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.
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| 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.
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| 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
