Some of Alberta's brightest minds are coming to St. Albert this month to spread their brilliant ideas.
St. Albert will host its first annual TEDx event this Oct. 19. Part of an international series of talks, the daylong event is meant to help spread innovative ideas throughout a community.
It's meant to be a day of inspiration, says Rob LeLacheur, co-chair of the talk's organizing group, TEDxStAlbert. "The whole premise is, 'ideas worth spreading.'"
Up to 100 guests will have a chance to hear, see, and speak with innovators such as horticulturalist Jim Hole, Edmonton Eskimos scout Ed Hervey and agri-energy maven Evan Chrapko. Local artist Lewis Lavoie will also do a live painting before the audience. Each will present an 18-minute talk on a big idea, after which guests will have time to speak one-on-one with them and each other during the break.
These talks are meant to change your view of the world, says Gilles Prefontaine, co-chair of TEDxStAlbert. "It's more than just a PowerPoint education. It's about activating that community."
TED talkers
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a non-profit group dedicated to spreading innovative ideas. The group asks creative minds (such as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and Jane Goodall) to speak on specific topics for 18 minutes at an annual conference and then posts their talks online. TEDx events are locally organized offshoots of the global TED conference.
LeLacheur and Prefontaine say they're fans of the talks, and decided to hold one in St. Albert this summer after attending a similar event in Edmonton. "It's a day where you come out very inspired and ready to take on the world," LeLacheur says — a day to listen, learn and network. The event's theme, Cultivate Life, is meant to tie in with the city's botanic arts brand.
These talks will be posted online, Prefontaine says, and should help St. Albert gain international recognition. "We're not a sleepy little suburb of Edmonton. We are a city in our own right."
Hole says this will be his first TEDx talk, and he likes the format. "It's a natural tie-in to really showcase St. Albert and talk about things green."
Hole says he plans to talk about urban farms. St. Albert sits on some of the best farmland in the world, he argues, and isn't doing anything with it. "It's a lot of wasted potential." Land is a finite resource he says, and we can't keep squandering it.
Green roofs and backyard gardens can bring that land back into production, he explains, beautifying a city, raising local food production, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation. "You're obviously not going to take a combine across St. Albert," he says, but these technologies could bring local food to the city.
Speaker Kori Chilibeck is the founder of the Earth Water and Earth Coffee — companies that sell water, coffee and tea and donate their profits to the United Nations World Food Programme. Those profits have helped feed about 280,000 children in Haiti and provided clean water for people in Ethiopia and Sudan.
Chilibeck says he plans to speak about social entrepreneurship. "How you spend your money right now is more important than how you vote," he argues. Big companies rule the world, and by buying local, fair-trade, or organic products, you can change their behaviour.
Social entrepreneurship is about using the power of business for good, he explains. "Nestlé, for instance, sold $11 billion in ice cream last year. That's a lot of ice cream." If they funnelled even a portion of those profits over time to charity, they could end world hunger.
His businesses still have to offer competitive wages and make a profit, he continues, "but the better our bottom line is, the more people we can help." He says he hopes his talk will encourage people to rethink about how they run a business.
Tickets are $99, and can be found at www.tedxstalbert.com.
