TEDxCincy Gets Passionate About Big (and Small) Ideas

"Cincinnati is full of extraordinary voices that often don't get the opportunity to share their passions," says Michael Bergman.

To do something about it, the Project Leader with LPK teamed up with his LPK colleagues Emily Venter and David Volker, and Mary Riffe of P&G to bring TEDxCincy to life.  Longtime fans of TED - an annual west coast based conference that began in 1984 devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading" in the technology, entertainment, and design sectors- they saw the TEDx  ('x' meaning an "independently organized TED event") format as an opportunity to celebrate Cincinnati and the creative minds who call it home.  According to Bergman, "TEDxCincy provides the city a multidimensional program to showcase brilliance from people young and old and organizations both big and small."   And they're not alone. Hundreds of US cities are hosting TEDx events this year, including Columbus and Indianapolis, and globally the popular format exists in almost every country.

Bergman says that with the support of their respective companies, the TEDxCincy team has assembled an all day-long event to be held October 7th at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Their theme, "PASSION, the energy behind life's most fearless pursuits," will be articulated by a mix of high profile contributors as well as "under the radar talent."  Currently, anyone can suggest a speaker on TEDxCincy's  website.

"We would love for some of our talks to spread throughout the world and spotlight the great minds of our region, " Bergman says. "[A]s Cincinnatians, we are far too humble, and it's time to show the world the greatness that lives here. Additionally, we really want to give the city an inspirational event that externally shows the vibrancy of creativity and knowledge that we all know Cincinnati has."

In the past year, Cincinnati has seen a rush of well-attended forums for innovative ideas and presentations. Pecha Kucha had its fifth gathering this winter, and Ignite Cincinnati hosted two evenings of idea sharing at Know Theatre in early 2010. So what makes TEDxCincy different?

For starters, while there is a time limit (18 minutes max compared to Ignite's rapid fire slide presentation), time isn't the central focus of TEDxCincy presentations.  Geared more towards substantive content, the goal according to TED is to "provoke conversations that matter."

"Sometimes in events like Pecha Kucha the fun of flying through slides in a set amount of time is in itself invigorating, but often leaves you with only part of the story," Bergman says.

Bergman notes that another difference lies in the hand-selected nature of the speakers and entertainers at TEDx events.

"TEDxCIncy will hopefully provide the attendees with a full picture that expands their minds and inspires them to seek new opportunities,"  he says.

Learn more about TEDxCincy here. 
You can follow TEDxCincy on Twitter.