Speakers with thought-provoking ideas are being sought for the second annual TEDxDouglas event in December.

After the success of the inaugural TEDxDouglas event in 2014, the organisers are looking for inspiring speakers to enthral the audience with powerful talks that make people think.

Last year’s event included talks from astronaut, social entrepreneur and author Ron Garan, and Manx-born Chicago-based blues star Davy Knowles.

TEDxDouglas 2015 will take place at the Youth Arts Centre in Kensington Road, Douglas, on Sunday, December 6th.

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 nine years now and also teach with the TED Fellows, and I’m proud that after the success of last year’s event we are able to stage TEDxDouglas again. There are so many people on the Isle of Man who have ideas to share and the TEDx platform is the perfect opportunity to provoke conversations that matter.’

TEDxDouglas will once again be curated by a local team including Emma Quirk, Owen Cutajar and Paul Watson, with the talks being uploaded to the main TED website afterwards for worldwide viewing.

Emma said: ‘Last year was such a success, with such a variety of people coming forward to share their ideas. We couldn’t just leave it as a one-time event. We know that there are more stories to be told and 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.’

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.’

Tickets for TEDxDouglas will be available through the Villa Gaiety website from early November. Full details about the event, including timings, will be released in the next couple of weeks.

If you would like to propose an idea for a talk, please contact Emma on tedxdouglas@gmail.com or call her on 07624 341823.

You can keep up to speed on the latest news at tedxdouglas.im or via social media at www.twitter.com/tedxdouglas and www.facebook.com/tedxdouglas.