Wednesday night kicked off the inaugural TEDxTC event and in my opinion it was outstanding. The event epitomized what it means to bring communities together to meet and learn from each other. The audience filled the auditorium at the Science Museum of Minnesota with over 300 individuals and the wait list of people who couldn’t get in was well over 200. That is an amazing turnout for an inaugural event and it certainly held up to expectations.
TED is a well known conference that has been going on for years that showcases riveting talks by remarkable people who have ideas worth spreading. The premier TED event happens annually and is limited to a very small set of individuals but the talks themselves are all available free on the TED website. TEDxTC is an independently organized local TED event.
TEDxTC demonstrated superbly what community is all about. The speakers each had relevant information to share and an idea they felt was worth spreading. The event consisted of five speakers; three live and two videos from the actual TED conference. Following the speakers a reception was held where everyone could meet each other and talk about the topics presented. A shining example of any event’s success can be seen by how long people stay after the main feature is done. In the case of TEDxTC, the crowd was still deep in conversation when I left an hour and a half after the final speaker wrapped up. It is these community discussion where people from different occupations and with different passions come together to learn something new and then create relationships that will ultimately take some in entirely new directions.
Although the number of individuals who could attend this event live was limited you can read about the speakers and in the case of the TED videos see them for yourself. My hope is that the three local speakers were videotaped and that their videos will be added to the TEDxTC website so that everyone can benefit from them and help continue spreading their great ideas.
Congratulations to Chadburn Blomquist and the other organizers for putting on an amazing event. I strongly encourage everyone to watch for the next TEDxTC event and register immediately because I have no doubt that one will also fill up quickly.
Matt Sanford has spoken to the Leadership Twin Cities class before – a testament to the caliber of speakers that program includes. Alas, I was one of the folks on the waitlist – but am glad that the speakers and conversation is accessible whether you were there, or not! Thanks Tim!