two
6:00 – 7:00 Cocktail Reception

Where:
PMQ – both the Qube and the marketplace/courtyard.
Lots of stairs between the 2 to help you keep fit (!) but also an elevator and wheelchair access.
Please let us know if you need additional support. We’re here to help.

Seats:
First come, first seated. There are no assigned seats, although there is a VIP section and regular seating. As such, we cannot guarantee the same seats for Session One and Session Two.

Registration
Your ticket has been emailed to you. Print it out, have it open on your device in any format – we don’t mind, but make sure you bring it. No ticket, no entry.
Look for an email that says: Pelago Event Registration: TEDxTinHauWomen
We’ll scan the QR code for entry
You’ll then receive a bracelet that you need to wear all day to enter the different areas and retrieve your amazing gift bag.

NOTE: These tickets are transferable so you can send on to someone else if you can no longer attend. Once scanned, however, the QR code is no longer active so it cannot be duplicated. Also, if you bought this ticket under your email or passed along – please make sure to forward this so they have the latest details.

SEE YOU TOMORROW!!

6 reasons to attend the inaugural TEDxTinHauWomen event in Hong Kong on 3 November 2017

You may never climb Kilimanjaro yourself; you may never even have contemplated doing so. But when you hear of how a Filipino domestic worker in Hong Kong followed her dreams all the way to the top of some very big mountains, you may re-examine your priorities. You may even get off the couch and start hiking this city’s many incredible trails. Ma On Shan, anyone?
She has a high-powered job at a global investment bank. She is a full-time working mother of two. She has worked across two continents, travelled the world, is a dedicated yoga practitioner and a few years ago lost a leg. She is the walking embodiment of the fact that people cannot be broken.
Opera is not everyone’s cup of cha. One of our speakers disagrees – she thinks everyone can learn to appreciate and enjoy it (hopefully even love it) if they know how – if it’s accessible; if it’s pared back; if it is modernized; if it is fun; even if it is accompanied by your favourite tipple if that’s what makes you hum.
An 11 year old CEO driving cross cultural learning. Need we say more?
It’s not about giving anything up, it’s about trading up. This is not retirement planning advice or about buying your next car. From this speaker, it’s about turning your life around, one mouthful at a time.
It is said that nothing binds a group of women together than mass loathing of their personal trainer. This speaker took that inner rage and turned it into one of HK’s most successful fitness groups, while starting a women-only health and wellness community.

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Oh yes, and if that isn’t enough, we’re also live streaming direct from TEDWomen in New Orleans. You’ll see it here first. (See the speaker line up here).

Find us on Facebook: @TedxTinHauWomen

Tickets available here.

Written by: Nicola Apostolis

Join HK’s TEDxWomen community

We build them, we cross them, and sometimes we even burn them… at TEDWomen 2017 and TEDxWomen events around the world, we will explore the many aspects of this year’s theme: Bridges. TEDWomen 2017 will convene in the historic Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans, with plans to capture the unique attractions that make New Orleans one of the most visited cities in the US. You can see the TEDWomen 2017 speaker line-up here.

At the TEDxTinHauWomen event on 3 November at PMQ in Hong Kong we’re also live streaming direct from TEDWomen in New Orleans to bring the wider TEDWomen and TEDxWomen communities together.

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Want to be a part of Hong Kong’s new TEDxWomen community? Join us for the inaugural event – TEDxTinHauWomen 2017: ‘Bridges – Two Become One’

Tickets are still available here.

Website: TedxTinHauWomen.com

Find us on Facebook: TedxTinHauWomen

And on Instagram: @TEDxTinHauWomen

Written by: Nicola Apostolis

An expert’s guide on getting the afternoon off to attend TEDxTinHauWomen

You could fake it, sure, but here are our top 5 reasons guaranteed to start the conversation about taking the afternoon off :

# 1 It’s not actually taking the afternoon off in the traditional sense. There will be no lying on beaches, or sipping cocktails (not until 7pm anyway). This is intellectual debate and stimulation at its best. You will meet articulate people who challenge you. You will encounter questions like “So how are you changing the world?” (I kid you not – I was asked that by an attendee at the last TEDx event I attended in Hong Kong and it still haunts me.) You may have your perceptions shattered or your views endorsed. You may come as one person and leave as another. You will definitely meet a lot of very interesting strangers who may change the way you think. You will definitely want to change the world. The lessons learned can only be good for how you conduct yourself in your next sales meeting or pitch.

# 2 Diversity is a business imperative. It is not simply a gender thing. It is an age, experience, cultural, socio-economic, educational thing. Ultimately, it is about workforce intelligence and harmonizing the strength and thinking of a diverse set of employees. In any organization or business that wants to thrive, diversity and inclusion are no longer ‘nice to haves’ and there is no better way to explore this all important concept by doing so live, in the room, in real time, at TEDxTinHauWomen. Thereafter, you’ll be someone on the forefront of change in your company, either helping furthering the diversity agenda of your organization or getting one onto the table.

# 3 “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” Many a Fortune 500 CEO and hedge fund founder knows this to be true. You have to be out there, with your boots on the ground, doing the work at hand. You have to continually learn in order to be a better leader, stay in touch with customers, know how things operate in the real world. This gives you insight, and insight leads to having an edge; and in this hyper-competitive world in which we operate, having an edge can be the fine line between success and failure. By attending, you will be removing yourself (for at least one afternoon) from a dangerous place and broadening your horizons.

# 4 Doing a TED Talk is not a pitch-up-and-chat-to-strangers. It is a carefully crafted and rehearsed 18 minutes of excellence in front of a live audience. There is no better environment in which to hone your own communication skills than by watching others do it well – others who have practiced and practiced to say something important, leaving the audience with an ‘idea worth spreading’. No matter what your role, grade or job title, everyone can benefit from hearing great public speakers. In fact, it should be part of your company’s mandatory skills training programme …

# 5 Lean in! You are taking your learning and development into your own hands which demonstrates passion and initiative. At a time of deep divide when the world needs people to come together and debate sensibly and with dignity on the issues that matter most, a single Friday afternoon out of the office could be the spark that changes our world.

There should be no manager on earth who can provide a sensible counter argument to any of the above; and if there is, we would like you to invite them to join you at TEDxTinHauWomen to experience it for themselves.

Did I hear someone say ‘teambuilding activity’ …?

Tickets on Sale here.

Written by: Nicola Apostolis

Tickets go on sale this week!

Hooray, Great News! We are delighted to announce that tickets for the first TEDxTinHauWomen event are going on sale this friday! Look out on our facebook page for info on speakers and where to grab your tickets!

Also another exciting thing happening this week!
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Listen out for #impact podcast available on iTunes and Android, where Regina (one of our fabulous committee members) will be talking about stuff that matters and this week her podcast is dedicated to TEDxTinHauWomen. She will be finding out what inspired Jen and Stef from our leadership team, to start the first annual TEDxTinHauWomen event dedicated to women in Hong Kong, and why it is important that women share their experiences and ideas! Listen in, share and comment ! We want you to get involved, after all, you are all our kind of people!

Find out more, download the podcast and visit www.hashtagimpact.com

Speakers, sponsors & sparks!

We still need sponsorship! Get in touch with us if you have a marketing budget that you don’t know where to put ;).

Another evening of TEDxTinHauWomen planning, strategy and magic… (yes the evening really did look like the picture)!

Aerial view of Victoria harbour in sunrise

We have approached quite a few companies now for sponsorship and we have had some amazing teams and businesses interested, however we are still open for companies to support us!

We still need sponsorship! Get in touch with us if you have a marketing budget that you don’t know where to put ;). Sponsorship can be anything from goodie bags to 5k, 20k or 100k! We are looking to create long term partnerships where the TEDxTinHauWomen event becomes a major asset to your company; we have one common purpose – ‘ideas worth sharing’ – it really is beneficial to all, it’s not all about us!

We know you are eager to find out when the tickets are on sale, and we can feel the excitement start to build so… you will only have to wait a little bit longer (September 22nd in fact)! Once tickets go on sale it will be a scrum to grab them, so we will keep you posted about where and what time they will be released.

Speakers will be announced this month! So watch out… things are really happening behind the scenes.

We are looking for sponsors!

Another great evening of organisation and focus on the upcoming #TEDxTinHauWomen event! We have great news and secured our venue at The Cube in PMQ, the heritage site of The Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters. It’s a great space and we are really looking forward to creating an exciting, inspiring and memorable event for you all!
PMQ is our venue for TEDxTinHauWomen!

We are looking for sponsors! From corporate packages to food sponsorship on the day, we have many opportunities for you to support us and get involved! Please contact us on our website or via Facebook and title SPONSORSHIP!

Last but not least, in the near future we will inform you on when and where you can get your hand on these hot tickets, but for now.. like our page, follow us on Facebook and Instagram and spread the word!

An exciting start!

Welcome to our TEDxTinHauWomen blog, our aim is to be updating this on a regular basis as a ‘behind the scenes’ documented look at the what we are creating for TEDxWomenTinHau. Meet the team, start networking, become a sponsor! There are so many ways you can get involved, feel free to contact us to see how you or your company can support this event.

It’s been a great start for TEDxTinHauWomen. So far we have a fabulous team of women from different backgrounds, who have volunteered their time and expertise to get this event up and running. We have found a beautiful venue and can’t wait to share that news with you, once the i’s have been dotted and the t’s crossed!

Our last meeting was turned into a photography studio for an hour or so, where we had a great photoshoot for the committee profile pics, so soon you will be able to see all of the faces behind the names.

Last but not least, a note on SPEAKERS!… TEDxTinHauWomen have been approached by some amazing speakers and we are so excited by them and their stories… so watch this space for more details on who will be speaking at the event!