Have you seen - and loved - Sarah Kay’s TEDTalk like I did?
Well, her beautiful poem, “B” is now published in an illustrated volume perfect for gift giving.
tedx:
On December 1st, TEDxWomen will happen simultaneously at the Paley Centers in both New York and LA.
Around the world, over 100 TEDx communities will participate, engaging with the livestream, some will host local speakers.
With session themes of resilience, relationships and…
(Source: tedx)
Selected talks from TEDx events across the globe. TEDx will make picks every Tuesday to share. Be inspired.
tedx:
Hundreds of talks from independently organized TEDx events around the world are published on the TEDxTalks website daily.
Each Tuesday, we’ll choose four of our favorites, highlighting just a few of the enlightening talks from TEDx community, and its diverse constellation of ideas worth…
(Source: tedx)
A great story on stage design and installation art, from TEDxConcordiaUPortland -
Salvage: Creating the TEDxConcordiaUPortland Stage
When my curator, Matt Wagner of Hellion Gallery and I took a trip to the Concordia gymnasium for introductions and research for creating the TEDxConcordiaUPortland stage, we fortunately took the wrong road when we approached the school and ended up on the far north side of the campus where a small neighborhood of houses were being demolished or moved elsewhere for low income housing.
We both marveled and dreamed about the materials that potentially reside in these homes. We learned that Concordia University had purchased the land to create an outdoor athletics field. Through the understanding and generosity of the Physical Plant, we were granted access to the house and could take whatever we wanted. So, with an army of friends, we spent 2 days salvaging what we could.
It was the drawers that became the spark for this installation. It was these drawers that became the loudest voice and were unaltered, left in their natural state. All the other materials you see in the installation were also left as I found them, only trimmed. By the time this project was complete, I had only one box of scrap wood, which we respectfully honored in an evening fire pit of celebration & completion.
Other local community organizations, such as The Rebuilding Center, Pistils Nursery, Salvage Works, and Orange Carpentry also generously donated materials. In addition, the installation includes leftover cedar fencing from my Aunt Becky, cedar siding from my grandfather’s house, and pieces of a dining room table formerly owned by TEDxConcordiaUPortland’s Organizer’s father. So the palpable history and source of materials added a rich dimension of creative sustainability.
Many of these materials were doomed for the landfills. By using sustainable materials, using sustainability as inspiration, and wood rich with history, this was effortlessly created without the need of fresh cut timber, or materials that take centuries to decompose.
Written by Blaine Fontana of The Fontana Studios, creator of the TEDxConcordiaUPortland stage installation
[via: tedx]
(Source: tedx)
tedx:
I have just spent a week attending “Stuff of Life” at TEDGlobal in Edinburgh, of which the first two days were spent with other TEDx Organizers. I would not say they are your TED speakers or Fellows. They probably will not discuss how they built, with their own hands, a robot that moves around on a ball — one really bright 24 year old speaker will do just that — or the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience and renewable energy.
However, one characteristic that sets them apart in a beautiful way is their immense love and connection for their communities. It is no wonder that they have devoted an intense amount of energy, time and financial expense to organize a TEDx event.
Organizing a TEDx event means that one has to connect to and guide the best elements of his or her community on stage while simultaneously soliciting support from various sectors and individuals who believe in the person and his or her team.
This has profound experience on both the organizers and the communities. The TEDx initiative has caused them to seek to understand their own issues and to learn how to move forward. Best espoused by Houssem of TEDxCarthage: “This is just my view: but hearing about the story of Aboubakr Jamaï who’s talk titled ‘Madness 2.0 crazy enough to believe in ourselves’ was more meaningful to me more than speakers I have seen on the TED stage”.
Ahmad from TEDxCairo displayed the myriad of Organizers and the brilliant idea of “community representatives” which showed the egalitarian mode of working and the amazing love and sense of community that was engendered. (TEDxCairo has a community numbering over 20,000 people)
John Werner of TEDxBoston has founded Citizen Schools and went to amazing lengths in organizing the biking ride to a Scottish castle. John was marvelous in making sure that TED’sters did not end up in Ireland — he cycled back and forth to make sure we had a wonderfully organized bike ride.
Other examples of TEDx Organizers include Adam from TEDxDirigo in Maine who talked about rethinking and working with communities and the agricultural industry to be more sustainable, John Mardin of TEDxVictoria talked so passionately about his farm -which will perhaps one day be a permaculture farm — and Ramy Nassar of TEDxWaterloo and his passion for photography.
TED espouses cutting edge research, state of the edge technology and design by the thought leaders of our world. TEDx is more community-centric, celebrating those that are serving their own community, or even sometimes the wider global community.
The word “serve” is beautiful and should be adopted more frequently in our everyday language. It indicates humility, caring and having an appreciation of the fabric of society.
I could not end this article better than the parting words of Ahmed (echoed later by Houssem) that accompanied a bear hug: “This is not a goodbye, this is to let you know that you have a home when you come to Cairo”.
Written by Ramzi Jaber, TEDxRamallah Organizer
(Source: tedx)
