Theme: Because XYZ

Every great idea had a reason. A because. Whether it is solving a pressing issue, trying to actualize a dream, or just wanting to create something new, every TEDx speaker and person in general is driven by something. This year’s conference seeks to uncover what those reasons are. X, Y, and Z vary from person to person, and it is in these unique variables that we can begin to understand one another. By looking at people’s core motivations, we hope that listeners will be able to easily relate their own ideas and dreams with the speakers’ content, regardless of the topic. Perhaps a scientist and a poet share the same X or an economist and athlete share the same Y. Maybe you and I share the same Y. Not only is this theme versatile but it allows our speakers to talk on a wide range of topics. In fact, it welcomes it. We hope our audience will leave and reflect on what their own X, Y, and Z are.

The Byre Theatre
Abbey St
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9LA
United Kingdom

Albert Campos

Even before writing was invented, storytellers have sought to express themselves in their inner voice within the constraints of the external language bestowed upon them by society. All writers become translators of their minds when they start writing – but what if they didn’t have to? In this TEDx talk, writer and Classics student Albert Suriñach Campos presents a new way to understand fantasy storytelling: through the creation of fantasy languages. More than a simple exercise in linguistics, this unique and exciting literary form crafts a new language as an extension of a fantasy world’s culture and history, capturing a purity and beauty that existing languages cannot. This talk will explore the question "What's the point in making a language that no one speaks?" and reveal the infinite creative potential that this emerging field of linguistics offers to storytellers and readers alike.

Dr. Fiston Kitema

"Imagine a solar-powered device the size of a pen that makes eye diagnosis accessible anywhere, bringing life-changing care to those who need it most. 2.2 billion people live with vision impairment—yet 80% of cases are treatable or preventable if detected early. In this TEDx talk, Dr. Gatera Fiston Kitema, an Ophthalmic Clinical Officer and Global Eye Health Researcher from Rwanda shares how the Arclight is transforming eye care. His PhD research at the University of St Andrews explored how training with Arclight improves access to care by enhancing diagnostic skills and fostering collaboration between healthcare professionals in Rwanda. A ‘go-anywhere’ device, Arclight has reached all seven continents, including Antarctica. It has been used on Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, and in Project Neptune 100, where a researcher lived underwater for 100 days. Nearly 50,000 devices have been distributed worldwide, including to refugee camps in Ukraine and humanitarian disaster zones. Recognised by the WHO and major NGOs, Arclight is revolutionising global eye care. Supported by the University of St Andrews’ Entrepreneurial Centre, this social enterprise is driving innovation, sustainability, and health equity. This talk showcases real-world impact, demonstrating how one small but mighty device is changing lives."

Luke Ryan

The food and farming industries pour billions of pounds into disinformation campaigns that attempt to convince the public that using animals for food is necessary and beneficial. They downplay and deny the negative consequence of their enterprise; and cast fear, uncertainty, and doubt upon alternatives. In his TEDx Talk, Luke Ryan will explore the tactics that they use, the biases that they leverage, and what we can do to fight back.

Mark De-Lisser

No one knows the power of singing better than world-renowned arranger, choir director and vocal coach Mark De-Lisser. Mark has worked with some of today's top vocal talent and on some of the UK's most-watched TV shows, such as Songs of Praise, The Voice UK, and The Masked Singer. He is the founder of Singology Choir; four London-based community choirs - and both founder and musical director of the multi-award-winning ACM Gospel Choir (now MDL Singers). He was choir director for the King's coronation, the Queen's Platinum jubilee, and is perhaps best known for his vocal arrangements of Stand By Me for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding - a beautiful, powerful performance that's been enjoyed more than 26 million times on Youtube.

Nasrin Parvaz

In the UK, the media often scapegoat immigrants for the lack of jobs, opportunities, and access to healthcare. In Iran, Afghan refugees face similar blame. But this narrative serves a deeper purpose: to divert attention from the real cause of economic hardship—capitalism. Governments don’t want people to realize that the system is designed to funnel wealth into the hands of a few, while leaving the majority poorer, more anxious, and increasingly desperate. So, the immigrants are always blamed. Meanwhile, industries continue to pollute the air, drain rivers, and cause floods—all while producing goods that many can no longer afford. All this causes people to move to where they might be able to feed their families. In this TEDx talk, Nasrin Parvas, who was imprisoned and tortured in Iran for eight years for her advocacy of women’s and civil rights, sheds light on the struggles of refugees and what must be done to build a freer, more just world.

Prof David Rothery

In this TEDx talk, Prof David Rothery will describe how, more or less by accident, he found himself a key player in the European Space Agency’s current mission to Mercury, a problem planet whose composition and history is not what was expected. He will recount how his 30 year involvement with the project, BepiColombo, led up to a launch in 2018 and a series of fly-bys of the planet 2021-2025. He will show images from BepiColombo’s January 2025 flyby and from NASA’s MESSENGER orbiter, and will look ahead to some of the things he hopes to learn after BepiColombo goes into orbit about Mercury late next year when it will begin to return much better data. David Rothery is a geologist and Professor of Planetary Geosciences at the Open University, and recently secured a share in a £3 million, 5 year project to do science with the new data (2026-2031).

Prof Tara Spires-Jones

In this TEDx talk, Prof Tara Spires-Jones will describe how neuroscience research is helping defeat dementia. Dementia is one of the biggest medical and societal problems of our time directly affecting over 50 million people worldwide at a cost of over $1 trillion per year in health and social care. Neuroscience research is revealing the brain changes that cause dementia symptoms. Prof Spires-Jones will share some of the landmark discoveries in the field and highlight her discoveries using novel microscope techniques to peer inside the tiny synaptic connections in human brain samples from people who died from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia. Research has recently led to the first approved treatments that slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease. These new treatments have substantial risks and costs, but Prof Spires-Jones will describe better treatments on the horizon and things we can all do now to reduce our own risk and contribute to the fight to end dementia.

Samuel Reason

Samuel Reason became the Youngest Person to Visit Every Country in Europe three years ago. He did so travelling solo at the age of 16. Samuel spent this last year writing a book about many of the crazy experiences and encounters he had on his journeys, which he draws to a focus on the topic of European identity, or rather, ‘what does it mean to be European?’. He is now a first-year theology student at the University of St Andrews and will be speaking on the complex nature of being European framed through the events of his record-breaking travels.