The COUNTDOWN has begun!
“We can’t change the world, but we can change ourselves, and the world cannot help but change together with us.” – Louisa Lee, Founder of TEDxDuxtonHill
Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action.
The ongoing health and economic crises are reminding us of an important fact: We’re all part of the same fragile system, dependent on nature and one another. As we look to the future, we must build forward and emerge more sustainable and resilient than before. We can change climate change – #JoinTheCountdown to a safer, cleaner, fairer future. Countdown invites collaboration from every organization, company, city and nation and citizens everywhere. It is a movement open to everyone, and everyone has a vital role to play.
The ongoing health and economic crises are reminding us of an important fact: We’re all part of the same fragile system, dependent on nature and one another. As we look to the future, we must build forward and emerge more sustainable and resilient than before. We can change climate change – #JoinTheCountdown to a safer, cleaner, fairer future. Countdown invites collaboration from every organization, company, city and nation and citizens everywhere. It is a movement open to everyone, and everyone has a vital role to play.
TEDxDuxtonHill aims to provide a platform for conversations to turn into insights which will result in individual action. The key focus is making this more than a mere discussion but ensure concrete action is taken.
ABOUT US
What is TED?
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman. Visit TED on TED.com or follow TED on Twitter and Facebook.
What is TEDxDuxtonHill?
TEDxDuxtonHill is an independently organized TEDx event, licensed by TED. It is completely volunteer-run and financially supported by generous partners.
This chapter of TEDx in Singapore is named after the Duxton Hill area, which sits in the Downtown Core of Singapore, on the former 13-hectares nutmeg plantation with 1,800 trees of Dr J. William Montgomerie (1797–1856), who first arrived in Singapore in 1819 together with the founder of Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles. Apart from being the first official surgeon in Singapore, his impact on Singapore’s early community went beyond medicine, extending to the administration of the town, new scientific discoveries as well as social activities.
What we particularly admire of Dr Montgomerie was his courage to be different and his progressive outlook. He was probably the only white person who chose to set up residence on the Southern bank of the Singapore River, which was mainly inhabited by the other ethnic groups.
He definitely was one of the few unsung heroes who contributed a lot to the initial founding of Singapore.
In addition to contributing to TED’s vision for ‘ideas worth spreading’, we also hope to promote the values of progressiveness and build a community of change advocates who are courageous like Dr William Montgomerie and be open to stepping up to be the change they want to see.