No.

Speaker

Speaker’s Bio // Topic Title

Dr. Nadiah Abu 

Topic title: Cellular Postal Services: Unlocking the Secrets to Diseases

One-liner: Tiny Clues for a Big Solution

Dr. Nadiah Abu is a highly accomplished scientist and researcher whose work has led to groundbreaking discoveries in the field of cancer detection. With a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, she has dedicated her career to developing innovative technologies that can detect cancer biomarkers in bodily fluids, particularly for colorectal cancer. Her project focuses on detecting a particular protein – extracellular vesicle derived heat-shock protein 70 (EV-HSP70) – where the method is both specific and high in sensitivity, and hence more accurate.

Her research has received widespread recognition, and she has been honoured with numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious National Science Award and the L’Oreal-Unesco For Women In Science Awards 2022. Dr. Nadiah's work has the potential to revolutionise cancer diagnosis and treatment, and her tireless efforts to push the boundaries of scientific discovery have made her a highly respected figure in the scientific community. 

Drawing on her own research and experiences, she will be explaining how cells communicate, its connection to cancer cells and embrace new ideas in the pursuit of scientific progress.

2.

Justin Gerard Victor 

Topic title: 

Decriminalisation of suicide

Speaker bio:

Justin Victor is the Chairman of Befrienders Kuala Lumpur, an organisation dedicated to suicide prevention, offering emotional support through a 24/7 helpline and public education. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at Taylor’s University of Malaysia. Being highly driven with the passion to advocate mental health, Justin has conducted several talks and workshops on matters of suicide prevention, depression, stress management and helping skills to raise awareness and educate the public on mental health and suicide matters. In addition to that, Justin is also represented as one of the members in the Malaysian Mental Health Promotion Advisory Council, (MOH) and the National Coalition for Mental Wellbeing (Malaysia) till this present day. As a dedicated mental health advocate, Justin has harboured the passion for writing and has expressed his thoughts regarding this in several articles based on the issue of suicide which has tremendously increased in the past few years.

With such a profound knowledge, Justin will be talking about the  decriminalization of suicide and  the stigmatization of this issue. 

3.

Irfan Mohamed 

Topic title:

Where does your food come from?

Speaker bio:

Mohamed Irfan is the co-founder of Urban Hijau, a green organization aimed to implement best sustainable solutions with high social impact. Being an urban waste management specialist, a certified professional trainer and permaculture designer, he is currently working with Urban Hijau in setting up a 3-step training program for communities to start growing their own food.

In his 8 years of experience, he has and is still actively taking part in conducting programs on green waste collecting for composting, as well as being a rather proclaimed propagator of natural farming practices and is determined to spread the evergreen message to the family, friends and society. In doing so, he has successfully gotten some family members and friends to start composting and was a catalyst in the setup of Thirtha Quddus, a permaculture farm in Janda Baik.  

With such an excellent background and accumulated knowledge, Mr Irfan would share on the rather unspoken lacks of the current food industry, consumption and how we, as a society, can grow food locally for better consumption.

4.

Rayhan Ahmad 

Topic title: 

Menyemai Budi & Daya Manusia

Speaker bio: 

Rayhan Ahmad merupakan seorang aktivis sosial dan pengamal seni budaya yang berfokus pada pembangunan sosial serta pendidikan di Malaysia. Beliau bersama rakan komuniti memulakan inisiatifnya dalam membina ruang selamat bagi anak-anak dipersekitaran urban dan membentuk pendidikan asas bagi anak-anak orang asal dikawasan luar bandar. Untuk mencapai potensi penuh mereka melaksanakan program-program pendidikan tidak formal dan keadilan sosial dengan melancarkan Sekola Baroka yang bertujuan untuk membangun pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dikawasan urbanisasi dari anak-anak peniaga bazar malam sehingga kelompok rentan seperti gelandangan, miskin bandar dengan penglibatan masyarakat setempat dan komuniti kreatif. Beliau telah menerima pengiktirafan atas usahanya dengan tersenarai dalam buku ‘Successful People in Malaysia 2020’ dan filem pendek animasi arahan serta skrip beliau "Anak Bakau Terakhir" telah ditayang ke festival-festival antarabangsa seperti Athen, New York, Jakarta dan Washington.

5

Michael Teoh 

Topic Title:  

Entrepreneurship: Starting from a Scratch

Speaker bio:

Michael Teoh is the Founder of Thriving Talents, a company that consults and trains youth talents in organisations and universities to succeed in life and work. His company’s work in developing the leadership and entrepreneurial potentials of the Gen-Y workforce has been featured on CNN, BBC, the United Nations and the Malaysia Book of Records.

6.

Stuart Danker

Topic Title: Writing is a universal art that belongs to everyone.

Stuart Danker is a Malaysian writer and published author. Harbouring a deep passion for the written word, he’s written everything from travel pieces to advertising copy. He puts it best when describing himself as “a writer in the no-niche niche”. His passion has led him to places like India to write about the warriors of Kushti and to Vietnam to live and experience the life of tribes in the highlands. With his first sci-fi novel having been long-listed for the 2020 Epigram Books Fiction Prize, Stuart seems well on his path towards being the jack of all trades and the master of some. He wishes to encourage more of us to pick up the pen, to remind us that literature is for everybody, no matter our background, and that writing isn’t as inaccessible as some of us think it is.

7. 

Beatrice Leong

Topic Title: 

Speaker bio:

Beatrice Leong, a Malaysian entrepreneur and documentary filmmaker, has embarked on various career paths, driven by her insatiable curiosity and passion for new experiences and stories. Her diverse journey has encompassed content production, community engagement, art curation, and art space management.Throughout her life, Beatrice grappled with mental health challenges and faced multiple misdiagnoses. It wasn't until the age of 35 when a neuropsychologist finally identified her as autistic, bringing profound clarity to the lifelong struggles she had endured.

As a late-diagnosed autistic woman, Beatrice possesses a unique perspective and firsthand experience, allowing her to empathise with the complex challenges faced by girls and women seeking diagnosis and support. This experience had led Beatrice to be a founder of an autistic-led advocacy group, AIDA (Autism Inclusiveness Direct Action Group) to further champion inclusion and self-representation of the autistic community within the society, and lobbying autistics as an active participant in making policies that shape their lives.

She now dedicates her life to reframing our understanding of autism, particularly in girls and women. She envisions a society that embraces differences and advocates for meaningful participation and inclusion of autistic individuals across all levels of society.

8.

Dr. Stefanie Pillai

Topic title: Melaka Portuguese: A Minority Language in Malaysia

One liner idea: This TEDx talk will focus on the current state of endangered languages in Malaysia, and then look at three to four key factors (with examples) contributing to the demise of these languages followed by zooming into the reasons for encouraging the use of these endangered languages.

Speaker bio: 

Dr. Stefanie Shamila Pillai is a Professor at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya (UM) and has almost 33 years of experience as an educator. Prof. Pillai has been working with community representatives to develop materials to encourage the use of an endangered language in Malaysia, Melaka Portuguese, also known as Papiah Cristang. She has also been actively disseminating information about this language which mirrors a unique hybrid culture. Prof. Pillai will be sharing the story of this unique minority language which is part of her maternal heritage, and tells us why it is important to maintain the cultural heritage of the Melaka Portuguese people.

9.

Adriel Seet x Yuji 

Speaker Performer’s bio:

Yuji and Adriel are a dynamic duo from Malaysia who use their GenZ imagination to create beautiful pieces of music. Yuji, a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, has been passionate about music since a young age. His songs such as "Old Love" and the recently released "Redlight", are beloved by many Malaysians. Adriel, a 21-year-old undergraduate student at Monash University, is also a young musician and composer representing the diverse talent in Malaysia. Multiple of his original songs such "Life is Not Boring" and "Sunrise" have become popular on local and international streaming platforms like Spotify, and his songwriting style is deeply rooted in his personal experiences. His songs reflect his passion for music and his goal to inspire others. With a shared enthusiasm for music, Yuji and Adriel have been performing together and have released several collaborative singles, including the popular "Rocketship". As rising stars in the Malaysian music scene, they hope to encourage more youths to pursue their dreams through their performances.

10.

Tiga Soul

Speaker Performer’s Bio:

TIGA SOUL is a female trio of established singer-songwriters from

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They came together after a six-month

stint of cabaret nights produced by Joanne Kam in 2016 and then

made their official debut independently in Theatre Lounge Cafe

in early August 2017. Since then they have performed for notable

clients and venues, and is currently working on their first album

with award-winning producer Audi Mok, Shazee and MKNK music.

Three different artists from three different backgrounds, yet

together they make a harmonious impact that is TIGA SOUL.