TEDx is coming back to Clemson on the morning of Saturday, April 16. TED is a nonprofit organization that shares “ideas worth spreading throughout the world.”
TEDx started as a four- day conference in California 26 years ago and now gives the world’s top thinkers a platform to introduce their initiatives and influence minds in an under-18 minute speech.
TED still holds one of its two key events in Long Beach, California every spring (with a parallel conference, TEDActive, in Palm Springs); the other, TEDGlobal, is held in Edinburgh, Scotland every summer.
TED’s main initiatives include the TED Prize, TED Fellows and TEDx. The TED Prize is awarded each year to an exceptional individual that wants to somehow change the world. The TED Prize enables this individual to “put their wishes into action” according to the media release. The TED Fellows program incorporates world- changing innovators into the TED community which helps to amplify their work. TEDx, which is coming to Clemson, is an initiative that allows independent individuals and communities to host their own local TED like events.
The x stands for independently organized event. The TED Conference will help get the event started and provide the rules and regulations; but the event is mostly self-organized.
According to a Clemson media release, “At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.”
TEDx came to Clemson for the first time in 2012 with the theme “The Voice You Are” and speakers were chosen according to the theme. TEDxClemsonU was sponsored by the Gantt Center for Student Life.
It was brought in because “TEDTalks are so inspirational and a lot of people
connect with them, so I wanted to bring that experience to Clemson,” said Rebecca Morgan, a graduate assistant in the Gantt Center’s diversity
education office.
“TEDx provides a great way of accessing lots of different people’s knowledge and ideas. There are so many different subjects presented in different ways, there’s something for everyone.”
Eleven Clemson students and faculty members spoke in the event at
the Strom Thurmond Institute. TEDx returned for TEDxClemsonULive in 2014.
For those who cannot attend the event, it will be live streamed and posted online. This is just one of TED’s media initiatives which include TED.com, TED Conversations and the Open Translation Project.
TEDTalks are posted daily on TED.com, and TED Conversations allow TED fans to discuss the speeches and new topics. The Open Translation Project provides subtitles, interactive transcripts and worldwide volunteer translations for any language, according to the TED website.
