Ziya Tong

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• Business Unusual: Adapting Your Business to the Climate Crisis

  Award-winning author, host, and internationally recognized environmental expert Ziya Tong offers a cage-rattling talk for leaders on how to rethink, reshape, and retool their businesses while responsibly flourishing in the years ahead.

  Known for her “doom and bloom” approach, Tong shares her wealth of scientific knowledge to give us a state-of-the-planet report, while offering solid and grounded solutions on how businesses can adapt, transform, and become a leading champion for change.

• The Nature of Leadership

  Human beings are not the only animals with leaders and followers. Many other species —from ants, to pigeons, to water buffalo — have leaders within their groups as well. Ziya Tong takes a fun and informative look at some of the most successful traits that have evolved in other species. In the process, we’ll see how lessons from the animal kingdom can shape human behaviour so that we can become better leaders ourselves.

• Visions of Reality

  From virtual reality to the Internet of Things, technology is shifting our perception and our ability to communicate at an astonishing rate. And while we are the only species able fly at the speed of sound and communicate at the speed of light, technology also puts limits on our freedoms as well.

  In this talk, Ziya Tong shows how we often fall prey to the “dazzle” of new tech, without deeply considering the ramifications of technology and infrastructure. Every technology works within the service of power. From spy satellites to facial recognition technology, Tong lifts the veil on who these new technologies are serving.

• What Are Our Blind Spots?

  Bestselling author of The Reality Bubble, Ziya Tong shows how our limited human senses give us a warped perspective of reality. As a society, Tong argues, we operate with blinders on. As she notes, in the 21st century, there are cameras everywhere, except where our food comes from, our energy comes from, and where our waste goes. By examining ten of humanity’s biggest blind spots Tong puts a spotlight on how our species’ industrialized life support system has come to jeopardize life on earth itself.

• The Big Blue: Adventures of a Science Communicator

  Award-winning host Ziya Tong has served as a host and producer on four science shows. In this talk, she shares clips from her work in the field, and talks about how she transformed a hobby — diving — into an integral part of her career. From tagging beluga whales in the Arctic to swimming with giant hammerhead sharks, she shines a light on critical habitats and offers a close-up look at what is happening to the marine environment.

• Doom and Bloom: Envisioning a Better World

  Are we doomed? Activist and author Ziya Tong argues that we are not. At least, not yet. From the latest science to the most innovative technologies, Tong shows us that there is a way out of the environmental crisis we face. She argues that in the past, humanity faced much greater perils and we always have found ways to unite and stand up to the challenge. This uplifting talk will ground the audience with courage, a new vision, and the knowledge that we do have the capacity and power to turn things around.

• Host and Emcee