Carson City picked to host TEDx event in spring 2016

UPDATE: A website has been established for the TEDx Carson City event. It is www.tedxcarsoncity.com.
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With the theme "Creating the Community you want to live in" Carson City will host TEDx, an education series and offshoot of the popular TED Talks programs, in spring 2016, those associated with the program said this week.

TEDxCarsonCity will be April 8, 2016 at the Brewery Arts Center's Performance Hall. It will be a daylong event, featuring 12 to 15 live speakers and five video guests that will broadcast from other TEDx events, said Gina Hill, who organized community members earlier this year to apply for a Carson City TEDx license. The committee submitted an application in April and learned Monday that it was approved.

“The TED talks inspired me. I've seen the conversations it creates in just watching the videos and sharing on social media,” said Hill, executive director of the Brewery Arts Center. “I really believe hosting a TEDx event in our community can really change the very face of our town and its citizens.”

After doing research and talking to community members, Hill invited a group of 7 to an initial meeting to talk about it, some knew each other and some did not but the committee of volunteers was formed at that initial meeting and a theme was chosen.

“I was urgent in the application for TEDxCarsonCity as I think that Carson City is on the cusp of doing great things by working together and uniting all stakeholders from different fields and organizations,” said Hill. “I really feel like the excitement and pride in being chosen for a TEDx license will validate what Carson City is doing and will create enough energy and enthusiasm for an unforgettable, life changing event.”

Hill said Carson City is experiencing changes where citizens are taking responsibility for their community and making things happen. It is the community and its people who are best suited to fix problems, not a lawmaker in an auditorium, she said.

This blossoming spirit sets the tone for a TEDx event and will bring like-minded people together, not only for inspiration and education but for action, she said. Those who will come to this event and watch the videos, will not only do it for themselves but to make their community a better place to be and by doing so, change the very face of their world.

“A huge factor in helping us move forward was having Racquel Abowd agree to be a part of the committee as she was a speaker at TEDxUniversityofNevada in 2014 and was able to bring very valuable insight and expertise to the table, having been through the process already as a speaker,” said Hill.

The Carson City TEDx committee has already reached out to potential speakers, although nothing has been set in stone. It first wanted to secure its TEDx license before going public with a call for speakers. Now that Carson City has been granted the license, the committee will decide how it will proceed to secure the entire line up of speakers for the day, Hill said.

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.