KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- This is the second year that Kansas City Kansas Community College has held the TedxWyandotte event and organizers are pleased with the response.
“I thought it went very well,” said Marvin Hunt, dean of business and continuing education at KCKCC. “From innovation in entrepreneurship to human trafficking issues to artistry, they (those who attended) were inspired and informed.”
Approximately 100 people attended the event, which was held Feb. 20 in KCKCC Performing Arts Center. It featured eight presenters speaking on the theme “Idea Generation(s): Exploring what spurs innovative ideas.”
TED, a nonprofit organization, started as a four day conference in California almost 30 years ago and has grown to support “world-changing ideas” with multiple initiatives.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event.
Presenters included Beth Nybeck, a Kansas City-based artist and sculptor; Laura Isaac, who has chosen to explore the research of Dr. Anders Ericsson and the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of directed practice to become an expert at something; Mai Tadokoro, an active percussionist and educator in the Kansas City region and is a founding member of Ad Astra Percussion, a new music percussion ensemble group in Lawrence, Kan; Christian Fisher, co-founder of Briefcase, “Navigating Today’s Global Job Search Challenges;” Kris Wade, member of the Kansas City Justice Project, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Modern Day Slavery in the Heartland;” BLACK (video presentation), YoYo Master, “My Journey to Yo-Yo Mastery;” Maya Penn, Meet a Young Entrepreneur, Cartoonist, Designer, Activist” and Claude Aldridge, “Ideas Don’t Mean Sh$t.”
“My personal take-away is that whether a person is an artist, a social change agent or an entrepreneur, the same things lift you up, burden you, and carry you forward. It is a personal journey that is shared by all,” Hunt said. “The TEDx event helps us share some of the lifting and the burdens and we all come away richer for it.”
For more information about TedxWyandotte, visit www.facebook.com/TEDxWyandotte.
Information is also available by contacting Shari L. Wilson, TEDxWyandotte Organizer and Project Central at sharilea51@gmail.com or 913-269-3022 or Marisa Gray, TEDxWyandotte Organizing Committee and KCKCC staff member at mcgray@kckcc.edu or 913-288-7284.
