Flowers grow bigger and brighter in prison | Adelle Sefton-Rowston | TEDxCharles Darwin University
Prison is one of the last places you'll find kindness. It takes form in compliments, in the sunflowers growing in the yard, and in using berries as rouge. These are true stories about how kindness is a form of protest, a way to retain your humanity within these soulless walls.In this talk, Associate Professor Adelle Sefton-Rowston captures the experiences of refusal, beauty, and kindness in prisons to demonstrate a new justice model. She says tackling recidivism requires new ways of thinking about rehabilitation that fosters a duty of care model focused on human rights, wellbeing, second chance employment, housing, and education.TEDxCharles Darwin University was held by @charlesdarwinunint on August 9, 2025.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 Adelle Sefton-Rowston is the Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Arts and Society at CDU. Her research focuses on prison arts education and the cultural contributions system-impacted creatives make to culture and justice reform. She also lecturers in literary studies and supervises postgraduate students. 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
More from TED
- 13:08Pixels to podiums, Racing beyond the screen | Ghaith Abuta'a | TEDxKhildaIn his TEDxKhilda talk, Ghaith Abuta’a reveals how simulators became the starting point of his journey to becoming a TGR and DFR drift athlete. He also shares the vital role his brother’s support played along the way, highlighting how passion, persistence, and encouragement can turn dreams into reality. Ghaith AbuTa’a is a professional drift athlete and simracer from Jordan, representing Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan and Desert Fox Racing. A four-time Jordan E-Motorsports Champion and TGRMenaCup 2023 Vice Champion, Ghaith combines precision, skill, and passion to push the limits of motorsports both on real tracks and in virtual racing. His journey reflects dedication, innovation, and the drive to inspire the next generation of athletes in motorsports. 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
- 13:27Wrong Turn, Right Place | Adarsh Mandyan | TEDxSMS YouthWhat if Samsara wasn’t just the grand cosmic cycle of birth and rebirth but also the subtle, almost invisible loops of everyday life in between ? What if the detours, delays, and disruptions we resist the most are actually part of a rhythm far bigger than our understanding in the moment… In this deeply personal and thought-provoking talk, Adarsh Mandhyan takes us on a journey through the microcosm of Samsara. Zooming in beyond life and death, he will explore the theme of Samsara as the cycle of patterns, synchronicities, and so-called “canon events” that, while often uncomfortable in the beginning, ultimately push us toward growth. Rooted in a chapter of his own life that began with resistance and unfolded into something transformative, Adarsh offers a new way of seeing change, discomfort, and direction. This talk is for anyone who’s ever wondered whether life is unfolding as it should. Without claiming to have all the answers, Adarsh simply asks: what if the path you’re on, even the parts that don’t make sense yet is exactly the one meant for you? Adarsh Mandhyan is a grade 12th student at Sharada Mandir HSS, who has always been curious about the deeper ‘whys’ behind life’s unexpected turns. His hunger to understand the world, fuelled by his curiosity, has not only helped him excel academically, but has also shaped his creative journey with two independent short films to his name and a heart full of cinema, along with a strong inclination towards the field of social sciences. Adarsh believes in the power of stories, both lived and told. Today he is here to share a story for you to live about unexpected changes in his life which challenged his perceptions on destiny, change, resistance and growth. In this talk, inspired by his own journey, Adarsh explores ‘Samsara’ not as a distant spiritual concept, but as the loop of events that quietly lead us to who we’re meant to become. 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
