TEDxPasadena brings the international idea-sharing sensation on a local scale to Aveson Charter School next month
by Timothy Rutt
For aficianados, (or "TEDsters") TED is almost a way of life. TED (which stands for "Technology, Entertainment, and Design") is a series of annual conferences held in Long Beach, Palm Springs, and Edinborough, Scotland, highlighted by the "TED Talks." A typical "TED Talk" has an accomplished, innovative person (anyone from Bobby McFerrin to Jane Goodall to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown) give the "18 minute speech of their life" in front of an appreciative audience, where they can talk about their ideas and what makes them tick.
(TED talks are available for free at www.TED.com).
The TED organization also licenses the TED name for local, self-organized events that bring people together for a TED-like experience, called TEDx. The first TEDxPasadena will be held at Aveson Charter School on Oct. 22.
Altadena resident and long-time community activist Greg Apodaca is the organizer behind TEDxPasadena, and he says "TED is designed for people with big ideas, who think these ideas are worth sharing in our area."
Apodaca, who has worked with Leadership Pasadena and Community Without Walls, said he jumped at the chance to work through TED "to create a new community of global thinkers, the initiative to be a change agent, to get [people] together in a big way."
Planning for TEDxPasadena has been going on for a year, when Apodaca got the license to do it -- "the TED parameters are pretty strict," he says --- and people started coming to him with ideas and offers of help. "About four or five months ago, we got serious about it and formed a committee."
The twelve-person TEDx committee represents "community members of different persuasions and expertise," Apodaca said.
When looking for a place to hold the event, he reached out to his friend Kate Bean, founder of the Aveson Charter School in Altadena. "It's up on the hill, it's got a great view, it's a great space, so I asked Kate and she said, sure."
While TEDxPasadena is still coming together, the theme is "Creating the Future." There will be speakers on topics including the jobs of the future, courageous women, zero waste, and plastic pollution in the ocean. Altadenan Ellen Snortland is also a scheduled speaker.
Apodaca says that, following the relationships and connections made at TEDxPasadena, he hopes to have some smaller scale meetings down the line, and maybe another TEDx next year.
Attendence at TEDxPasadena is limited to 100, and tickets are $75 each. To apply to attend visit www.TEDxpasadena.com.
