South Lake Tahoe lands popular online TEDx education series
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 05/15/2012 - 9:54pm
TEDx an online education series and offshoot of the popular TED Talks programs, will happen at South Lake Tahoe this fall, those associated with the program confirmed Tuesday.
The conference was approved by TED administration and will likely be held at the new Viking Theatre at South Tahoe High School's Tahoe Arts and Design Academy.
Josh Welch, owner of Safe Haven Chiropractic in Meyers, submitted an application to TED, an acronym for Technology Entertainment Design, about four months ago. He received confirmation earlier this month.
The half-day event will be called "TEDxSouthLakeTahoe" and will feature a number of guests who will speak for around 18 minutes about noteworthy topics in areas that reflect Lake Tahoe's rich culture, ideas and people.
According to the website, TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.
At TEDx events, a screening of TEDTalks videos — or a combination of live presenters and TEDTalks videos — sparks deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis, according to the website.
At the South Lake Tahoe event, TEDx video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The program will be limited to 100 guests in its first year and in subsequent years it will grow, Welch said. Jessica Cunningham, communications and membership services coordinator for the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce and Mandy Kendall of Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe, will help Welch in the planning effort.
"This is the starting point of a larger event process for the future," Welch said. "This year will be a small event with next year being a multi-day event.
A website will be launched soon that will explain the goal and mission of TEDxSouthLakeTahoe and will ask for people from around the lake to submit an application to speak. Right now there is a Facebook page dedicated to spreading the word.
The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including South Lake Tahoe's, are self-organized.
"We want to get everything polished this year with lighting and video so that next year it will be even better," Welch said.
An avid watcher of TED Talks, Welch said he was prompted to apply for the program with the hope of bringing worldwide attention to South Lake Tahoe because of its unique environmental and cultural diversity.
"With our small town on the TEDx map, we can have a global reach far beyond our permanent residents," he said. "TED is one of the biggest platforms on the internet and this is a way to really show the global community what ideas South Lake Tahoe has to offer."
As far as the speakers, it will depend on who applies. There's many fascinating people in the Lake Tahoe area who have experiences to share," he said.
Welch would like to see an applicant step forward who has survived an avalanche and will be able to talk opening to an audience about their experience.
"We'd also like to hear from people working closely with the environment and lake clarity, someone in health care, a philanthropist, an inventor, someone associated with Native American culture," he said. "We are looking for a group of diverse people who live in Tahoe who can talk about ideas that are unique and inspiring. We are going to let TEDx become what it is rather than guide it."
Welch is looking for partnerships to help fund the event, which includes the Web-based broadcast, filming and volunteer time. He can be reached at info@safehavenchiropractic.com.
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