Norberto Amaral

Atheist, Brainstormer, Business mentor, Concerned citizen, Connector, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Event planner, Global soul, Idea generator, Parent, Photographer, Project manager, World traveler

TED: - I am the licensee, organizer, curator and host of TEDxPorto, in Portugal. - TEDxPorto has had nine yearly editions, one TEDxPortoWomen, three Salons and several livecasts from TED and TEDGlobal. - I went to TEDActive in 2012 and 2014, TEDSummit in 2016 and 2019 and TEDFest@NYC in 2017. WORK - I recently launched CULTIV, a consultancy on Communication, Event Organization, Creativity and Innovation, helping company executives have the power to persuade and lead from the stage. - In October 2016 co-founded Shelf.AI, a voice and AI-powered e-commerce hub for grocery retailers. - I was a Technologies Specialist at Sonae, a major retail company in Portugal. - Before that, also at Sonae, I was an Innovation Manager and conduct brainstorming sessions, help to create a creative climate among employees, help put together a yearly innovation book, manage the company's yearly innovation prizes, among many other things - Before this, and still at Sonae, I was an IT project manager, having helped to create some very interesting and distinctive marketing systems for point-of-sale promotions. - Even before that I used to be a programmer at Fidelity Investments International (UK), then project manager. I excelled in Interactive Voice Response systems, both with touch-tones and speech recognition. TOASTMASTERS: - Currently (2020-2021) Administration Manager of the core team of District 107 (Iberia) - Distinguished Toastmaster since November 2017 - Director of Division L (Portugal and Galicia) from July 1st 2016 to June 30th 2017 EDUCATION: - I graduated from the University of Aveiro, Portugal, with Physics Engineering. I spent the last year in the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, with a project whose aim was to nullify the Earth's magnetic field in a small volume using Helmholtz coils. - I am a keen learner and have attended many different training sessions on many different subjects, mainly for professional reasons.

Spreading science and critical thinking; making the difference. Learning, books, travelling, photography, ideas, cinema, music. Innovation: new concepts, new ideas, brainstorming.

Brainstorming, Communication, Consultant, Event organizer, Innovation Management, Leadership, office spaces, Project Management - IT, Public Speaking, speaker coaching, Strategic workshops, Technology - Retail, Translation

I had been following TED talks on the internet since 2006 and then I met a co-worker to whom I didn't speak very much who said she was part of TEDxOporto's organizing team. I immediately knew I wanted to take part! Very soon I got into the team that organized TEDxOporto in 2011 - it was a fantastic day, one that really made the difference for many people. I made good friends and it totally changed my life since. I lead the team since the 2012 edition.