at TEDx Athens

Whilst all the speakers at the event had something important to say, the following three resonated with us the most.

DAPHNE MAGGIARAKI

Inspiration comes from within  

Daphne Maggiaraki is an award winning documentary film-maker who gave an inspiring talk about her short film ‘4.1 Miles’. This documentary is a record of the operations of the port authorities of the island of Lesbos to save thousands of refugees trying to reach the coast of the Greek island from Turkey during the European migrant crisis. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short category earlier this year and although emotional, ‘4.1 Miles’ is worth the watch for its portrayal of basic human emotions of solidarity in the face of fear and desperation.

KATERINA ANGHELAKI-ROOKE

“I paid a heavy price when I was born, but after that everything fell into place”

Poet and translator Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke is one of the most inspiring Greek literary figures. As the god-daughter of Nikos Kazantzakis, one of the most well-known Greek writers, it was by his- side when at the age of 17, she published her first poem called “Monaxia”. Since then, she has published 18 books and her most recent prose titled ‘Soliloquy of Loneliness” came out at the end of last year. At the event, Katerina read one of her poems titled ‘The blessing of deficiency’ to which the audience responded emotionally with endless show of appreciation.

The blessing of deficiency

I am grateful to what I lack.

What I lack protects me

from what I'll lose;

all my abilities

that dried up in the abandoned field of life

protect me from movements into the void

useless, pointless.

What I lack teaches me;

what I have left

disorientates me

because it projects images from the past

as if they were promises for the future.

I can't, I don't dare

even a passing by angel

to imagine because I descend

on another planet, with no angels.

Love, from pure desire

became a good friend;

together we taste the sadness of Time.

Please deprive me – I beg the Unknown -

deprive me even more

so that I can survive.

OLLY HICKS

Passion and motivation

Olly Hicks is a maritime explorer, adventurer and a motivational speaker. So far, he has already spent 2.5% of his life alone at sea (a figure he hopes will go up) as the youngest person to row an ocean alone and the only person to row single-handed from America to England. At TEDx Athens, Olly talked about living a life with no bounties and no fear whilst pushing one’s capabilities to the edge.