A European parliament member, shark meat campaigner and the man behind Surbiton’s Seething Wells community group all passed on words of wisdom in a series of inspirational Tedx talks.

Surrey Comet:

Robin Hutchinson presents his talk on his work for Seething Wells

Fifteen speakers gathered at Kingston University to discuss the themes of “innovation, empowerment and inspiration” in the first ever TEDx Kingston talks on Saturday.

TEDx Kingston chairman Nicholas Rogers said: “I wanted to combat the stereotype of Kingston and Surbiton as a middle class commuter town and show what it really has to offer.”

MEP Syed Kamall, who lives in Surbiton, hosted a talk on ambition titled ‘knocking the ‘T’ off can’t’. Mr Kamall is now the most senior elected British politician in Brussels.

Meanwhile Graham Buckingham from Kingston, founder of marine based conservation charity Bite Back, told of his efforts to stop the sale of shark meat across the world.

Mr Rogers said: “Syed came from so little, it’s extremely impressive how much he has achieved.

“What [Mr Buckingham] has found out about marine life treatment is gobsmacking, it was a complete wake up call.

“There are a broad mix of backgrounds, all of the speakers were amazing.”

Surrey Comet:

Graham Buckingham scuba diving

Kingston MEB Robin Hutchinson’s talk, entitled ‘Lessons of a Goat Boy’, centred on his experiences in founding the Surbiton Seething Wells group and what residents can do to improve in their community.

He has organised multiple events in Surbiton over the last six years, such as Surbiton Ski Sunday and the Freshwater Sardine Festival.

Other speakers included Michiel Hoefsmit, Edward Relf, Hannah Catherine Jones, Sarah Holding, Fiona Quinn, Dr David Randall, Mark Stenhoff, Dr Andy Pardoe, Marta Troya Garcia, Christine Cheng and Dr Marina Lambrou.