About TEDx

x = independently organized event

About TEDx Railway Village

TEDx Railway Village is operated by the Lines Of Connection CIC [Community Interest Company].

Robert Jandy is Chair of Soumik Datta Arts and Swindon 105.5 Community Radio, and the founding licensee of TEDx Railway Village. He has held senior leadership roles in the Ministry of Defence and NATO, bringing strategic and organisational expertise to his cultural work. Alongside his governance roles, Robert is an actor and international voice artist, developing original stage and screen projects that connect performance with heritage and civic imagination.

The Town Hall Studio and Its Railway Village Connection

Swindon Dance occupies the former Swindon Town Hall on Regent Circus — a Grade II listed building (1891) designed by Brightwen Binyon. Originally built as the civic showpiece of “New Swindon,” the Town Hall later housed the magistrates’ court and the Swindon Reference Library before being repurposed as dance studios and a cultural hub. Today it is home to a nationally recognised dance agency that nurtures talent and delivers community programmes locally, nationally, and internationally.

Why it matters to the Railway Village

The Town Hall was deliberately positioned halfway between the Railway Village and Old Town, serving as a landmark and civic bridge between the two Swindons. It symbolised the integration of the railway workers’ community into the broader civic life of the town.

That bridging role continues culturally: Swindon Dance provides accessible classes, professional pathways, and festivals right on the edge of the Railway Village conservation area. In doing so, it echoes the Great Western Railway tradition of welfare and cultural provision seen in the Mechanics’ Institute, the Health Hydro, and the GWR Medical Fund.

Swindon Historic Town Hall Studios

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of discovering and spreading ideas, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. 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.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.

TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through the Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED’s many programs and initiatives.

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