TEDxMaldon | TEDxMaldon LIVE May 2024

"The Brave and The Brilliant" Saturday 4 May at the Maldon Vintage Machinery and Museum.

Tamika Sewell: "Defying Doubt by Design"

Tamika shares insight on maintaining confidence even when faced with adversity, criticism, or unexpected setbacks. Drawing from personal experiences, this talk unravels the process of requiring the mind to view change not as a threat, but as a catalyst for growth. Discover how Tamika has cultivated the habit of finding positives and valuable lessons in every challenging situation, turning setbacks into opportunities. This journey of reshaping the mindset serves as a guide for the audience to build a robust foundation for self-assurance. By defying doubt, individuals can confidently pursue their passions, using challenges as stepping stones towards success. Join us in exploring the empowering path of navigating challenges with self-assurance, ultimately leading to profound personal and professional fulfilment.

Originally from Edenhope and regional Victoria, Tamika Sewell is the Founder and Creative Director behind AUREI LÚA, a luxury womenswear brand that has garnered international acclaim. AUREI LÚA has graced the pages of British Vogue Magazine and DeMode Magazine, and the brand has been invited to showcase at New York, London and Paris Fashion Weeks. Tamika's designs have graced the runway at Thailand Fashion Week (2022) and Cairns Fashion Week (2023). In 2022 Tamika's brand caught the attention of industry leaders, with Not Just A Label selecting AUREI LÚA to pitch designs to European retailer, Zalando. In 2023, Tamika received a prestigious offer to feature her label in the Flying Solo Retail Store in Paris, marking yet another milestone in her extraordinary career.

Brad Hooper: "We need to re-village"

Housing shouldn’t be a commodity. Shelter is a fundamental survival requirement of all living things. The complexity of this requirement varies. Some living things, carry their shelter. The fur, the shell. Some living things shut down to survive bad times. They shed leaves, hibernate, or take wing and migrate between continents. We humans, have lost our fur and need external shelter. We spread across the planet and settled in diverse and often inhospitable climates. We no longer migrate to avoid dangerous climates. We once travelled with shelter appropriate for the climate we were travelling to. We made shelter from resources found growing or grazing on location. But we have travelled to exploit and on arrival, stayed put to make money, regardless of climate. We need to re-village.

Brad Hooper is an architect but so much more: a thinker, a photographer, a writer and a local Maldon resident. In a town where everyone knows everyone, he is the go-to person for anything from new residential builds to professional advice on heritage overlays and building approvals and even single screen doors. He is embedded in the community, is full of anecdotes and stories peppered with good advice, and loves his life as a regional Brad-of-all-trades.

Isis Jordan: "Show Yourself - Embracing imperfection and authenticity"

Not being the best, is actually better! This is what I’ve come to learn and love, because it means we can do so much more, especially as women. Having the courage to share our experiences from exactly where we are on our journey, instead of an ideal version of our future selves (that’s often wiser and better) is incredibly courageous and terrifying! We don’t need to be perfect before we can start. This talk is an embodied permission slip, to be our whole, imperfect selves.

Isis moved to Castlemaine from Queensland in 2016. When she arrived, she began working full time on her Aunty’s farm, the famous Holy Goat cheese company. Feeling a bit isolated, she sought out organisations to help her connect with the community. She completed a leadership course, which included reflection on core values. This helped her consolidate her lifelong desire to explore the world of creativity, drama and art. These had been her favourite subjects in high school, but she was steered away from the arts by a practically- minded science teacher. In 2022, she decided that the time had come to remedy the situation, and launched herself into a scary world of finding herself – a life of creativity, performance, love and connection. Isis now values having older people role model a life in the arts, so that young people feel encouraged to pursue creativity. Isis volunteers at Castlemaine Community House in their Get Connected program, which links people in the community with activities and groups, to help them feel part of the community. She loves serving her community and, as an animal lover, sharing her front yard with a big mob of
kangaroos on Norwood Hill.

Jane Caro AM: "Safety is an illusion. How I overcame anxiety"

How I overcame a florid anxiety neurosis that plagued me for over 10 years as a young woman. It descended, out of the blue, when I was 21 and did not depart for more than a decade. I thought I’d be cursed with it for life. Then, real danger entered my life and a doctor said three sentences to me that changed my perspective and helped me face peril rather than try to control or escape it. This started the process of unravelling the anxiety to the point where some may say I have over-corrected.

Jane Caro AM is a Walkley Award winning columnist, author, novelist, broadcaster, documentary maker, feminist and social commentator. In August 2023 she won the B&T Women in Media Lifetime Achievement Award. She has published thirteen books, including a trilogy of YA novels about Elizabeth Tudor Just a Girl, Just a Queen and Just Flesh & Blood, a memoir Plain Speaking Jane, and Accidental Feminists the life story of women over 50. Her first novel for adults, The Mother, is a bestseller. She is currently writing another – bestseller, she hopes. She appears frequently on The Drum & Today Extra. She has created and presented 5 documentary series for ABC Compass. She is in demand as a speaker, panel facilitator and MC. She writes a regular column in Nine Media and her opinion pieces and articles appear frequently in The Saturday Paper and The Big Smoke. She is currently developing a TV series about education. She is on the boards of The Public Education Foundation and Every Age Counts. She is an Ambassador for The Older Women’s Network.

Kaitlin Woolford: "Young leaders, strong minds, MASSIVE change"

There are some in our current society who continue to believe that young people are bratty, entitled and too loud. What they fail to see is that change is being created before their own eyes. From calls for global action to posting on social media, young people have been the drivers of change in our local communities for decades. The young people of today are not our leaders in the future, they are our leaders right now!

Kaitlin Woolford (she/her) is the elected Youth Governor of Victoria, as part of the 2024 Youth Parliament program. Kaitlin has volunteered with the YMCA for nine years and has been blessed to work with so many awesome young people. Being elected Youth Governor for 2024 is an exciting role that she has been striving to achieve for five years and is excited to see where the role takes her. Kaitlin is originally from the country, growing up on different farms across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and has contributed to her local community after graduating high school in 2014. Kaitlin was a member of the Wellington Shire Youth Council for four years, taking on roles such as Youth Mayor, Youth Deputy Mayor and Youth Secretary, whilst also working full-time, studying Musical Theatre and participating in local theatre productions. Being on the Wellington Shire Youth Council really helped to hone her skills in advocating for the needs of young people and creating positive change in her local community and it's not something she will soon forget. She currently lives in Melbourne and works in a high school mentoring and coaching students in having a positive view of school and finding ways to help re-engage them, whilst also supporting them to find their voice and have their say.

Maja Havrilova: "Love Crafting - the art of mastering your relationship"

Couples often go to counselling to ‘save’ their relationship when it's close to the end. But what if we learnt how to nurture our relationships at the beginning so that they never needed to be saved? How much energy do couples waste trying to repair accumulated hurt, anger and resentment – wounds that may never heal? Imagine that this could be prevented by learning how to nurture our love in the first place, so it thrives instead of crumbles over time?

Relationship counsellor and educator, Maja Havrilova, presents a new approach to creating and maintaining fulfilling relationships called 'Love Crafting', which highlights that love is a craft that you can learn, rather than simply an emotion that can easily fade. Love Crafting empowers people by helping them nurture the skills and insights to creatively master their relationships.

Christine Gordon: "Why bookshops change everything"

A good bookshop can change your life. An excellent bookshop can make you feel seen, considered- courageous even. Bookshops hold at their core, ideas and ideals. Their very product, their existence, contains the hearts and souls of humanity; the culture and health of a community. Anyone can enter a bookshop. Everyone understands the commercial framework. There is no hidden agenda in a bookshop, other than the written word being shared. It is the last place left to be free. And what does that mean now? It means it can change everything.

Christine Gordon is the Programming and Engagement manager for Readings; a role she has held for many years. Prior to realising the role of her dreams, Christine worked in public women's health. She is one of the founding board members of the Stella Prize, a former board member for the Emerging Writers Festival, sits on the board of the Victorian Women's Trust and on the advisory committee for the Australian Publishing Industry Awards. She is an avid reader and believes everyone's story has merit.

Brian Nankervis: "Nothing To Lose, Everything To Gain…The Answer is (Mostly) YES!"

In 1984, Brian Nankervis was teaching lovely Grade Four students at a nice private school in Box Hill. In 1985, Brian was waiting tables, dancing on tables and wiping tables at the anarchic theatre restaurant, The Last Laugh. He joined a group of established comedians in an improvised and wildly exaggerated soap opera set in a hospital called Let The Blood Run Free. He was writing poetry for a somewhat unhinged street poet called Raymond J Bartholomeuz, who would soon join the cast of Hey Hey It’s Saturday. He was working as a simulated patient, challenging physiotherapy students to cope with a badly behaved, unpredictable victim of road trauma. In 1984, Brian was slightly bored, sleepy, a little anxious and wondering … “is this all there is”? He watched the world go by outside his classroom window and felt an uneasy restlessness, a yearning, a melancholy. When he was asked if he’d like to work at the Last Laugh, try out for a new comedy show, recite poetry on television and pretend to insult young students … he said YES! In 2023, Brian is still dancing on tables, improvising comedy, writing for television and challenging students. He usually says ‘yes’.

Brian has been writing, producing and co hosting ‘RocKwiz’ since 2005. Brian co hosts 'The Friday Revue’, on ABC Radio Melbourne. Brian contributes regularly to The Age and radio 3RRR and is an experienced MC and performer for public events and corporate functions. He performs a poetry show in schools.

Dr Mandy Nicholson: "I shout but no one hears me"

Baban Darrang, a metaphor for culture. Even though chopped down she survived. We as Traditional Owners need to make our presence known, it is up to us to be heard. One way we do this is to infiltrate academia and break the system from the inside, spreading knowledge about how we keep our culture alive, present and relevant in a modern world. Another is dance.

Dr Mandy Nicholson has worked with architects and landscape architects to create cultural safety within public spaces as well as corporate interiors/fit outs. She has also coauthored a masterplan and worked as a cultural consultant for many years. She has authored and coauthored papers around the topic of embedding First People's perspectives through design and planning regimes in an urban environment. Mandy mentors First Nation young girls through learning and teaching of culture, language, dance, and maintenance of ceremonial practices. She created Djirri Djirri dance group in 2013 to create cultural grounding and support network. She also rekindled an ancient Coming of Age ceremony called Murrum Turrukurruk, alongside two Wurundjeri Elders in 2015 after 185 years of it not being practiced. This work was recognised in 2022 by winning the Ganbu Gullnj (One Mob) section of the Melbourne Awards. Djirri Djirri have performed locally, nationally and internationally. Mandy gained a Bachelor of Arts (2nd class Honours) in Aboriginal Archaeology in 2011, worked for the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL) for six years becoming a Woiwurrung language specialist in addition to her 26+ years of language revival.

Nerrida Johnson: "Courage to Decide"

Making big decisions for a vibrant, impactful (and slightly audacious) life.

There are the little decisions that we make every day, and then there are the big decisions that can change lives and impact on the broader community. It takes courage to make a big decision and Nerrida believes there are many different kinds of courage that we can all access to make the decisions that can change lives and make a positive impact on the world. Nerrida shares stories of the five key decisions in her life and the specific kind of courage needed for each.

Nerrida Johnson is a local school principal who has lived a vibrant and slightly unexpected life. From being sent to a home for unmarried mothers at 14 years of age, she has made some big decisions which have led her to become a teacher, a political activist, a mother of three, and a school principal. She has worked in Parliament House, a rainforest school on the side of a mountain, Instagram Influencer filled Byron Bay and in remote West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Nerrida has given workshops and lectured on Steiner Education all over Australia and at the Goetheanum in Switzerland. She is passionate about helping young people to develop the tools they need to make their own big decisions to lead positive, vibrant and ever so slightly audacious lives.

Nicky Barry: "The Funny Thing About Difficult Women"

The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think. As women grow older and bolder, we need to stand-up and speak out about all that thwarts us and all the other invisible folk who make up the silent majority. Comedy is our next frontier – let’s go find it!

Nicky Barry is a comedy powerhouse, storyteller par-excellence, occasional actress, full time goddess and mother to four wonderful kidults. Nicky spent her formative years hanging out in dodgy bars with depraved social misfits. Somewhere past the age of 40, she realised this was her true calling and decided to give stand-up comedy a crack. Nicky launched herself onto the scene via Raw Comedy, making the state finals as an absolute newbie having never done a gig. She honed her skills in the best of Melbourne’s worst open mic rooms and is now in high demand as an MC and feature act in rooms all over Australia and occasionally beyond. Described as: ”frighteningly funny” in her first review, she is one of those acts that many comics are reluctant to follow. Her razor- sharp wit and brazen delivery are always a hit. When she is good, she is really very good. When she is bad, she is absolutely hilarious!

Rosalie Hastwell: "The New Local"

When I moved into the beautiful central Victorian town of Maldon, I was often met with the question: “are you local”? For those of us who have been born in one place, perhaps grew up in other places and moved around as adults, the question of “are you local” seems less relevant than “what can you contribute?” In order to be great places to live, our towns need to champion the best of both the past and present. They also need to be open to fresh thinking and innovation, to reimagining and creating the “new local”. Maldon is known for its built heritage, its unique natural environment and the close connections of a small town. It is also fortunate to attract the new, the bold, the creative. Those who strive to build community and imagination as well as an inclusive and flourishing culture and economy. Strong initiatives which have quickly come to be embraced as “local” in just a few years include Maldon Bakery - a historic bakery with a new approach, Edge Galleries – presenting contemporary art and culture in a fascinating old building, and more... Let’s see what we need to do to foster the “new local” where new energy and imagination can be embraced as enthusiastically as the heritage of past centuries and beyond.

Originally trained as a classical pianist and steeped in the music of the past, Rosalie’s focus over her extensive career has shifted to building communities and promoting contemporary cultures. She believes that healthy places need to be vibrant, inclusive and brave enough to both respect and challenge traditions. From leading the development of a village engagement strategy in India to facilitating partnerships across the arts, mental health and education in bushfire recovering towns and rural communities in Victoria, she has learned much from local perspectives while also facilitating new
partnerships and collaborations that promote resilience and liveability, Rosalie’s extensive career in the arts, community, health and local government has ranged from inner city contexts to the outer suburban, statewide and small rural. She now works for Central Goldfields Shire, contributes to the local community, and chooses to make Maldon and this region her home.

Christine Nixon AO APM: "Domestic abuser, predator alert"

Communities have taken a long time to recognise that domestic abuse - financial, physical, emotional and sexual, occurs across our all sections of society. In 2023 Victoria Police reported 93,237 incidents of Family violence. Recent analysis suggest that a significant amount of domestic abuse maybe be committed by a small number of serial, repeat or high risk offenders. We need to think differently about these offenders.

Christine was the 19th Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police leading 14,000 staff, operating across more than 500 locations, and overseeing an annual budget of $1.7 billion. She joined Victoria Police in April 2001, after serving with the New South Wales Police from 1972 where she became the first Female Assistant Commissioner in 1994. She led the Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Agency after the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires. In early 2023 Christine conducted a Rapid Review of Visa Fraud for the Minister for Home Affairs. She is a Fellow of ANZSOG, The Australian Institute of Police Management, The Australian Institute of Management, and a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia. She was recently appointed a Vice Chancellors Professorial Fellow at Monash University. She has four Honorary Doctorates and a Master of Public Administration from The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, USA. Currently Christine is the Chair of Leadership Victoria, was a Board member and then Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 2017-22. She was a Council member and Deputy Chancellor of Monash University from 2009-2020, Chair of Monash College Pty Ltd 2011-2020 and Chair of Good Shepherd Microfinance 2011-2019. Co-author with Jo Chandler “Fair Cop”, MUP 2011 and co-author with Amanda Sinclair “Women Leading” MUP 2017.

Bessi Graham: "Mind Your Own Business: why helping others is an inside job"

For decades we have been programmed to see doing good and making money as mutually exclusive; an either/or choice. This approach sees the role of business being to focus on making money and treats any form of positive contribution as being external to the business.

Saying we should separate business and contribution robs both of their power. After nearly twenty-five years working with small and medium-sized businesses around the world to establish what has become known as the impact investment market, I reached a point of frustration at the lack of traction with the business community. When we look at the sheer scale and scope of the entrenched social and environmental challenges the world faces, we need business to step up, and fast. The problem is that people like me have spent the last few decades failing to resonate with business leaders at the level required to drive the speed, depth, and scale of change. Instead, engagement has stayed grassroots and niche; the playground of the environmentalists and social change-makers, social enterprises, philanthropy, and government funded programs. Despite the challenges being very real and their consequences far-reaching, our “solutions” have been too complicated, too expensive, and too theoretical for business leaders to genuinely engage and imbed in their organisations.
In the next chapter of my career, I am committed to ensuring that a simpler message is shared that demonstrates business as an engine for good.

I’m Bessi Graham, a Business and Leadership Strategist with nearly 25 years’ experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning. I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of Benefit Capital and Creator of The Jasper Blueprint. My experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me unparalleled perspective and a unique skillset – the ability to bridge the systemic and the practical. I’m a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Monash and Macquarie universities; and The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Dr Jo Clyne: "The Transformative Power of Museum Theatre"

Many important objects in museums don’t resonate with visitors. Exhibitions on human endeavour can sometime feel flat and underwhelming. How can we create truly transformative moments at the museum? Used correctly museum theatre is a powerful tool for engaging visitors, challenging perceptions, provoking emotional response, aiding recollection, giving voice to inarticulate artefacts, introducing counter narratives, and facilitating enduring understanding.

Dr Jo Clyne is the current President of the International Museum Theatre Alliance (Asia Pacific) and the host of the Museum Theatre Musings podcast. She holds a PhD in History and Theatre Studies from the University of Melbourne and spent more than fifteen years as a history education consultant for the History Teachers' Association of Victoria. Jo relishes her ‘portfolio career’ which currently includes being a museum theatre performer, historian, history education consultant, teacher, history competition judge, published writer, and one of only a few professional female magicians in the world.

Katie Underwood: "Mantra, Meditation & Music: A Life Worth Living”

Australian Ex-popstar turned Meditation Teacher and Sound Healing Practitioner, KATIE UNDERWOOD shares her passion for healing, transformation and connection using mantra meditation, providing insights from her own life as a musician, a meditation teacher and neurodivergent woman. Her TED talk offers a unique perspective on the world and a demonstration of mantra meditation in action with a live looping performance. You DO NOT want to miss this!

Katie Underwood is a highly acclaimed Australian artist, recognized for her outstanding achievements in the music industry. With an impressive 25-year career, she has received an APRA award and has been nominated for an ARIA. As a versatile singer, songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Katie has collaborated with artists from around the world, exploring a diverse range of genres such as pop, dance, jazz, indie-rock, and new age. In addition to her musical talents, Katie has also ventured into the realm of meditation and sound healing, becoming a certified Meditation Teacher and Sound Healer. She has independently produced numerous albums that focus on mantra meditation, showcasing her deep passion for the transformative power of mantras and meditation.

Peter Sandor: "Covid, Cancer and Remaining Positive"

Wearing his heart on his sleeve and keeping his family close to his heart are both important to Peter Sandor. Until recently, Peter was Managing Director of a Launceston family-owned and run wholesale company specialising in the tourism industry.

“My grandfather, Sim Crawcour, was an amazing person that everyone got along with. When my father came into the business in the 1950s, he expanded it. I started as a part-time storeman, then a salesman, to general manager and then 36 years later became Managing Director. By that time, we owned and operated 11 retail outlets with our wholesale business supplying throughout Australia and New Zealand.”
The plan was for the business to stay in the family, but then Covid hit which decimated the tourism market. After regrouping and having their best year ever, Peter received news of cancer - for the second time!
Peter shares his story of remaining positive as he witnesses his world crashing around him.

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