In only 18 minutes presenters speak in front of audiences. Anyone having "Ideas worth spreading" starts to take. The audiences don't just stand like bronze statues in a hall. They take part in events and attend 'after party' with speakers. Is this a lecture? Well, it seemed to be a little different from prior lectures that we've known. You may have not heard about it before, but this unusual event is broadening its scope in the world. This is TED!
TED is a small nonprofit organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading." It started out in 1894 as a conference bringing people together from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Since the discussions have started to be videoed and posted on YouTube, it has gained a huge following on a worldwide scale and similar events under the TEDx banner [the 'x' meaning they are organized locally and independently but follow the same approach and ethos] are happening all over the place.
Cheon Young-hwan, a director & licensee of TEDx Daejeon, said "All TEDx conferences had only been held in Seoul, and I made frequent visits to office in Seoul. At first they regarded me as a weird man from a local city, but at last they were impressed by my enthusiasm. As a result, I received a 'TEDx Daejeon' license from the head office, and I was able to gather organizers from social network club." He made TEDx Daejeon possible and now he continuously works as a Chief Advisor in TEDx DV.
It usually takes about two months to prepare one conference. On the day I visited, they were planning schedules and attendees' missions before opening the ceremony. TEDx features dynamic events. Attendees don't listen passively to the speakers' words. They are all encouraged to wear T-sjirts and to participate in special events at break time.
The beginning was about Sasang typology of personalized medicine presented By Kim Jong-yeol. He discussed his goals to research specifically for oriental medicine. "If it proceeds successfully, we would be able to judge a disorder of body system looking at the patient's face someday," said Kim. Besides him, other speakers gave the attendees unique presentation in 18 minutes.
Organizers of TEDx DV were also impressed by speakers. Koo Ah-young, Dept. of Business Administration, said, "I was impressed by the speaker's passion. They stood on stage without any material reward. Although it was a bit difficult to take pictures with utter strangers at first, I was able to play a role as a linker for audiences at last. It was a great experience!" Kim Ki-wook, Dept. of Korean language & Literature, said, "I didn't ever know there are many creative thinkers where I live. I want to be a notable specialist like them"
Have you ever thought making a donation, but did not because you thought it was reserved for only the rich? You can make a substantial contribution by giving your ideas. TEDx is a new kind of idea donation syndrome. "I came to organize Daedeok conferences by looking at Daedeok Valley's possibility for find creative values. Daedeok seems like an pbvious place for a TEDx event." said Lee Jin-hyeong, a director of TEDx DV. He was convinced of the value of idea donation. Ideas can grow larger and become more valuable when they are shared.
diana@cnu.ac.kr