Well, you’ve just read all of the books on the “New York Times’ Best Seller” list. You have invested hours watching the most fascinating documentaries on TV and listened to hours of public radio. Plus your iPod is stuffed with your favorite podcasts.
What? You’re still hungry for more intellectual stimulus? Well, there is something for you right here in Savannah. On June 7, The Creative Coast will host the fourth annual TEDxCreativeCoast event at the Jepson Center, 207 W. York St.
Founded in 1984, TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conferences are held each year in Long Beach, Calif., and Edinburgh, Scotland. TED conferences bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers to give the “talk of their lives” for 18 minutes or less.
Under the guiding mission of “Ideas Worth Spreading,” these talks have been collected and made freely available. More than 1,400 videos of the best presentations can be viewed on the TED website, http://www.ted.com. They can also be found on YouTube.com, iTunes PodCasts and iTunes U, Netflix, and the TED radio hour on NPR.
About one million people a day view TED videos online, and new ones are being posted almost daily. Each TED conference features more than 50 of the world’s most innovative and influential speakers. Previous speakers have included former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder and current chairman Bill Gates, designer Philippe Starck, architect Frank Gehry, primatologist Jane Goodall and musician Paul Simon to name but a few.
Due to the limited access to these heavily subscribed conferences, smaller, regional “TEDx” conferences were established in 2009. Locally organized, these smaller conferences provide an opportunity to identify people in the community who are inspired to share their knowledge, dreams and inspirations. So far, nearly 5,000 TEDx presentations have taken place in 137 countries.
In June 2010, Savannah launched its first TEDxCreativeCoast conference. It hosted 18 presentations at Meddin Studios and attracted 100 attendees. In 2011, it moved to its current home, the Jepson Center on Telfair Square, and has filled the venue to capacity each year with 225 attendees.
Each TEDxCreativeCoast event is a combination of live presenters and a few select TEDTalks videos sparking deep conversation and connections. Individual presentations are between four and 12 minutes in length. While it follows the guidelines established by TED, The Creative Coast organizes this conference locally each year.
For those interested in presenting, applications are being accepted at http://www.tedxcreativecoast.com.
This year’s theme is “Happiness” — what is it, how do we obtain it, how can we help others reach it, what are the benefits of it? Any compelling idea connected to the concept of happiness is a topic worth talking about at this year’s conference.
Early Bird tickets are on sale for $40 and include: Coffee and breakfast, a full day of TEDx presentations, lunch by Cafe Zeum and a post-TEDxCreativeCoast reception. For more information, applications and tickets, go to http://tedxcreativecoast.com.
Murray Wilson serves as a board member with The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Wilson is president of Savannah-based tps Consulting (www.tpscorp.com), which provides operational analysis and workflow design for the broadcast television industry. Contact him at 912-349-9488.
