By Theresa Willingham
Back in February, I attended TEDxTampaBay, Florida’s first ever TEDx event. A long-time TED fan, I was delighted to spend a day immersed in the ideas of local thinkers and doers, in the company of a hundred other people for whom it was fun to just think and wonder aloud about the things that move and inspire us. I brought some teen volunteers with me, from Team Duct Tape, a FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team I coach, and after listening to them talk about the presentations they heard at TEDxTampaBay, I was inspired to create a similar event for youth – TEDxYouth@TampaBay, slated for November 20, in New Port Richey.
If a day of ideas doesn’t sound like your idea of a great time, you may not be ready for TEDx. On the other hand, if it sounds like your dream day, TEDxTampaBay and TEDxYouth@TampaBay might be just what the doctor ordered to dispel apathy and cure despair!
TED – an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design – is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. Begun in California, in 1984, as a four-day conference, TED has since grown to include multiple initiatives, from the annual TED Conference, in Long Beach, CA, and TED Global, held annually in Oxford, to media projects. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, and other luminaries. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. The annual TED Prize gives exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world the opportunity to put their wishes into action, and the TEDFellows program helps world-changing innovators from around the globe become part of the TED community and, amplify the impact of their projects and activities.
TEDx, the latest incarnation, offers individuals and groups a way to host local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. TEDxYouth@TampaBay – the only TEDxYouth event in FL – will combine TEDTalks video and live presentations by youth and those who work with them, around the central theme “Be the Change”. The event provides a one of a kind, and hopefully deeply empowering, opportunity for youth to engage in the sharing of big ideas and deep discussions with others who believe in living intentionally and with meaning in our world.
Our speakers range from 10 year old Brandon Wood, who wants to save chimpanzees “One Voice at a Time,” to Youth Activism founder Joe Scarfone, who works to build resource centers and communication platforms for youth activists around the globe, to 13 year old Blues phenom, Mike Imbasciani and more. TEDxYouth@TampaBay offers a wonderful opportunity to showcase and celebrate the capabilities, thought, action, compassion, wisdom and creativity of youth, and can serve as a vital catalyst for thought and action by people of all ages! Visit http://tedxyouthtampabay.com to learn how to be part of this cutting edge of creativity.
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