March 16, 2013
The problems of how to create growth in small towns, how to cope with change and how to turn disadvantage to advantage will be three of the themes of a special TEDx conference being held in Mundubbera on Friday, March 21.
The one-day event will make the small North Burnett town one of only 5000 places world-wide to host a TEDx conference and many of the talks given on the day will ultimately wind up on the global TED.com network.
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas – usually in the form of short, powerful talks of 18 minutes or less.
It began in California in 1984 at a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference, and today covers almost all topics – from science to business to global issues – in more than 90 languages.
Three major global TED conferences are held each year at Vancouver and Whistler in Canada, and Edinburgh in Scotland.
But many more TEDx conferences are held around the world each year too (the ‘X’ in TEDx means the event is organised at a local level for people in the area).
The best talks from TED and TEDx conferences are later shared with the world for free on TED.com as TED Talks videos, with a new TED Talk posted every weekday.
And through the Open Translation Project, TED Talks are sub-titled by volunteers worldwide into more than 90 languages. TED Talks are also shared on TV, radio, Netflix and many websites.
The Mundubbera TEDx conference has been organised by local resident Lisa Wain, with funding provided under the Community Recovery, Community Development initiative under the Federal Government’s Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.
“One of my dreams was to bring an event to our small town where people from the local community could access some great ideas and be inspired by new ways of thinking,” Lisa said.
The Mundubbera event will see 11 locals and visitors take to the stage, talking on a range of issues including agriculture, hunger and enforced change.
“Being a year out from the flood event, it’s a way for people to come along and be inspired, be renewed and hear some good resilience stories,” Lisa said.
“People who follow TED talks know that they’re a very inspirational community, it’s very empowering and at the end of the day of a TEDx event everyone is on a high.”
TEDx Mundubbera will be held at Mundubbera Town Hall on Friday, March 21 from 8:50am to 5:00pm.
Tickets to the event are $55 per head, and because of space limitations, audience numbers are limited to 100.
More information can be obtained on the TEDx Mundubbera website.
[Disclosure: southburnett.com.au is a sponsor of TEDx Mundubbera]
