Look Who it Was Random video

Sharing Our Communities' Stories - Philippa Tipper at TEDxMiltonKeynes

967 views · Published 12 October 2012 · 15:03 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2012 · Nonprofits & Activism

Watch on YouTube

Philippa Tipper: "People have conversations that make connections that create communities.
And we don't just belong to one community. We each participate in a variety of communities -- and have many stories that can be shared across those communities.
Stories are powerful. They can empower, embitter, enlighten and inform. They can build fear, break down barriers and can tell of shared experiences to shine a light into the future. They can connect us with different ways of being, of seeing things from a fresh perspective.
Some people travel the world for inspiration, it's good to look further a field, not get bogged down in the mire of petty local politics, to see that there is more out there in the world than your disputatious neighbour.
However, the wider world is not always a thousand miles away. We live in an extraordinary web of cultural life right here, right now. But you have to be prepared to step out of your door, or move off your chair, and have conversations with people that you had never before considered to be part of your community. 
It's all about listening, hearing, sharing. Let me tell you a story."

Philippa loves a good story and as a gossip enjoys passing on the tales to others. From an apprenticeship in community arts creating a sense of place and being in the new city of Milton Keynes, to working with central government developing a White Paper Story Survival Kit for the Department of Trade and Industry -  listening to people's stories and experiences and finding ways of presenting them that is meaningful, honest and entertaining is what drives her. 

Performer, trainer, facilitator Philippa's talents have taken her from television's 'The Tweenies',  to Treasury/RBS funded Open Space events on local enterprise. As a director of A Word in Edgeways the storytelling work developed with businesses and in the voluntary sector has created a resource that can be shared with the wider community.
Working with stories and metaphors gives people an opportunity to comment upon their personal lives and experiences, their work, organisational structures and communication issues at a distance, without identifying individuals and by creating a common language to explore shared experiences in a safe and enjoyable situation.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

More from this channel