Ideas worth sharing - here, in Yarram.
A day of ideas, stories, and connection brought to life in the heart of Gippsland.
Saturday, 17 October 2026 · 9am–5pm
The Regent Theatre, Yarram
The Event
On 17 October 2026, Yarram hosts its first-ever TEDx event. Set inside the beloved Art Deco Regent Theatre - a community landmark since 1930 - TEDxYarram brings together thinkers, makers, and storytellers from across the region and beyond for a day built around ideas worth spreading. Expect big ideas delivered in short, sharp talks. The kind that stay with you on the drive (or walk) home.
About TEDx
TED is a nonprofit dedicated to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. TEDx events are independently organised local events that bring the spirit of TED to communities around the world. TEDxYarram is organised under a free licence from TED - run by locals, for the region - with the same high standards that have made TED one of the most trusted idea platforms on the planet. The x in TEDx stands for independently organised. The ideas are entirely our own.
Speakers
Rochelle Carmichael
Rochelle Carmichael is a Melbourne-based, multi-award-winning physical theatre director and contemporary dance choreographer, and artistic director of Liquid Skin Dance Theatre, which she has led since 1996. A former dancer with Meryl Tankard Dance Theatre, she also runs the Yarram Wearable Art Festival.Zaida Glibanovic
Zaida Glibanovic is a Gippsland local and radio producer with ABC Gippsland, having started as a journalist at the Latrobe Valley Express. She holds a degree in International Relations and is passionate about storytelling and community.Amy Han
Amy Han is a Melbourne-based author and founder of creative writing studio Words of a Feather. She has published seven books of fiction, memoir and personal essays, including her latest, A Field of Stars, a memoir of walking the Camino de Santiago.Josie Hess
Josie Hess is a writer/director from Gunaikurnai Land working across documentary and narrative film. Their debut feature documentary Morgana premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival and won Best Independent Documentary at the Gold Coast Film Awards. Recent work includes ABC's After the Smoke.Ash Layton
Ash Layton is a Senior Associate at Palladium International, a global development advisory firm, working on sustainable development programs across the Asia-Pacific region. Her writing has covered women's entrepreneurship in Vietnam and water access in Papua New Guinea, published in The Catalyst.Esther Lloyd
Esther Lloyd is a Morwell-based science communicator with a science background in ecology and environmental management alongside a journalism degree. She works with the Seed Lakeside Community Garden and previously with the Gippsland Climate Change Network.Doug Moczynski
Doug Moczynski runs Gippsland Adventure Therapy, an outdoor mental health service based in the region. His work uses the outdoors — adventure, movement, connection to place — as a therapeutic tool, reflecting a hands-on, lived-experience approach to rural mental health support.Jenna Murphy
Jenna Murphy is a year eleven student at Yarram Secondary College. She is a keen equestrienne and budding physiotherapist researching the impact of head injuries in youth sports.Lena Nabizada
Lena Nabizada is an Afghan-Australian youth advocate and founder of Strive Connecting, a youth-led initiative tackling racism and building inclusion. She sits on the Children and Youth Climate Alliance and has represented Australian youth internationally across Southeast Asia.Josephine Okurame
Josephine Okurame is a Lecturer in Research at the University of Queensland, working across health research, education equity and the ethical use of AI. She focuses on improving access and outcomes for students from underserved and rural backgrounds.John Pabon
John Pabon is a Melbourne-based sustainability author and consultant known as Australia's leading independent voice on greenwashing. Over a 20-year career he's advised the United Nations, McKinsey and Nielsen, and written three books including Sustainability for the Rest of Us.Himal Pillay
Himal Pillay is a Melbourne-based speaker and founder of Realign, helping build resilient, high-performing teams. With a postgraduate degree in psychology, he speaks on stress management, resilience and leadership, and has presented to over 100,000 people in person and online.Kat Rae
Kat Rae is a retired Lieutenant Colonel and visual artist who served 20 years in the Australian Army, including two Afghanistan deployments. After retiring in 2019 she studied Fine Arts at RMIT, winning the Australian War Memorial's Napier Waller Art Prize for her work on war and memory.Thomas Sartor
Thomas Sartor is an international speaker and event director for the Hero Round Table conference series, and Secretary of the Heroic Imagination Project. A former paving company owner in Detroit, a back injury redirected his path into studying everyday heroism.Shane Ting
Shane Ting is a keynote speaker and storyteller who turns setbacks into momentum. A teenage back injury ended his Olympic swimming ambitions; he rebuilt through storytelling, growing an online following of 180,000 before bringing his message of courage to the TEDx stage.Oscar Wilkins
Oscar Wilkins is a Gippsland Grammar student with wide-ranging expertise. A musician, athlete, academic, and leader, he participates fully in the world around him.
Sponsors
Major Partner
Supporting Partners
Media Partner
Contact
If you'd like to be involved in the Event Team or become a Sponsor, please get in touch.
TEDxYarram · 17 October 2026 · Yarram VIC
This event is independently organised by Matt Langdon under licence from TED. TEDxYarram is held on the land of the Gunaikurnai people, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging.