The first ever TEDx event will be held in the Isle of Man this November - and the organisers are looking for inspiring speakers to enthral the audience with powerful, thought-provoking talks.
TEDxDouglas will take place at the Youth Arts Centre in Kensington Road, Douglas, on Monday, November 10th.
TED - which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design - is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short talks, normally no longer than 15 minutes. The movement has developed a worldwide following of millions since the first one-off event in 1984. TEDx events are independent from the main TED conferences, but operate under the same banner and follow similar principles and guidelines. There are more than 30,000 talks in the TEDx online library from presentations in 130+ countries.
Chris Stott, CEO of Manx satellite company ManSat Ltd, is the licence holder for TEDxDouglas.
He said: ‘I’ve been involved with TED for 8 years now and also teach with the TED Fellows, and I’m proud to be able to bring a TEDx event to the Isle of Man. The goal is bring together bright minds to give talks that are idea-focused, to foster learning, inspiration and wonder – and provoke conversations that matter.’
TEDxDouglas will be curated by Emma and John Quirk, with the talks being streamed live on the internet and uploaded to the main TED website afterwards for worldwide viewing.
Emma said: ‘We are keen to hear from anyone who has an idea for an inspiring talk. The TED philosophy is about the power of ideas to change attitudes, to make people question the world around them and how they live their lives.
‘We have a very general theme in mind, and we want a good proportion of the talks to be based around, or inspired by, the Isle of Man. But we want to hear from individuals who believe they have an idea or a topic that needs to be heard, that needs to be aired and inspire others.’
The TED mission statement reads: ‘TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.’
If you would like to propose an idea for a talk, please contact Emma on tedxdouglas@gmail.com or call her on 07624 341823.
More details about TEDxDouglas, including ticket availability, will be released in the coming weeks.
You can keep up to speed on the latest news on social media at www.twitter.com/tedxdouglas and www.facebook.com/tedxdouglas
