The Middle is where human beings are truly made. It's easy to show up at the start line, energised by the excitement of new beginnings, and we all love the thrill of celebrating a finish. But it's the Middle where our stories unfold, where challenges are overcome, and where endurance is built.In this presentation you will discover transformative insights designed to encourage and equip you for life's most challenging stretches. Whether in life or leadership, The Middle is the terrain that demands resilience and grit. The Middle Insights will encourage you to:Keep going when your motivation fades and quitting seems easier. Refuel from your own story, tapping into the power of your personal experiences. Protect your perspective to cultivate the right emotions in difficult times. Navigate your context with intention, moving forward strategically rather than letting circumstances dictate your path. Embrace detours with agility and openness, turning unexpected challenges into opportunities for growth. Collaborate with your tribe, knowing that no great journey is made alone. Leverage failures, transforming them into stepping stones that propel you toward success rather than holding you back.Drawing from his experience in ultra-endurance races, Travis connects the mental and emotional endurance required in these extreme challenges with the day-to-day choices we face. This talk will inspire you to not only survive The Middle but to thrive in it, ensuring that you run your race with purpose and finish well. Travis was born and raised in Durban. During 1999, the year after he finished school, he rode a bicycle 17000km across four continents, raising R1.7 million for children living with and affected by HIV / AIDS. On that tour he wrote a vision for an organisation called Appletree, a brand which would enable human potential. In 2004, after studying HR at UKZN, he lived and worked as an underwater videographer and dive professional on Koh Phi Phi Island in Thailand. After experiencing the devastating Tsunami, he returned home with a renewed fervour to activate his vision. For the past 20 years he has been developing the Appletree brand, partnering with many organisations to shape and sustain a healthy culture. In 2020 he published The Middle, a book which was written to encourage individuals and teams to navigate tough terrain and achieve ambitious goals. Through The Middle brand, he expresses his current passion; learning about and sharing on the topic of grit and resilience, drawing from 20 years of entrepreneurship, 4 decades of living in KZN, 15 years of marriage, 10 years of parenting two daughters, and his current goal of running ten 100 mile trail races of which he has completed six. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

“Dad, are we rich?” A simple breakfast-table question sparks a powerful journey through the psychological and historical structures that lock up capital — and the urgent need to unlock it. Entrepreneur and author Felix Oldenburg blends personal stories, surprising facts, and a big idea for the future of giving. Felix Oldenburg has transformed social entrepreneurship and philanthropy in Germany as the former CEO of Ashoka and the Association of German Foundations. Growing up on a small island and studying philosophy, he gained insight into real-world injustices through social startups, impact investors, and major donors. With his startup bcause, he aims to unlock private wealth to fund solutions before societal problems become too costly. He speaks and writes about a vision of everyone being a philanthropist. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Criminologa, Serena Favarin smonta i falsi miti sull’insicurezza urbana. Partendo dai dati reali sui reati, ci accompagna in un viaggio tra percezione e realtà, spiegando come media e narrazioni influenzino il nostro modo di vivere e temere la città. Trevigiana di nascita e milanese d’adozione, è professoressa associata di Sociologia della devianza all’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, dove insegna criminologia e metodi per analizzare i fenomeni sociali e criminali. Collabora da molti anni con Transcrime, il centro di ricerca interuniversitario su criminalità e innovazione, occupandosi di criminalità urbana, percezione dell’insicurezza, criminalità organizzata e crimini ambientali. Ha costruito il suo percorso tra l’Italia e l’estero, arricchendolo con esperienze di studio e ricerca in contesti internazionali e interdisciplinari. Ha una passione per i dati, soprattutto quando aiutano a comprendere meglio la realtà e le sue trasformazioni. Per lei, la ricerca criminologica non serve solo a contare i reati, ma è un modo per osservare da vicino la società, mettere in discussione le categorie con cui descriviamo la devianza e interrogarsi su come viviamo insieme. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Docente e progettista culturale, Luca Monti racconta il potere trasformativo degli eventi nati dalle comunità. Dal Festival Filosofia all’Expo, mostra come cultura e partecipazione possano rigenerare le città e rafforzare il senso di appartenenza urbana. Il professor Luca Monti è un esperto di comunicazione culturale e organizzazione di eventi, con una carriera che spazia tra accademia, media e cultura popolare. Laureato in Storia del Teatro, dal 2001 insegna presso l'Università Cattolica di Milano, dove coordina il Master in Eventi e Comunicazione per la Cultura. È fondatore di Trovafestival.it, portale che promuove eventi culturali in Italia, e giornalista accreditato al Festival di Sanremo dal 2014. Speaker di Radio Cantù, conduce “21 Gradi”, un programma che esplora la cultura e la comunicazione. Con la sua passione per la cultura come strumento di cambiamento, Luca Monti ispira nuovi modi di pensare e di connettersi con il mondo. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

La band veronese The Foolz racconta come la musica sia diventata rifugio, scelta e identità in una città che sembrava offrire poco. Tra garage, concerti e amicizie, parlano di arte, autenticità e del coraggio di seguire la propria follia creativa. Nati a Verona nel 2021, i The Foolz sono una giovane band che ha rapidamente guadagnato attenzione nel panorama musicale italiano. Con un'età media tra i 20 e i 22 anni, i membri del gruppo—Alessandro Agostini, Bruno Merci, Luca Frizzera, Luca Ghirlanda e Filippo Maggio—hanno unito le loro diverse influenze musicali per creare un sound unico che mescola rock, indie, pop, rap ed elettronica. Il loro primo EP, Giovani Ribelli, uscito il 14 marzo 2025, è un manifesto generazionale che esplora temi di vita quotidiana con energia e autenticità. La partecipazione a X Factor 2024, sotto la guida di Jake La Furia, ha segnato un punto di svolta nella loro carriera, grazie a esibizioni memorabili come l'inedito "Fuori dagli schemi" e una cover di "E la luna bussò" di Loredana Bertè. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

After traversing earthquake wreckage and tent cities to lead a collective documentation effort of Haiti’s recovery, journalist Arikia Millikan watched arbitrary corporate decisions destroy years of that vital work. This devastating loss sparked a revolutionary mission: to build a blockchain-based digital publishing system to earthquake-proof digital knowledge forever. Millikan exposes the shocking fragility of centralized publishing platforms, where 6% of all web pages vanish annually due to business and political decisions, then reveals her bold solution for unbreakable digital infrastructure: “internet rebar.” This powerful story follows one journalist’s journey from documenting human resilience in Haiti’s rubble to building technology that could fortify the future of journalism itself. Arikia Millikan is a journalist, technologist, and founder of CTRL+X, a blockchain-based publishing system designed to empower authors to preserve, distribute, and monetize their digital assets. Her career spans information architecture, editorial strategy and tech journalism; she was an editor at WIRED, where she managed Haiti Rewired, a platform documenting earthquake recovery efforts that served thousands of citizen journalists before being lost to platform failure. This experience sparked her mission to build resilient digital infrastructure using blockchain technology. Millikan has spoken at conferences including DEFCON and re:publica about digital memory preservation and the future of decentralized media. She studied engineering and psychology before transitioning to journalism, giving her a unique perspective on both the technical and editorial challenges facing modern publishing. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx