What do a roboticist, climatologist, and secret keeper have in common?

We don't know either... that's the surprise that will be revealed with TEDxCalgary's presentation of the live webstream from TED2012: Full Spectrum on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012.

For us, the mystique of the annual TED conference is that it brings together a wildly diverse set of speakers to share ideas with an equally diverse audience across the globe. As one of the many TEDx organizing teams from across the globe who are presenting the live webstream in our communities, we get the unique honour of being able to share "real time" in the unfolding narrative that lies within a TED event.

Equally important is that we get to share it with YOU...

As members of our community, that's the pay-off for TEDxCalgary. We could watch the webstream on our own, but that wouldn't be the fun part. Instead, we get a chance to meet you, share in the ideas that are presented from the main TED stage, and build a few of our own... together. We look forward to having you join us, so register now and share the story of TEDx with your friends and co-workers!

Go to the event registration page (this event is free, and access is on a "first come" basis)

At TEDxCalgary, we live close to ideas every day, and value them implicitly.

That may not be the same for everyone across the community, so it's worthwhile to reflect once in a while on the value of ideas. For us, ideas are a driver (even a bellweather) of community vibrancy. Research points to the fact that communities with many creative people (in the widest sense of the word "creative"... not just artists, but people who commonly use ideas as part of their work and life) are more likely to grow and prosper. This is even more the case, it would seem, in a highly competitive global economic environment.

Beyond the economic dimension, ideas are (to us) a sign of a community's core culture. Communities -- Calgary among them -- that welcome a rich exchange of ideas are inherently more tolerant and progressive. That doesn't mean that all ideas are accepted equally, or without debate. Just like the soil in which we plant the seeds of our food, the overall cultural conditions can vary from season to season and region to region. There are parts of the community where the soil is not as fertile, or where ideas don't receive due attention and care in a critical growth stage.

Overall, however, we're very fortunate as Calgarians to live in the type of community we do... an emerging world city, and an economic hub of the province and country. Ideas, and the will to support them as a community, will make that even more the case.

Volunteerism is unfinished... that’s the whole point of this TEDxCalgary event.

It’s also why we embraced working in an event space that’s unfinished. We’ve partnered with one of Calgary’s most loved volunteer-based organizations, the Calgary Folk Music Festival, to be the first event ever in their new Festival Hall.

The Hall itself isn’t finished, it is still a construction site, which we think adds charm as well as the nifty metaphor, it also adds some November realities.

We have an excellent bathroom facility – it just happens to be a few steps outside the building!

The room will be heated, but dress warmly – this is a conversation with great speakers, brainstorming and some fun after – not a gala with frilly things and a dress code. Once you enter the venue you’ll even get to practice your signature with an event waiver to top it all off.

Being in the lovely inner-city neighbourhood of Inglewood also has some parking realities for us too. There are two pay lots and street parking nearby, but Festival Hall has no dedicated parking lot.

This is going to be a remarkable conversation with great speakers, entertainment and shared ideas. We are so excited to be hosting you tomorrow.

- Stewart McDonough, event co-curator, and the TEDxCalgary event team

Louise Gallagher, one of our epic TEDxCalgary speakers, has posted a new blog about creativity as she prepares for our November 18 "volunteer...even better" event.

I am absolutely, completely passionate about awakening people to their magnificence. To opening their eyes to their beauty, their brilliance, their divine essence.

You can read the whole post at Louise's blog - looking forward to hearing Louise and our other amazing speakers in just over a week!

When did everyone become so busy? Please don’t answer that… it was a rhetorical question and you’ve got better things to do. It has become the go to answer for “How are you?” But in all the craziness of scheduling everything from kids’ recitals to coffee breaks to bathroom breaks, we have no time to add anything. So within the madness of life, how can we even think about volunteering? 

I heard a line once that has stuck with me. If you stand too close to a painting, you’ll only see one colour. (Okay, so I made that up. But it always seems to have more merit when you say someone else said it.) We’re so knee deep in getting through our lives, that we don’t feel we have time to take a step back and assess what’s important. 

I actually took the time many years ago to sit down and write out my priorities (and then typed it out after realizing that years of computers had made my writing illegible). From that exercise, I was able to figure out what parts of my life were given a higher level of importance than they needed to be. How much time did I actually spend watching TV? How much time did I need to play mindless games (Is your life actually better for having Angry Birds on your phone)? 

Since realizing what I find important, I’ve freed up enough time to not only volunteer, but help coordinate major fundraising events. These events have helped thousands. Who says one person can’t make a difference? It’s certainly brought me a better sense of accomplishment than destroying helmet wearing pigs. 

- Bib Patel, TEDxCalgary committee member

 

 

What makes people care about more than themselves? What is the link between Volunteering and Civil Society? Does the amount of volunteering denote the health of a community? These are all questions that I hope will be addressed at this event. I hope many more questions about Volunteering emerge that you might be curious about....what is it that motivates someone who works for the benefits others? Altruism? Joy? Empathy? Credit? Is helpful for us to think of these things? Will we get somewhere helpful with them?

 

As a life-long volunteer, I'm excited about the upcoming TEDxCalgary event on November 18th. We need to think big about our personal roles in community. Whether we're leading from the front, or leading from the back by putting our energy into supporting those heading another cause, we all have a valuable part to play in making our city a better place.

As we close in our next public event on Friday, November 18th, here's a quick picture from our June 4, 2011 for inspiration. Clearly, he's thinking big thoughts!

Our new open blog is powered by Posterous, the same technology that our TEDx counterparts across the globe use to keep abreast of developments in the world of event organizers.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3 to use:

1. Think great thoughts and write 'em down!

2. Send your thoughts by email to TEDxCalgary [at] Posterous [dot] com (if you're human, you'll understand how to put that together...)

3. Wait for us to moderate your post and then sit back and enjoy the fame! (we only moderate against spam and for suitability with our audience... we do not otherwise edit your post)

That's all it takes... join the conversation and share your ideas with our TEDx community in Calgary.

I spent this morning at an event with Hildy Gottlieb, author of The Pollyanna Principles, and more than a dozen other non-profit sector leaders and influencers. The focus was sharing ideas not just on the future of the sector, but on the future of our society.

The core message is simple... unless we deliberately talk about what we want our collective future to look like, and plan -- and ACT!! -- accordingly, we stand little chance of getting there.

To me, this is the essence of the TED movement. By sharing provocative and far-reaching ideas, we have the chance to stimulate those types of conversations in wider society. The challenge is making that experience more inclusive, more regular, and much more wide-spread within society. Everyone has ideas to share, but not everyone feels empowered to do so.

The TEDx structure offers scope to take these conversations into our local communities. As big as it is, relatively few in the world will ever be fortunate enough to attend the main TED conference event. But the localized, community-focused TEDx structure can bring the experience of sharing ideas to many who otherwise wouldn't be part of the dialogue. Simplifying complex ideas, being passionate about sharing them, and giving others the opportunity to take them forward is a key part of that approach.

Many thanks to Carlo Jensen of Uniscan Consulting (an old friend from CentrePoint days) who convened the group, and to all who participated in the event today. It was a great pleasure and honour to be in your company, and to share perpsectives as we did.

- Jonathan Perkins
Director, Partnerships and Innovation