The community has many ways to experience inaugural TEDxEvansville on October 13

EVANSVILLE, IND. – For the past year, local volunteer organizers have been fervently planning the inaugural TEDxEvansville, set to take place 1-5 p.m., Tuesday, October 13. The event will be held live in the Evansville Museum’s Koch Immersive Theater, via livestream and at viewing parties throughout the community. Locally and regionally sourced speakers are slated to speak on topics that align with the event’s renaissance theme. The 13 speakers were selected for their thought-provoking ideas and ability to convey their ideas in a moving way. They will present their talks – each less than 18 minutes in length.

Like all TEDx events, TEDxEvansville is a self-organized, local platform to share big, TED-like ideas. With support from volunteers and sponsors, the public event features live speakers, unique performances and TEDTalks videos. Combined, these experiences spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.

“In a community that’s truly thriving, you have this interaction of people who decide they want to work toward something that’s bigger than themselves,” said Zac Parsons, TEDxEvansville licensee. “These ideas demonstrate that.”

Experience TEDxEvansville

Although the live experience in the Koch Immersive Theater is sold out, there are several other ways to experience TEDxEvansville – at no cost. These forums were designed to meet the needs of those who want to be closest to the action, as well as offer options for community members who can’t commit to the entire four-hour event but want to experience some of the talks.

Official TEDxEvansville viewing parties – 1-5 p.m. – free and open to the public
Viewing Party & Idea Fair at the Evansville Museum, 411 SE Riverside Dr., Evansville – Watch TEDxEvansville on a big screen with other avid TED fans, meet the speakers and network with others passionate about the renaissance underway in Evansville. Enjoy light refreshments and entertainment throughout the event. And learn more about organizations who are enthusiastic about Evansville’s ideas worth sharing. Stay for the TEDxEvansville after-party, which begins at 5 p.m. Join in discussion about the day’s event and enjoy food trucks, cash bar, networking with speakers and organizers and other surprises. Request your Evansville Museum Viewing Party & Idea Fair ticket by emailing tickets@TEDxEvansville.com.

Viewing Party at St. Mary’s Medical Center, 3700 Washington Ave., Evansville – In the spirit of TED and ideas worth spreading, St. Mary’s is hosting an official TEDxEvansville Viewing Party – a community gathering to view the webcast and share in rich discussion. There’s no cost to attend, but space is limited. Admission is on a first come, first served basis.

Livestream
Those who want to experience TEDxEvansville from their computers, smart phones or devices may view online at www.TEDxEvansville.com. The live feed is scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m., just prior to the official 1 p.m. start. Visit the TEDxEvansville website and follow updates on social media for more details.

Follow the activity on social media
Throughout the event, organizers will share a steady stream of updates on Facebook and Twitter. Complete recordings of the talks will not be available until after the event.

TEDxEvansville schedule and speaker line-up of speakers

1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Sean Georges
Senior Vice President of Human Resources and In-House Counsel, Shoe Carnival, Inc.
The essence of authentic leadership

Jodi Duncan
Jodi Duncan Designs
FlowerPowered

TED Talk video

Scott Wylie, Esq.
Director, Vanderburgh Community Foundation
Intentional inclusiveness in community renaissance

Lynn Miller Pease
Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Evansville, Inc.
How a picture book, markers and paper transformed my city from miserable to magnetic

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Performance by Larry Miller, accordionist

Charles Sutton
Librarian/Educator, Thinker/Tinkerer
Maker education: Empowering individuals to make a better world

T. Michael W. Halcomb
Conversational Koine Institute
Silent no more: Resurrecting dead languages

TED Talk video

Sean Wallace
Owner, Windows of Opportunity – Barbed Wire Art
Second chance

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Robin Mallery
Community Volunteer, Registered Nurse, Health Educator
Chocolate mindfulness exercise

Steve Burger
Vice President of Radio & Digital, WNIN, Tri-State Public Media Public media’s role in the renaissance

Matthew Rowe
Executive Director, Reitz Home Museum
Chairman, City of Evansville Historic Preservation Commission
In my neighborhood: A primer on architectural styles in Evansville’s historic district

TED Talk video

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

TED Talk video

Michael Strezewski
Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Southern Indiana
The Mann Site: Indiana’s first capital

Dan Sullivan
Web designer, father of five
Uniformity, monotony and creativity

Rob Carroll
Principal, South Heights Elementary
What do Kevin Bacon, Alice in Wonderland, lying to kids and getting tattoos have to do with effective (school) leadership?

TEDxEvansville is organized by a volunteer group of Evansville-area community advocates, who are excited to introduce the TED experience to the tristate area and spotlight bright minds and inspiring community members who provoke meaningful conversations and change.

TEDxEvansville Helps Us Consider the Possibility of Change

“The only constant in the world is change.” It’s a quote I’ve heard before and one that has caught my attention again recently. I think it exemplifies my views on TED.

TED is a push to show changes that are possible to make ours a better world. Sometimes TED provides a look back to show us how we came together as a people to accomplish great things. Sometimes TED helps us look inward to see changes we can make in ourselves. And, sometimes TED brings attention to the changes that are molding our future through science and technology.

TEDxEvansville is all about the possibility of change. But it is only that, the possibility. Possibility only becomes reality through the efforts of likeminded individuals who are willing to push forward into that change – into that unknown – because they believe that the pain of change is well worth the bliss of the future world it creates.

Change happens whether we want it to or not. Either we adapt to our new world or we let our world pass us by.

Evansville has proven it can change with new ideas: Having the first municipally owned baseball field still standing 100 years later in Bosse Field, or a joint multi-institutional medical facility that is going to reshape medical education. These changes create long-lasting impacts on the lives in our community.

My hope is that TEDxEvansville is the catalyst that brings these ideas of change into action in our community. So instead of letting the world change around us, we become a beacon of positive change that others can look to.

Immediately, I Was in Awe

TEDxEvansville Executive Committee member Jenn Schultheis shares one of her favorite TED Talks.

While I can name a handful of favorite TED talks, one I find personally inspiring is Louie Schwartzberg: Nature. Beauty. Gratitude, which was filmed at TEDxSF in June 2011. I watched it for the first time in late December that year. Immediately, I was in awe; the way he weaves vibrant images along with simple narration spoke so deeply to me that I knew I needed to share the talk.

The next day, while having family over to celebrate the holidays, I showed it to a group of relatives ranging in age from 7 to 80. Having seen the talk many times in the previous 24 hours, I surreptitiously watched the reactions on my family members’ faces. As I looked around at them, it was apparent that they were, if not enjoying it, at least getting something out of it. And, I thought to myself: This is exactly what a good TED talk does… It allows each viewer to come away with a unique interpretation, a personal meaning… an idea, which is similarly expressed in Mr. Schwartzberg’s talk:

“Look at the faces of people whom you meet. Each one has an incredible story behind their face, a story that you could never fully fathom. Not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors. We all go back so far, and in this present moment, on this day, all the people you meet, all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world flows together and meets you here like a life- giving water. If you only open your heart and drink.”Quote from an elderly man in the video

It’s no coincidence that I’m involved with the TEDxEvansville curatorial team. My list of “talks to watch” on TED.com contains 65 talks. Like so many, I often share them with family and friends.

Here are two of those:

“…I will live every day as if there were a microphone tucked under my tongue, a stage on the underside of my inhibition. Because who has to have a soapbox when all you’ve ever needed is your voice?”Clint Smith: The danger of silenceWatch Video

“There are two most powerful days in your life: the day you’re born, and the day you discover why.”Boniface Mwangi: The day I stood up aloneWatch Video