We tracked down and interviewed past speakers to find out what they have been up to since they were on the TEDxNicosia stage.
And these particular three have the distinction of collaborating on the same future project, the Mediterranean Science Festival.
Katerina Kaouri
During Katerina Kaouri’s talk at TEDxNicosia in 2013, Romeo and Juliet took part in a math equation. Oozing originality, Katerina was on a mission to prove that not only can math be fun and exciting, the subject is part of our lives in more ways than one.
What was your idea worth spreading at TEDxNicosia about?
The theme of TEDxNicosia 2013 was “Re-think-Re-act-Re-generate”. My talk was on “Rethinking and Rebranding Mathematics”. As a mathematician, and university educator I am frequently faced with students and other people’s dislike and fear of Math. This saddens me since Math is a wonderful science that can help people’s lives in many different ways. My TEDx talk urged the audience to think what it is that makes Math scary and then aimed to show Math in a different light, through unexpected applications ranging from supersonic airplanes, to online dating, all the way to what we find beautiful. I firmly believe that the way to inspire young people to become interested in Math and in other sciences is to show them how they are all around us.
Did you receive any feedback after your talk? If so, what was it?
Yes. During the event, after the talk I had some interesting and inspiring discussions with people from the audience and later on discussions with others that watched the talk on the TEDx channel. Subsequently, I delivered several popularized talks at various events and at a few schools.
Since then, has your idea expanded to cover new ground?
Yes! Along with a team of four like-minded TEDxers, we founded the NGO SciCo Cyprus we and organized the first Mediterranean Science Festival with the motto “Discover Science in our Everyday Lives”. We currently use the MSF Facebook page as a pop “science” magazine with short science stories, news etc. At the MSF I also delivered a TED-Ed workshop with two other mathematicians. We presented TED-Ed videos and relayed to participants how they can create their own. TEDxNicosia also led to a wonderful collaboration with TED-Ed and my animation on the math of supersonic airplanes was released in Feb. 2015. Currently it has 490600 views.
Today, what kind of traces can be found leading back to your idea?
The Mediterranean Science Festival has experienced impressive statistics such as 9300 visitors, 4300 children (2300 from organized school visits), 90 volunteers, 140 unique activities like interactive exhibition, experiments, talks, workshops, performances, science-art exhibitions, etc.
What does the future hold for you and your idea?
We will be organising the 2nd Mediterranean Science Festival in early 2017. Also this year I will co-organise the first Study Group with Industry in Cyprus in 2016 with funding from the EU Mathematics for Industry Network (www.mi-network.org). This is a weeklong workshop where academic mathematical scientists and industrialists work together to solve real-life problems. It is also a great educational/training tool for our students. It was first organized at the University of Oxford in 1968 and since then more than 600 such workshops have been organized successfully around the world. I will also continue to give popularized talks at schools and other venues and I really want to create a website/blog on the diverse applications of math and physics in our lives.
You can watch Katerina’s TEDxNicosia talk here.
Myrtani Pieri
At the first ever TEDxNicosia in 2011, biologist Myrtani Pieri wondered if science has robbed the world of romance and magic. Have scientific explanations ruined the feeling of a kiss, the beauty of a pregnancy, the mystery behind rainbows or the moon? Does science destroy or does it reveal?
What was your idea worth spreading at TEDxNicosia about?
This TEDxNicosia event evolved around the theme of Love-Risk-Care-Live. So I tried to spread the idea of delving deeper into the magic of science, stretching from the science of the human body to the science describing the universe, deeper into the molecular mechanisms that characterize our existence only to be faced with hidden beauty, remarkable magic, love and care at the molecular level. Our world is full of mysteries. We are a mystery. Science is the way to try to understand the mysteries of the world and our existence and it provides answers to mysteries of the world often even more magical than the mysteries themselves –and this is something worth searching for.
Did you receive any feedback after your talk? If so, what was it?
Since TEDxNicosia, I have been invited to participate in many science communication and science-related events at the University of Cyprus, the Athens Science Festival, the 3rd UNICA PR and many others.
Since then, has your idea expanded to cover new ground?
Together with a bunch of very inspiring and hard-working individuals that share the same vision we formed an NGO named SciCo (from Science Communication). We organised and run a series of Café scientifiques and last December we launched the First Mediterranean Science Festival. We believe that science festivals are a great way to enter the magical world of scientific discoveries in an entertaining and stimulating environment. It is a tool one can use to show the magic of science to all, especially to non-scientists, to be informed, educated, and puzzled, in an unconventional way whilst simultaneously entertaining yourself. Importantly, it is a great opportunity for scientists to train themselves to speak in a “normal” way and force themselves to be understood by the non-scientific audience.
Today, what kind of traces can be found leading back to your idea?
Please watch this video to see the aftermath of the First Mediterranean Science Fesival.
What does the future hold for you and your idea?
The idea is for the Cyprus public to come closer to the beauty and magic of science and for it to leave pseudoscience, magic, spells and fairy-tales behind. Cyprus is a place where Science literacy is not our leading characteristic and this is something we hope to change slowly by communicating and inspiring, especially the younger generation, with the magic of true science!
You can watch Myrtani’s TEDxNicosia talk here.
Nikos Konstantinou
Your perception isn’t always reality said Nikos Konstantinou at TEDxNicosia in 2014. Our brain constructs and shapes our reality based on our previous experiences. It is, as we all know, a brilliant organ but it also has its limitations.
What was your idea worth spreading at TEDxNicosia about?
My idea was that our subjective perception of the world is sometimes different from reality. The reason is that our brain has limited processing capacity and it interprets the world around us based on our expectations and previous experiences. This phenomenon can explain why we need science and technology. If we can’t rely on our perception of the world, how do we make sense of the world? The answer is by using technology to overcome the limitations of our bodies (e.g. we use the telephone to hear someone who is very far away) and rely on the scientific method to overcome our biases. It also has to do with human communication. Each one of us perceives the world based on our own unique past experiences and memories. This can significantly influence the way we interact with each other. In fact, I think it can significantly improve human communication and reduce conflict. For individuals and society in general.
Did you receive any feedback after your talk? If so, what was it?
Following TEDxNicosia I have been invited to participate in various science communication events. This allowed me to present my idea to more people and to think about other ways of applying this idea as well as its limitations. I was able to spread the idea further but more importantly to learn myself.
Since then, has your idea expanded to cover new ground?
Since TEDxNicosia 2014 I was able to expand my idea in two directions. First, I was able to apply the idea of subjective realities to different settings such as the way the two communities in Cyprus perceive each other as well as how the society views minorities (e.g. homosexuality). Secondly, I acted on the idea of bridging the gap between science and the public by establishing, together with other TEDxers, an educational organization (SciCo) that aims to organise science communication events (i.e. Science Cafes, Science Festivals, etc).
Today, what kind of traces can be found leading back to your idea?
My talks at various venues and events as well as SciCo and the events organised by it.
What does the future hold for you and your idea?
My first aim following TEDxNicosia was to initiate a Science Cafe series and a Science Festival in Cyprus. Both of these have now been achieved. The next goal is to maintain these but most importantly to have a Science Museum in Cyprus that can act as a hub between scientists and the public, especially young children.
You can watch Nikos’ TEDxNicosia talk here.
To find out more about the Mediterranean Science Festival visit www.mediterranean-science-festival.com
