On Friday 1st June 2018, TEDx Glasgow welcomed thought-provoking, inspirational speakers, thinkers, and doers to their sixth annual event, where they explored the theme ‘Rethink…‘ at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow. We sent Medical Writer Ashley Davies and Account Director Sharan Kaur to expand their thinking, learn from motivational individuals and to catch our very own Dr Jack Kreindler share his thoughts on ‘Cancer. Crossing the incurable sea’. In this blog Ashley and Sharan outline their key takeaways from the day.

Are you both free to go to Glasgow at the end of the week?

For a TEDx?

Yes. Yes, we are…

In the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading”, TEDx events promise unparalleled access to the next generation of thinking: ideas worth doing. Plus, the events support independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.

It’s an approach to thought leadership that we pride ourselves on at Havas Lynx. Plus, our friend Dr Jack Kreindler was one of the speakers.

So, the chance to head up to Scotland for TEDx Glasgow was an absolute no-brainer for both of us.

Rethink…

At the SEC Armadillo (which does actually look like an armadillo), the TEDx Glasgow line-up featured many thought-provoking, inspirational speakers. Their talks covered a huge span and scale of topics, ranging from how to develop gluten-free bread that’s actually tasty, to how to map out the stars in the cosmos.

Despite the huge diversity in the speakers’ topics, they all shared one common theme: ‘Rethink…‘Each of the talks was focused on getting the listener to rethink a particular topic, changing their own thought process and expectations.

Some of our highlights included:

• Putting the “Public” in Public Institutions– Andy Haldaneshowed how we can improve public services, like the Bank of England, by listening to the public’s reality of how they experience them.
• Working well in the 21st century– Kirsty Wark showed how switching to a 4-day week could be beneficial for us, and asked us to consider what we would do with the 5^th day as a gift
• Understanding anger in an age of outrage – Darren McGarveyexamined the role anger and other potentially toxic emotions can play in undermining our wellbeing as well as our ability to bring about broader social change.

If you have chance, we insist that you watch these to hear about these ideas, as well as the other amazing speakers from the day.

Wayfinding in cancer

Our main highlight, as well as our reason for journeying up to TEDx in Glasgow, was hearing Dr Jack Kreindler give his talk, ‘Crossing the incurable sea’. Dr Jack’s talk was perfect for the day’s ‘Rethink…’ theme, explaining how explorers from days past who navigated across the sea to new horizons can inspire us and how we can apply this approach to cancer.

Our current model for investigating cancer outcomes is becoming outdated, particularly for clinical trial design, where we are unable to adjust the course of investigation no matter the outcome. Just like the explorers of the past, Jack explained how we can now learn how to better treat and eventually prevent such devastating diseases by adjusting and adapting our approach as we go.

We could harness developments like genomics, biomarkers and AI within adaptive clinical trials, use connectivity and creativity beyond the medical sphere as in engineering, technology and design.

This wayfinding approach means that our clients can offer more and more patients hope, as cancers that were previously ‘incurable’ could become ‘curable’ through improved access to investigational treatments.

Dr Jack is one of our key collaborators here at Havas Lynx – his approach to how we can rethink and reimagine cancer is allied to our own SWITCHED ONcology initiative. We are on the cusp of a revolution in cancer. We are all navigating the incurable sea, armed with our unique approach to creativity, science and tech, and searching for better outcomes for cancer.

Watch Dr Jack Kreindler’s ‘Cancer. Crossing the incurable sea’ here.