MELBOURNE, Australia — Gladys P. Mangiduyos, Vice President for Administration and Planning of Wesleyan University-Philippines and a leading advocate of critical thinking, stood on the TEDxKew stage at Doncaster Playhouse in Melbourne, Australia, during a six-day in-person speaking intensive organized by 100 Speakers and led by international speaker and coach Kaley Chu.The week-long program, held in Doncaster, Melbourne, brought together speakers, coaches, and changemakers for a series of high-impact learning and performance events designed to sharpen stage presence, message clarity, confidence, and public communication skills.

The training opened on Monday and Tuesday with Rock the Stage, an intensive stagecraft experience where speakers practiced delivering their messages before a live audience. On Wednesday and Thursday, participants filmed professional showreels and TV-style interviews, allowing them to refine both their spoken message and on-camera presence.

A special VIP dinner was also held on Wednesday evening at the Melbourne Aquarium, where participants shared an extraordinary evening dining beside sharks and turtles. More than the venue, however, the night became a celebration of deep connection, kindness, and the supportive community built throughout the program.

The highlight of the week came on Friday, June 26, when Mangiduyos became one of the selected finalist speakers to stand on the iconic red dot at TEDxKew 2026, held at Doncaster Playhouse. TEDxKew carried the theme “Think Again,” inviting speakers and audiences to challenge assumptions, re-examine accepted narratives, and open themselves to new ways of seeing the world.

At the intimate 101-seat Doncaster Playhouse, a black box theatre in Manningham known for bringing creative ideas to life, Mangiduyos delivered her message anchored on her advocacy, “When the Heart Chooses A Brighter Color.” Her participation marked a significant milestone in her year-long journey of personal and professional development through 100 Speakers.

Throughout the week, Mangiduyos delivered three different speeches, each reflecting her continuing mission to make critical thinking accessible, practical, and deeply human.

Her week culminated on Saturday evening during the International Speakers Excellence Awards Gala Dinner held in Manningham, where she was recognized as one of the 100 Excellent Speakers. She was also named one of the six finalists for the Community Impact Award and was ultimately chosen as the winner.
In her acceptance speech, Mangiduyos expressed deep gratitude and humility.

“I never imagined standing on this stage receiving this prestigious award,” she said. She thanked everyone who had “held her hands” and helped shape her into the person, speaker, and advocate she is today.

Mangiduyos has been actively advancing critical thinking through various platforms in the Philippines and abroad. At Wesleyan University-Philippines, she has led Critical Thinking Convocations across disciplines, helping students, faculty, and personnel recognize critical thinking not merely as an academic skill, but as a way of living with clarity, responsibility, and wisdom.

She also hosts a podcast on critical thinking and has been invited to speak in youth camps, workshops, church gatherings, and academic spaces. In these engagements, she emphasizes critical thinking as an inherent gift from God, one that enables people to pause, examine, discern, and choose with courage and compassion.

Mangiduyos is also looking forward to the launch of her “Hands That Think” training-workshop on July 2, 2026 for all staff members of Wesleyan University-Philippines. The program will be conducted over seven Thursdays and is designed to empower the hands that keep the university moving—the staff, workers, and personnel whose daily work sustains the institution’s life, service, and mission.

Through this initiative, Mangiduyos hopes to cultivate criticality, accountability, work ethics, and a deeper sense of purpose among university personnel, affirming that every hand that serves also has the power to think, discern, and contribute meaningfully to the growth of the university community.
For Mangiduyos, critical thinking is more than a subject. It is a mission, a calling, and a movement.

“Critical thinking gives us the power to think clearly, live wisely, and choose bravely in an age of noise,” Mangiduyos said.
Her TEDxKew journey in Melbourne and her Community Impact Award stand as powerful affirmations of a message she continues to carry: that in a noisy world, clarity is not only possible—it is necessary.

Article courtesy of OVPAP
Photos courtesy of Gladys P. Mangiduyos, Jeff Mesina, Mark Dultra, Kaley Chu, and Ron Hashiro