About the event

If the voices of young people alive today were heard in parliaments, councils, courtrooms and corridors of power, what would we do differently? If future generations not yet born could speak to us now, what would they say about the world we hand down to them?

These are questions that will be explored at TEDxYouth@Thames - an afternoon of innovative ideas and perspectives as part of a series of simultaneous events across the globe marking Universal Children’s Day 2011.

At TEDxYouth@Thames, speakers from very different backgrounds will deliver short, sharp presentations lasting just 18 minutes each, with the aim of introducing a different way of viewing the world.

What unites our speakers is that they all have innovative ideas and creative solutions to the challenges intergenerational justice poses for topics such as climate change and sustainability, democracy, law, and economics.

The event is structured to allow participants to interact as much as possible, and there will be time for participants to network with each other and the speakers. Coffee, tea, cake, drinks, and nibbles will be served throughout the day.

UKYCC, UNICEF, Client Earth, The Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, Intergenerational Foundation, and Zoological Society of London.

Confirmed speakers:

Dr Sándor Fülöp
Recently elected Hungary’s first Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations - currently the only active political office for future generations in the world.

Tamsin Omond
Environmental activist and founder of Climate Rush who has led a large number of innovative campaigns with the aim of ensuring that the UK sets itself on track towards sustainable development.

James Thornton
Environmental lawyer, social entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Client Earth, who has led hundreds of lawsuits on the environment against corporations and governments.

Kate Hampton
Director at the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, who has advised asset managers and multinational energy companies, as well as the EU and UK governments, on sustainability topics.

Angus Hanton
Economist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Intergenerational Foundation, where he works to raise the profile of intergenerational unfairness by showing how young generations are excluded from policy-making.

Halina Ward
Director of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, a forum for long-term thinking on the intersection these two topics, where she leads research and campaigns on intergenerational justice.

Joss Garman
Environmental campaigner with Greenpeace who at the age of twenty founded Plane Stupid, an organisation campaigning to prevent expansion of unnecessary flying in Britain.

Kyra Choucroun
Innovation & sustainable business researcher and consultant with SustainAbility, currently writing a book on the topic of intergenerational innovation.

Please note: children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult to the event. View our Child Protection Policy here: http://bit.ly/tnqzKB