TEAM
Meet the geniuses behind the scenes aka the tedxfhnw family
Niklas Meindl
Lead Organizer
As one of the OG’s, Niklas was part of the establishment and first TEDxFHNW event. Between serving as Co-Founder for a tech start up and collecting championships on the slopes, he also finds time to lead our multimedia production, sponsorship team and deals with everything from web design to running on stage and switching on speaker mics. He also sometimes gets lost in the depths of the youtube spiral for several hours.
Nafisa Umar
Lead Organizer
Nafisa, who is also one of the OG’s, loves making ideas a reality. When she’s not either negotiating resolutions at MUNs or has her nose in a book, Nafisa leads our marketing team, webpage design, handles the admin tasks and has a keen eye for detail to ensure a real TED-like experience. She also has a weird Lando Norris obsession and enjoys baking.
Kim Locher
Lead Organizer
Open-minded, inquisitive, ethusiastic. That’s the new core team member Kim. She loves new technologies, the opportunities of the digitalization and is impressed by the power of a strong mindset. What’s better for that than inspiring TED Talks? Not surprising that she is responsible for the speaker coaching to get extraordinary talks by extraordinary people. Besides from that she is a counselor of a kids camp, revisor, president of a student council, dancer, passionate singer and traveler. As versatile as our speakers ;)
our Marketing magicians
Our creative talents, Chantal and Emilia, work on all things regarding social media and ads together with Nafisa. With the help of their vast knowledge of marketing, communication, and abilities to tell stories in an appealing manner (as well as their girl power), they ensure that everyone is informed about our event and know what to expect. Keep an eye out on our socials to see their amazing work in action.
Chantal Kreyenbühl
Chantal is a fulltime International Management student and parttime professional Netflix binge watcher. From her past three years serving in the board of a gymnastics club and seven years leading a youth squad, she brings along her remarkable leadership and interpersonal skills to the team, ensuring all TEDxFHNW communication channels are at their finest.
Emilia Ribeiro
Emilia has been living a double agent life over the past four years between her school and work life. But hopefully, she will surrender to a quieter lifestyle once her studies finish this year. Her love for storytelling and new challenges were her motivation to join the TEDxFHNW team and is seen through her work. Apart from that, she and the magical world are intertwined by her passion with Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Nevertheless, she always makes sure to find time to explore the real-world aka the muggles’ world.
Our COACHING CHAMPIONS
Speaker coaching is one of the biggest tasks in the TEDx organising process, it’s vital for a smooth and confident talk. Along with Kim, Jeya and Davide take on the substantial task of coaching our inspiring speakers by helping them in the draft process, creating and preparing slides for their talk and regular rehearsals weeks to months before the event. Their strong interpersonal skills and persistent enthusiasm will ensure inspiring, thought-provoking and emotional TEDx Talks.
Davide Merlini
If Davide could choose between an oral exam and a written exam, he would always choose the first option. So we can assume that Davide is quite a passionate speaker – at least on university level. For this reason, he has joined the speaker coaches team in the hope to snatch some tips and tricks from our experienced speakers. Apart from coaching activity, Davide is writing his Bachelors Thesis at the moment and he also likes to visit Verdansk with his close friends.
Jeyagarany Jeyasoothinathan
Meet Jeya, travel enthusiast (with a soft spot for Japan), bookworm and first-year econ student at FHNW. COVID has restricted her from traveling but not from broadening her horizon. At TEDxFHNW she not only supports and motivates our inspiring speakers on the daily but also never fails to brighten the team’s day with her charm and creative ideas. She loves indulging in other cultures and exploring new languages but has commitment issues with sports (tennis, basketball, squash; what’s next?).
OUR SPONSORING SUPERSTAR
This year’s TEDxFHNW event will be bigger and better than ever. To cover our costs and fund the whole event, our valued sponsors are vital. This is where Damien comes in. His strong negotiation and effective communication skills along with his charming aura enable him to reach out to our sponsors and secure the bag. Thanks to his and Niklas’ fabulous work, we have an astonishing afternoon in store for you.
Damien Martin
If one had to describe Damien with one word, it would certainly be the word commitment. No matter what he starts, he finishes it. This enables him to conduct daily negotiations as a foreign exchange and money market trader, to stand up for underprivileged people and also to secure our event with the necessary liquid funds. When he has some time to himself, he enjoys playing sports or watching others do so.
Our Story
How did TEDxFHNW start?
During our first week at university at FHNW, our professors gave us the interesting task of developing a marketing strategy for a startup. As we were grouped together, we quickly found our common interest in creating new ideas and putting them to use. A few days into the course the topic of our conversation was TED Talks and how inspiring they are to us. Next thing we know, we're planning our own TEDx Talk at FHNW (keep in mind we had known eachother for one week). To this day, we're still as motivated to plan the event as we were during that first week!
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.
The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast event in nearby Whistler. The annual TEDGlobal conference will be held this October in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
What is TED?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
What is Tedx?
TEDxFHNW is a local, self-organized event that will bring the TED-like experience to Brugg, Switzerland. The event aims to create a unique gathering where new ideas are unleashed with brilliant speakers and thought-provoking videos. Various speakers will be provided with the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences with a crowd of 100 interested students, professors and members of faculty.