Laimi Hawala
The University of Namibia (Unam) Hage Geingob Campus Student Representative Council and the TEDxUnam organising committee hosted auditions for this year’s edition of the esteemed TEDxUnam event under the theme ‘Ideas that matter’.
About 40 people submitted summaries of the talks they intended to give, but only 20 were chosen to audition. Of those, only eight speakers were chosen by the prestigious panel of judges as they met the requirements to speak at the main event. They are Phillipine Kaluhoni, Nawa Simalumba, Neza Cilunda, Jessica Kaimu, Anastasia Sheremet, Lloyd Sikeba, Ainley Amunyela and Panduleni Nghipandulwa.
Frans Immanuel, the SRC member of External Affairs at the Unam Medical campus, described TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) as an annual event aimed at bringing together the world’s leading thinkers and doers in an effort to exchange ideas that matter in any discipline.
He and his team worked on this year’s theme to place a specific emphasis on the concept of a future where everything is created and built from ideas.
“We came up with this theme because everything is made up of ideas or is drawn from them, including careers, relationships, concepts, and people. It is also the place where everyone and all experiences are seen through the lows and highs of life,” said Immanuel.
He further said that the goal of TEDxUnam is to maintain a local forum for ideas in the community while motivating students and community members to alter their present circumstances, as well as their futures and, ultimately, the world.
“The event, along with TEDxWindhoek and other future TEDx brands will be part of a bigger TEDx community throughout Namibia. This will provide a forum for the public to exchange ideas and work out problems.”
One of the chosen TEDx speakers, Kaimu, said she was a little scared, but overall, the experience was good.
“The judges were fair, and there were so many amazing speakers,” she noted.
Furthermore, Kaimu said that what will set her apart as a speaker is the scope of her experience and the pearls of wisdom she has gleaned from it.
The main event will take place on 22 October 2022 and tickets are available for purchase at a fee of N$150 for students, N$ 250 for lecturers and N$350 for public members. The tickets can be purchased at any Pick’n Pay store in Namibia or at Webtickets online.