Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Reflections of the TEDxSummit


From April 15-21 we had the privilege of gathering in Doha, Qatar in the Middle East with about 700 other TEDx organizers from all around the world. This was a remarkable trip – designed for learning, sharing, growing, and becoming inspired.

Let us start by saying – this was not your average conference. It was much much more. Never have we experienced such a positive, creative, and diverse environment. Each day we had the opportunity to meet incredible people from all walks of life. We began to make connections before the conference and workshops even began, through organized tours like sand dune bashing.

Arriving in Doha -  we were greeted by the Power of X

The conference kicked off in an amphitheatre, where we sat alongside 1200 locals, taking in some remarkable TED talks. (Hans Rosling’s talk at the Summit can be viewed here) This really set the tone for the week.

In a large dome built especially for the TEDxSummit we gave our ears to some fellow TEDx organizers as they got on stage and shared their best practices as well as their ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’. Over 3 days we attended workshops that we hand selected in order to best inform ourselves on relevant topics. Some of the workshops we attended included; How to Build a Resilient Volunteer-Organized Event, Partnerships, Building a Local Community, Ticketing, Getting a Great Talk from your Speakers, Hosting, Filming, Designing your Stage, How to Engage your Audience, and Public Relations. These workshops were quite informative and allowed for a lot of discussion and new ideas to surface. We had an opportunity to gather with all of our fellow Canadians to discuss issues relevant to our region and opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing.
 
Left to right: Courtney and Megan taking a tour on a camel during dessert day
TEDxAlgonquinPark was very well received and there was much excitement from other organizers upon hearing that this event would be focused on and hosted in a provincial park. In fact, you may see some of their smiling faces volunteering on September 6th!

We are happy to report that we have returned home with the tools needed to make TEDxAlgonquinPark a positive and memorable event for you, as we continue to go forward in the planning stage, with great excitement. We hope to implement some of the best ideas we heard at the TEDxSummit and are grateful to have had this opportunity to learn from other organizers.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Algonquin Visitors Centre,
Megan and Courtney

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