Against All Odds... | Tan Cheng Voon | TEDxUniversiti Brunei Darussalam

Quick Overview

Tan Cheng Voon tells the story of overcoming societal and familial expectations, rooted in her traditional Bruneian heritage, to pursue a successful career and modern identity, ultimately realizing that integrating heritage and modernity through personal integrity, authenticity, mindfulness, and resilience leads to sustainability.

Key Points: Tan Cheng Voon was born into a home steeped in tradition and superstition, where her grandmother believed a baby girl with large eyes and a dismissive air was an 'ugly baby' to be thrown away. Despite her mother's adherence to traditional gender roles—believing women should not have careers if it shamed their husbands—Tan pursued higher education, obtaining a Master's degree against expectations. She refused to be limited by her upbringing, deciding to stand on her own two feet rather than being defined by traditional roles or solely by her husband. Her career path included working in Brunei's palaces and later as a Human Resources Director at a five-star international hotel, culminating in becoming the first non-French Commercial Attaché in Brunei. She cites her heritage as providing the backbone of integrity, hard work, commitment, and resilience, which she now applies to modern life and her role as a mother. Tan advocates for bridging heritage and modernity to achieve sustainability, summarized by the acronym I.A.M.E. (Integrity, Authentic, Modern, Mindfully, Evolving). She concludes that true self-realization comes from embracing both tradition and modernity to build a caring society, quoting Descartes: "Je pense, donc je suis" ("I think, therefore I am").

Context: This TEDx talk, titled 'Against all odds...', features Tan Cheng Voon sharing her personal journey of navigating cultural traditions, familial constraints, and gender expectations within her Bruneian context. She recounts growing up in a household deeply influenced by strong traditions and superstitions, which often conflicted with her aspirations for an independent, modern career, eventually leading her to forge a path that integrates both her heritage and her modern achievements.