Independent TED talk aims to turn tradition “Inside Out”
On Saturday, Nov. 23, Rozanski Hall will play host to TEDxGuelphU – Inside Out, an independently organized franchise of the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference that gathers speakers from a wide variety of disciplines.
The aim of the conference, says TEDx Marketing Coordinator Emily Rick, is to invite some of the community’s most prolific minds to discuss their interesting and unique ideas, and utilize the university’s young, energetic student body as a breeding ground for “ideas worth spreading.”
TED talks are far from new, with the first event, which at the time was intended as a one-off conference, taking place in 1984. Six years later in 1990, the annual conference was implemented in Monterey, California. After almost twenty years, TED began licensing out their franchise to independent third parties so that they might hold their own informational conferences. Thus TEDx was born.
Rick added that the licensing agreement comes with certain guidelines as to how the event must be structured, the number of people allowed to attend, as well as copyright and logo requirements.
“The speakers we have coming out are all people who have life experience behind their ideas,” Rick said, “and it’s these experiences that have allowed them to form their opinions and the unique ideas and strategies they will be discussing.”
“Initially there are about 50 speakers invited; that list is then scrutinized and has been narrowed down to the nine presenters that will talk on Saturday,” Rick continued. “We also really want it to be a small-town feel, so there is an application process for attendees, out of which 100 people are selected.”
TEDxGuelphU – Inside Out marks the fifth annual TEDx event here on campus and also the first year that its founder, Jaclyn Quinn, has not been involved in the planning. In her stead, University of Guelph student Chris Pond has taken over the organization.
The speakers for this Saturday include Dr. Gard Otis, a world-renowned entomologist and expert on honeybees, and Dr. Dan Ashlock, a prize-winning mathematics professor. Both are staff at the U of G. Others speakers include writers, philosophers, artists, poets, food-scientists and “donkey saviors.”
“Our main goal with the conference is to emphasize ideas worth spreading,” Rick said. “The diversity of disciplines, as much as the curiosity and passion of the presenters, is really what makes the talks so powerful and important.”
Unfortunately for those hoping to attend, the 100 allocated positions have already been filled. However, the talks will be live-streamed at both the John Eccles Centre in South Residence and at 10 Carden Street in downtown Guelph.