North Central is hosting its second annual TEDx event on Friday, April 29. This year the theme for the event is “The Changing of the Guards.”
“This theme paints a picture of the ways modern society is moving in directions away from ‘old’ ways of thinking,” said Dr. Thomas Cavenagh, professor of Law and Conflict Resolution. “Not necessarily old in a negative way, but traditional values versus modern values and the role of technology in the way we communicate or relate to each other.”
TED is a non-profit organization and stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. TED’s mission is spreading ideas and believes that the best way to do that is in the form of short, powerful talks. Technology, entertainment and design all come together and a variety of topics from around the globe are covered at these events.
Change is an ever-evolving concept in the world today, whether it be advancements in technology, breakthroughs in science, alternative policy solutions, social innovations or entrepreneurial creativity, and these all bear witness to the forward progress embedded in the human experience.
TED is a global community that welcomes people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. TED believes that the power of ideas can change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. TEDx events help bring TED’s mission and passions to local communities, and, as a result, the ideas from within a community are spread all around the globe.
TEDx events are independently organized events that operate under the license from TED. The ‘x’ in TEDx identifies the event as being independent from a TED Talk and these TED-like events promote learning innovation and wonder, which bring together local communities to spark conversation about ideas worth spreading.
“LEV delivers the TEDx event because it is our way of saying we do a variety of things, like social entrepreneurship on campus that really are calculated to produce alums who are citizens that really do have a meaningful impact on the world around them,” Cavenagh said.
Cavenagh says that the format of the TEDx events are very much controlled by the TED organization as far as the specific guidelines, like how many talks are given and how long each talk is, but because TEDx is an independent event, North Central has the freedom to have presentations that are related to music or art.
The alumni give 12-minute talks and students give six-minute talks in between. The speakers must present without notes and Cavenagh said that “the idea behind that is that the speakers are looking at people, talking to people and engaging with people in a way that is very different than standing behind a podium.”
“It takes a lot of work to pull it off and it’s a pretty in-depth endeavor,” said Jeremy Gudauskas, associate Dean of Students. “I mean, the level of quality and professionalism that has to happen to pull it off is a lot, so because of all that work, the best part is just seeing it happen. Seeing people get on stage with their well-refined talks that they have worked on for months and to see them pull it off is really cool.”
North Central has decided to hold a TEDx event on campus for a second time because it is a comprehensive liberal arts college and they value a broad-based, interdisciplinary education that provides an ideal environment that allows an exchanging of ideas. When the power of interdisciplinary learning and the passion for common good are combined, it results in innovative solutions for a lasting social impact.
“It’s a wonderful PR event because it produces a wonderful picture of the college,” Cavenagh said. “You take your best alums and best students and allow them to give their best talks, which really reflects well on the college. It’s a great way for students to showcase their abilities and boy I’ll tell you, last year there were a couple of students that were just spectacular, but it’s not just that it reflects well on the college, it reflects well on themselves as individuals as they look for jobs and as they think about careers.”
The event is expected to have an intermission with beverages and nametags, which will encourage conversation, and the audience will have a chance to interact with the speakers to ask them questions about their talks.
Applications for speakers can be found at tedxnorthcentralcollege.com. Tickets to attend the event will also be available online and a live broadcast will be shown at The Union located at 129 W. Benton Ave. in Naperville.
