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Meet The 5 Speakers Of The TEDxUniversityofMalta 2018 Conference

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The annual TEDxUniversityofMalta conference is coming back to the island this Friday, and it’s time to meet the five speakers of the 2018 edition, Shift.

Always perfectly poised to comment on life’s constant whirlwind ups and downs, the conference will this year be focusing on what it aptly calls ‘the shift’; society’s power to change swiftly along with its inhabitants and their communities. “We are now starting to question whether the contemporary realities we’ve created are starting to break free from our hold,” the conference organisers posited, and while that might sound like a very worrying prospect, it’s also a fascinating one. Who will rise to command the new nature of society’s shift, and what exciting new times await ahead?

Curiosity was always a core characteristic of these conference. Last year’s edition was in fact called Curating Curiosity, and it is that very same curiosity that awaits attendees this Friday. “Curious as to whether we can embrace the ever-changing reality of our existence without losing our identity in the process, we are pleased to invite you to the third edition of the conference” the organisers said. 

And here are the five speakers taking you on this voyage of curiosity.

1. Lara Dimitrijevic

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Ten years ago, Lara graduated as Doctor of Laws, specialising in the field of family law and human rights.

Ten years later, Dr. Dimitrijevic is the founder and director of Women’s Right Foundation, actively advocating for women’s rights. She’s also the representative on the European Women’s Lobby Observatory of Violence Against Women on behalf of Malta Confederation of Women Organisations and a member of the Commission of Domestic Violence (Malta). 

This Friday, Lara will be taking on choices, specifically women’s, no doubt using her vast experience to weigh in on this heavy subject.

2. Ruben Cauchi

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A gene-hunting scientist who learnt from the very best – London, Oxford and Cambridge – Ruben is leading a group of scientists at the University of Malta on a journey that might have essential implications for how we treat some of the world’s most popular and devastating maladies, particularly neurological ones.

Of all the places one would expect to find this, Ruben is looking for an answer in fruit flies. The tiny insects, whose DNA is surprisingly close to humans, have a wealth of information just waiting to be discovered within their genes. And Ruben believes that exploring their genetic nature (especially the more weird and wonderful aspects like their ability to avoid swatting) can help us treat neurological maladies like ALS. 

Ruben will be discussing fruit flies, ALS and more this Friday.

3. Sean Buhagiar

A professional artistic director, creative producer and theatre-maker based in Malta, Sean researched creativity in performance in Malta, Rome, Paris and Poland.

Active in the local theatre scene for the last decade, Sean was presented the Outstanding Young Persons Award for cultural achievement by the Junior Chamber International back in 2015. Nowadays, he’s the artistic director of Notte Bianca and Teatru Malta. 

This Friday, Sean will be attempting to answer one intriguing question, “Why does theatre make life in Malta slightly better than good?”

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4. Abdalla Kablan

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Serial entrepreneur and Fintech expert Dr. Kablan specialises in merging artificial intelligence with financial systems. He’s founded a number of startups, specialising in everything from deep learning to professional matchmaking.

It’s this wealth of experience – along with his having carried out PhD studies on the bitcoin algorithms now known as blockchain nearly 10 years ago – that have led Dr. Kablan to become an advisor to the Maltese Government on various matters like utilisation of technology, Blockchain… and Fintech, of course.

Bringing all of that expertise to the table, Dr. Kablan will be taking attendees down a road filled with interesting prospects for the future thanks to artificial intelligence.

5. Sam Debattista

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A 21-year-old student in her final year at the University of Malta, Sam has long been a proponent of change. Now using her own tough life experiences to push for the legalisation of euthanasia, Sam’s philosophy is that life is about the quality of life you live, and not the number of years you have.

Determined to continue voicing the needs of those who cannot fight for their rights till her last breath, Sam will be delivering a talk on measuring life qualitatively, not quantitively. And if that’s not the perfect embodiment of the shift that society has had to endure in recent times, then we don’t know what is.

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TEDxUniversityofMalta’s Shift will be held this Friday the 6th of April at the Valletta Campus of the University of Malta, and tickets are available right now, right here. In the meantime, you can get even more information on the official Facebook event page.

Tag someone who’d love to attend this year’s conference!

READ NEXT: 6 Motivational Quotes From This Year’s TEDxUniversityofMalta 2017 Conference

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).

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