What if your biggest failure could become the foundation for your greatest success? In this deeply personal and powerful talk, Karlene Agard shares how she transformed academic disappointment into a thriving international career. Blending emotional intelligence with lessons from managing multi-billion pound projects, she introduces a practical framework for what she calls emotional risk management pausing for perspective, planning with heart and head, and pursuing your goals with persistence. Whether you’re recovering from a setback or trying to reframe your story, this talk is your roadmap for bouncing back stronger. How do you bounce back from failure? Karlene Agard, a celebrated risk and value consultant who has worked on global megaprojects, believes the answer lies in managing emotional risk. An internationally recognised speaker who’s written for Forbes, McKinsey and Entrepreneur, Karlene's journey from Teacher’s Pet to academic disappointment to professional triumph is nothing short of inspiring.At TEDxLancasterU, Karlene will reveal the crucial connection between resilience and risk management. Drawing from personal setbacks and her expertise, she offers simple yet transformative questions to help reframe failure and move forward. Curious about the tools that shaped her success? You’ll have to hear her story live.This talk is more than advice—it’s a moment of discovery for anyone ready to turn failure into a stepping stone for sustainable greatness. 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

Can a garden grow more than just vegetables? What if it could grow collaboration, connection and even culture?In this moving and insightful talk, a university gardener-turned-leader shares how an old barn and a few beds of soil transformed into a thriving community one where people formed friendships, built startups, shared values, and healed together. Reflecting on history, student life, and the instinctual human need to co-create, this talk invites us to rethink what makes teams truly work and how gardens might just be the missing piece. Emilio Garcia Padron is a social entrepreneur and community garden advocate, whose journey has intertwined the cultivation of green spaces with the fostering of innovation and team synergy. At 18, he became president of Edible Campus, a society responsible for maintaining an expansive community farm at Lancaster University. Under his leadership, the society grew into the third-largest at the university, receiving the prestigious LUSU Sustainability Award.Through his experiences, Emilio has demonstrated the untapped potential of gardens, proving that they are not just spaces for reflection, but powerful ecosystems for nurturing creativity, collaboration, and sustainable change. His TEDx talk, “Over the Garden Wall: The Importance of Touching Grass,” aims to spread the idea that green spaces are vital for fostering team culture, innovation, and personal growth, offering a fresh perspective on how to make a positive impact in a fast-paced world. 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

What if the plastic problem could fund jobs, power communities, and fight climate change, all at once?In this insightful talk, systems engineer and technologist Ethar Alali rethinks our approach to plastic waste. Drawing parallels to the early Internet, he proposes a bold new model: circular microeconomies that are decentralised, community led clusters that transform waste into value with technology and local insight. The result? Lower emissions, stronger communities, and scalable environmental resilience. This isn’t science fiction. It’s already happening and it might just be the plastic silver bullet we’ve been looking for. Ethar Alali, a seasoned technologist, mathematician, and serial entrepreneur, is on a mission to answer that question. As the founder of ReallyRecycle, a sustainability driven venture that redefines clean tech, Ethar is building decentralised solutions to address one of the planet's most pressing challenges: plastic waste. With a no-nonsense respect for science and a fearless disregard for tradition, Ethar has dedicated his career to transformative innovation. His expertise spans social accounting, helical economy design, and engineering decentralised care equipment factories.At TEDxLancasterU, he’ll unveil how small-scale, sustainable economic models can be the key to reducing plastic waste while empowering communities worldwide.What does “true sustainability” look like, and why isn’t B Corp certification enough? Ethar’s thought-provoking insights are set to challenge conventions and inspire change. 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

Maria Kożuchowska shares how the relentless drive of a shark mirrors the power of knowing your "why." Through stories of transformation, she reveals how staying connected to your purpose builds resilience, courage, and a more meaningful life. A VR/XR and Metaverse expert, a pioneer of innovation in Central and Eastern Europe, and a passionate advocate for transformation- both in technology and personal growth. She implements HTC VIVE solutions across industries, bridging the gap between cutting-edge advancements and real-world applications.With a background in sales, coaching, and finance, she combines business acumen with a deep curiosity about human potential. A lifelong sports enthusiast and traveler, she constantly seeks new challenges- both in the virtual and real world.At TEDxWUT – POWER OF WHY, she will explore the motivation behind change, personal awakening, and the relentless hunger for tomorrow- a force that drives innovation, self-development, and the courage to transform. 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

What if the most important question you could ask is just one word: Why? Ayomide Ojo takes us on a journey through history and personal experience to show how discovering your "why" gives meaning, clarity, and direction to everything you do. This talk is a powerful reminder that purpose isn’t something we find—it’s something we create. Ayomide OJO is a Business Operations Analyst at Amazon with a strong passion for data, research, and problem-solving related projects. He was awarded the NAWA scholarship to pursue his Master’s degree in Environmental Protection Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology, where his outstanding academic performance also earned him the Rector’s Scholarship Award for Excellence. He graduated as one of the top students in his faculty and continues to embrace learning and innovation in both his professional and academic pursuits. With aspirations to further his studies at the PhD level, he is deeply committed to continuous growth and making an impact through knowledge and curiosity. 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

In a world where everyone’s trying to be someone, what’s the cost of losing ourselves? With over 8 million followers, Soft Raziqaa explores self-awareness and personal branding in the age of algorithms — where being real is the boldest rebellion. Raziqaa Paneewong is a content creator, branding consultant and CEO. She graduated from Assumption University in 2016.She first started her YouTube career a little bit over 10 years ago. During that time, not a lot of people knew what a YouTuber was. So she faced a lot of challenges, dealing with negative comments. However, she stayed true to her passion since she knew this career was exactly what she wanted.From a young age, Raziqaa has always been excited in communicating with people and participated in a lot of extracurricular activities, such as joining the scout team, singing, dancing and performing. Although she wasn’t sure about which career path to pursue, she was sure about one thing. She didn’t want a normal conventional career. And she also knew that she enjoys communicating with others. So, even though YouTube and the Internet wasn’t that popular back then, she started recording herself and started posting videos. 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