Ideas worth spreading will be coming to St. Albert this fall.
One local business owner is kickstarting a mini TED chapter in order to hold talks about ideas relevant to St. Albertans, in a continuation of her vision to build community in the city.
Gwynne Turner, owner of Corro Collective, went through the TED (technology, entertainment and design) vetting process to receive a personal licence to hold TEDx events.
“TED’s branding is 'ideas worth sharing', so we really wanted to do that in the community and open up our first talk,” Turner said.
TED is a global non-profit committed to spreading ideas, largely in the form of short recorded talks covering a gamut of topics in a variety of languages. TEDx is a branch of that which promotes “local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience,” according to the company’s website.
Turner’s first event on Saturday, Sept. 15 will feature three talks centred on the theme “community collaboration and connection.”
Those in attendance will watch the talks and then a facilitator will help with a discussion following the viewing. "And then we’ll be looking for applications for talks moving forward,” Turner said. “The real goal was always authentic connection and collaboration, so hoping to bring people together to build community and get to know your neighbours.”
While bigger TED talks can be full-day events, including live speakers on a variety of topics, TEDx facilitators are limited to half-day events with a focus on one topic. Turner said TEDx events are also limited to a maximum of 40 people and must be non-profit.
Turner hopes to run TEDx events once a month after the first event, and eventually would like to scale it to a larger concept with live talks from local people. Until then, events will be held at Corro Collective, Turner’s boutique shop that features the work of over 40 Alberta artisans.
Attendees are asked to donate between $20 and $50 to participate. Anyone interested in going to the event, but cannot afford the donation (which will be used to cover the cost of hosting the event) can contact Turner for an exception. Tickets are available through Corro Collective’s Facebook page or on Eventbrite.
