Feast of Ideas
Rapid-fire ideas that inspire a networked conversation. That describes the scene in the Nassau Inn ballroom Wednesday, as the Princeton Library hosted “TEDxPrincetonLibrary - The Cornerstone Event”. It’s as if you staged a brainstorming session with 100 of your best friends.
“I came because it’s inspiring”, said Sumeera Baig, one of the attendees, after a series of talks ranging from flood relief in Pakistan, to low-tech incubators, and a motivational talk about the magic of positive thinking.
A TEDx event is a localized version of the wildly successful TED Talks, whose motto, “Ideas Worth Spreading”, reflects the kind of innovative, high-energy lineup of speakers who are chosen for their ability to tell a good story, or share a brilliant idea.
The TED Talks became so popular that TED (which originally stood for Technology, Entertainment, Design) has begun licensing the format to local organizations such as libraries and universities. Local TEDx events can then combine their speakers with video presentations from other TED events, for a true feast of ideas. Talks are limited to 6 to 18 minutes, and speakers do not take questions, but mingle with the attendees during a series of extended networking breaks.
“Speakers are told they’ll be giving the talk of their lives”, explains Janie Hermann, Program Coordinator for the Princeton Public Library. “The hope is that we’ll grow a community out of this, of people who want to get together and share great ideas, who are passionate about change, and passionate about taking action, making things happen.”
Today’s program included talks by:
- Marie Eusebe, Founder and CEO of Community2Community (C2C), which addresses Haiti’s need for clean water, healthcare, housing and schools
- Ethan Casey, author of narrative travel books about Pakistan
- Ed Tseng, an authority on mental conditioning
- Robert Kurzban, evolutionary psychologist
- Andromeda Yelton, a librarian who explained how to build 5 libraries with less than $4,000
- Chris Albrecht, executive chef of EnoTerra
- Dale Caldwell, an author and philanthropist who spoke of the power of influence.
- Todd Shea, COO of SHINE Humanity, which specializes in disaster relief and long-term sustainable healthcare initiatives in developing countries
- Jen Slaw, who closed out the session with a juggling performance.
All in the space of 4 hours, interspersed with other TED recordings, coffee breaks and dinner conversation.
All TED talks are recorded, and will be viewable later, online. The Princeton Library is so enthusiastic about TED that they plan to offer a series of shorter TEDx Salons this Fall, in which the conversation will revolve around selected TED recordings.
Hermann says putting this event together over the past six months was a work of passion: “The library is a living place, and we host this for people to learn from the library in a real sense, in person.”
About the Author
Founder, AllPrinceton
Donna Liu is a digital journalist who has lived in Princeton with her family since 2002. She founded AllPrinceton in 2010 as an online hub for community news and information. At Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, she built UChannel - an online archive of public affairs lectures in academia. Before that she established and managed CNN International's Asia Production Center in Hong Kong.
