by Alanna Krowiak
In order to expand upon its mission of “ideas worth spreading,” TED – a conference originally devoted to bringing together the worlds of Technology, Entertainment and Design – created a program called TEDx. The program is designed to stimulate dialogue on a local level by giving different venues and groups the opportunity to self-organize TED events. These events include live talks, videos and performances, like those found at the conference hosted by Connecticut College last year.
Aditya Harnal ’13 brought TEDx to Connecticut College in 2011 after attending a business conference in Texas where he chatted with the student who had started TEDx at the Universtiy of Chicago. Realizing the potential of TEDx at a place like Connecticut College, Harnal assembled a group of interested students to organize a conference on campus. After submitting a proposal of potential speakers to TED, TEDxConnecticutCollege received permission to move forward.
“I felt strongly that an event of this nature would introduce an unprecedented level of interest and dialogue across the disciplines to Connecticut College,” Harnal said.
Lasts year’s conference theme was “Rethinking Progress.” In accordance with TEDx’s mission to inspire active dialogue and discourse across disciplines, the event featured twelve speakers from a variety of fields including academia, the arts, business, science research and medicine.
Some of the speakers included Professor Larry Vogel, a leader in the philosophy department at Connecticut College, who opened the conference with a review of the evolution of progress, comparing cyclical to linear post-Enlightenment views. Sociology Professor Afshan Jafar spoke on the power of language in relation to societal views of women. Cancer researcher, Dr. Ehsan Sarafraz-Yazdl discussed the progression of cancer treatment and the revolutionary potential of a new, targeted therapy, while architect and Chairman of global architecture and design firm Gensler, Daniel Winey proposed building sustainable skyscrapers. Other presenters included extreme sports photographer Keoki Flagg ’87, sustainable food entrepreneur David Barber ’88, a non-verbal theater group called Overground Movement, filmmaker Ayda Erbal and Eugene Gallagher, the Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies at Connecticut College.
This year, the project is starting early. As you may have noticed, TEDxConnecticutCollege held its first “theme week” last week, which asked students for theme suggestions for this year’s spring TEDx conference. Unlike last year’s theme, which was chosen by a few team members, this year’s theme selection will involve the entire community. Together with the contributions from Harvestfest, online submissions, and tabling in the library, TEDxConnecticutCollege received over seventy recommendations from the student body. Now the goal is to sort through and choose one, which they will announce in the coming weeks. Once settled on a theme, the group will begin a search for speakers. In order to involve the campus in this process, TEDx will once again be soliciting suggestions from the entire campus community.
Harnal added that this conference might be a bit different from the last, “We do plan on introducing some twists to our conference as compared to last year, and we will be announcing these twists over the next few months.”
The future of TEDxConnecticutCollege depends on the applied interest of the student body. “Our goal, as it has always been, is to inspire active dialogue and discourse across disciplines in a manner unique to Connecticut College,” said Harnal, whose long-term aim is to make TEDxConnecticutCollege an annual tradition.
Be sure to mark your calendars because TEDxConnecticutCollege is confirmed for Saturday, April 13, 2013!
