Teeth-gnashing Anticipation for TEDxVancouver 2010

Sustainable architect Michael Green and music journalist Nardwuar are just two of the local visionaries appearing at second annual TEDxVancouver.

Credit: Kris Krug

TEDx Vancouver photo by Kris Krug

Beatboxer Shamik’s “epic organic throwdown” wowed the audience at TEDxVancouver 2009.

 

TEDxVancouver galvanizes Vancouver thought-leaders and innovation-seekers to think, create community and inspire

 

The hashtagging hoopla has been building on Twitter over the last several weeks, ahead of Vancouver’s second annual TEDx conference.

 

If you’ve missed the buzz, TEDxVancouver—one of hundreds of similar events organized in cities across the world that all share a name with the original TED (technology, entertainment, design) conference—will bring together Vancouver’s leading social media, tech, design and ideas evangelists together this Saturday for a day-long group think about “ideas worth spreading.”

 

Who’s this dude TED?

TED events are known for their unique format—not your average conference, but more of a fully catered, interactive show and tell. Presentations by more than 10 speakers—all exactly 18 minutes long—are interspersed with music and dance, interactive displays, videos and break-out sessions. Attendees at the 2009 Vancouver event left in a neuron-firing nirvana, thanks to the likes of filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, Electronic Arts’s Henry LaBounta, and the musical talents of beatboxer Shamik and cellist Cris Derksen.

 

TEDxVancouver

www.tedxvancouver.com

November 27, 2010

Kay Meek Centre, West Vancouver

Flickr | Facebook | Twitter

 

Carpool to TEDxVancouver

Need a ride to West Van? Have a ride but need some company? Post your car needs on the Granville FB page to hook up a carpool from your area.

 

TEDx events are highly structured, required by the “mothership” to prescribe to strict guidelines about the number of attendees allowed, event format, branding and more.

 

TEDxVancouver: The Fine Line

Undoubtedly, this year’s event at West Vancouver’s Kay Meek Centre will be no less scintillating—though full program details remain a secret, to be revealed in full on Saturday to the 500 lucky attendees able to attend. Organizers have, however, announced the conference theme: “The Fine Line.”

 

According to TEDxVancouver president Cyrus Irani, the theme reflects Vancouver’s many contradictions—including social and economic disparities that foster a robust economy of ideas.

 

“The outside world sees Vancouver as a pristine perfect vacation destination,” said Irani, “but what else are we about beyond that—what ideas are coming from Vancouver?”

 

With six speakers announced, and more to be revealed on the day of the event, the only three Vancouver-based speakers thus far on the program (one of which we only know about because of Facebook) are sure to bring very different perspectives to the stage. Here’s the low-down on who they are:

 

 

Michael Green TEDxVancouver

 Michael Green is a founding principal of McFarlane Green Biggar
Architecture + Design in Vancouver. (Image: Jonathan Cruz)

 

Michael Green

Michael Green is a leading voice in Vancouver for sustainable architecture. A founding principal of McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design, Green is one of the visionaries behind local projects like Ronald McDonald House and Gastown boutique LYNNsteven, a space infamous for its cylinder-shaped change room made of 6,000 stacked books. Currently, he’s working with the Aga Kahn Trust for Culture on a sustainable community project in Tajikistan.

 

 

Nardwuar and the Evaporators, Summer Daze Festival 2009, Vancouver

Nardwuar performing as frontman of The Evaporators at the
Kitsilano Summer of Love Festival in 2009. (Image: Hilary Henegar)

 

Nardwuar

Vancouver treasure Nardwuar (a.k.a. ‘The Human Serviette’) is a MuchMusic correspondent, freelance videographer, writer, punk rock historian and a singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators. Known for his distinctive, if thorough, interview style (and enduring fashion) Nardwuar has interviewed porn stars, former presidents, prime ministers and gangsta rappers. For more about Nardwuar read Granville’s interview here… doot doot!

 

 

Gen Why Media Project - Tara Mahoney and Fiona Rayher

Tara Mahoney and Fiona Rayher seek to empower the world’s largest,
most connect generation to create the world of their dreams with
the Gen Why Media Project. (Image: Kevin Charles)

 

 

Tara Mahoney and Fiona Rayher, Gen Why Media Project

Crowd-sourced filmmaking, blogging and live events are just a few of the nifty youth-focused initiatives Vancouver’s Gen Why Media Project can be found producing. With more than half of the world’s population under 35, the project seeks to enlist the largest, most connected, most educated, most diverse generation in history to create the world they want to live in. Watch their trailer and find out how you can get involved at their website.

 

Full bios and a list of speakers can be found on the TEDx Vancouver website.

 

Tickets to TEDxVancouver

At this point, if you’ve bought the hype, the teeth-gnashing anticipation would be enough to make you holla “‘nuff ‘splainin’, get me my ticket, yo!” Sorry bra, the box office is closed. Although the number of available spots went way up this year, so did the number of applicants vying for a spot.

 

With only 500 tickets available, prospective attendees couldn’t just buy their way in; instead they were subjected to a rigourous application process. In order to be eligible for a $40 ticket, applicants were urged to respond… unorthodoxly. 

 

“We really encouraged people this year to get creative. We love creative thinkers and [the application process] was also a way to generate buzz and take the people who were already passionate about TED,” says Katie Reiach, communications director for TEDxVancouver.   

 

And 2010 TEDxVancouver applicants took on their application challenge with great gusto. Competition was stiff, with submissions that included web videos, social media campaigns and even an edible entry by Shawna Jacques, who used alphabet soup to spell out her love of all things TED. 

 

Despite criticism about the exclusivity of the event’s application process it seems bragging rights for those successful applicants are well deserved.

 

If you missed your chance to experience TEDxVancouver this year, don’t fret! Irani and the rest of the volunteer organizing committee of 22 are scheming to bring us three to five more years of TED-ly goodness. So, there’s always next year to make TED your BFF.


Eds. note: Also look for information about TEDxYVR (Richmond), TEDxUBC and others around the Lower Mainland in the next year.

 


Alex Samur

Alex Samur is a Vancouver-based writer, managing editor of rabble.ca and Commercial Drive nomad who appreciates the fine arts of lace knitting, small-space gardening and a well-made espresso. Twitter