Take a Look Back at TEDxNSU 2013—Videos, Photos Posted Online

In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TED has created TEDx: a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

On Mar. 22, the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences hosted its second annual TEDxNSU, where x = independently organized TED event. TEDxNSU 2013 featured an evening of engaging lectures, videos, and visual art focusing on “Moments of Insight: Bursting the Bulb,” the event’s theme.

Prior to hearing the keynote lectures, attendees enjoyed appetizers and live orchestral music by NSU’s Pro Musica Chamber Ensemble, viewed student research posters and artwork by local wood-inlay artist Craig Lavin, and even signed a giant birthday card in celebration of TEDx’s fourth anniversary.

Live talks by NSU faculty members explored the following topics: using math to predict presidential elections, by Jason Gershman; how individuals with autism are “just like us,” by Marlene Sotelo; how we can use behavioral modification techniques to create a sustainable world, by Michael Voltaire; and combining one’s passion, profession, and resources to make an impact in the community, by Emily Schmitt. NSU graduate student Henry Woodman also discussed how a teenage near-death experience shaped his life.

The event also included screenings of three TED Talks: “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” by Amy Cuddy; “My Invention That Outsmarted Lions” by 13-year-old Richard Turere; and “How to Start a Movement” by Derek Sivers.

Following the keynote talks, attendees reconvened in the theatre lobby and discussed the ideas shared throughout the evening over dessert and refreshments.

“This year’s TEDxNSU was fantastic,” said Leanne Boucher, Ph.D., assistant professor at the college, who organized the event. “The speakers were engaging, interesting, and left the audience feeling inspired to do more in their own lives. I, too, left the event full of optimism that we can make the world a better place, one idea at a time.”

Visit the college’s TEDxNSU page to relive this year’s event, featuring a photo gallery, videos from each talk, and a Twitter stream of #TEDxNSU.

About TEDx, x=independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event.

The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.*

(*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.