by Timothy Rutt
Aveson Charter School, 1919 E. Pinecrest Dr., will be the site of the inaugural TEDxPasadena event, "Creating the Future," on Sat., Oct. 22, from 9 AM-4 PM.
The nonprofit organization TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) (www.TED.com) is devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading." In their description,
At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a parallel conference, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.
There are also independent, locally-grown licensed TED conferences (called TEDx) at several locations. TEDxPasadena's (www.TEDxpasadena.com) inaugural event at Aveson, "Creating the Future," will feature three tracks under the categories of Thriving, Contribution, and Sustainability. Organizers say "the event will bring together the brightest minds in the community to join resources and explore the endless possibilities for serving humanity, the world and the future."
"Creating the Future" is only open to 100 attendees. Tickets cost $75 each. To apply to attend and/or register for event updates, please visit www.TEDxpasadena.com.
Creating the Future will showcase thoughtful discussions and videos by local thought leaders, innovators, artists, philosophers and entertainers. Their inspiring, entertaining, creative, and often courageous presentations will focus on local and global issues, people working together, science and technology, music and arts, entertainment, design and wellness.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Sourena Vaseghi -“Overcoming handicap to stay motivated
- Natalie Gosset - “the Jobs of the Future - How to be Ready”
- Sho Masui -“the Importance of ritual and thoroughness in life”
- Courtland Warren - “Making dreams come true”
- Pauletta Walsh – “Courageous Women”
- Ricky Smith – “Zero waste”
- Marcus Eriksen – “Pollution: 5 Gyres -Plastic dumps in the ocean”
- Anna Cummins – “Waste water treatment & re-use in Highland Park”
Additional presenters and entertainers are being vetted and will be announced on www.TEDxpasadena.com soon.
“We are extremely excited to bring the TEDx experience to Pasadena,” said Greg Apodaca, organizer of TEDxPasadena, in a statement. “TEDx events have as much to do with the attendees as they do the speakers. TEDxPasadena attracts some of the brightest people from our region; those who will take the ideas presented at the event and use them as a catalyst for change in their communities.”
Creating the Future is the first of many events to be hosted by TEDxPasadena. The group will continue to organize gatherings several times a year to enable community thought leaders to convene on an ongoing basis.
Follow TEDxPasadena on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDxPasadena and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TEDxPasadena.
