As a writer and journalist, I feel very privileged in that through interviews and conversations, my line of work often serves me many wonderful helpings of new information and inspiration.

Only yesterday, I was engaged in an inspirational conversation with a man named Chen Tay, a qualified chiropractor and leading Australian strategic marketing and advertising consultant based in Ballina, northern New South Wales.

Chen also happens to be part of the fascinating TED movement. Who is TED? Well, TED is not a person. TED is not a religion and it is not a commercial enterprise. It is not politically aligned in any way, shape or form.

TED is a movement that is rapidly gaining momentum in a world that often seems so full of problems, many of its citizens have become disillusioned with hopes for positive progress… a world in which many people have to fight hard to have their voices and their ideas heard. TED has a mission to improve our world through the power of great ideas, by providing new avenues for conversations like the one I had yesterday; new opportunities to voice and spread new information and ideas at conferences and events held around the world.

As mentioned formerly, Ballina-based strategic adviser Chen Tay is a big fan of TED and has direct involvement in a non-profit TED program that has been created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading". The program is called TEDx: where x=independently organized TED event.

Most TED events are held in cities across the globe, including annual conferences in Sydney and Brisbane in Australia, however the movement appears to be catching on in regional Australia now too, with one planned for northern NSW later this month and another to be held in Geelong, Victoria, later this year. When Ballina-based Chen heard that TED and TEDx was expanding beyond the cities and looking for licensees in regional areas, he applied and was accepted.

Chen is the creator and curator the Byron Bay event - aptly named named TedxByronBay. In this role, he’s charged with the responsibility of designing a TED-like event for Byron Bay, including choosing a non-profit venue for the full-day event (which will remain secret), creating a program, inviting speakers(these could be CEOs, entrepreneurs, business executives, authors, health professionals, journalists and so on), attracting sponsors and encouraging members of the community to get involved.

“Sponsors and local businesses have come to the party which is great and we have 11 confirmed speakers, who are coming to TEDxByronBay at their own cost. Speakers aren’t pitching anything, they’re just asked to step up and share 15-18 minutes of information.”

The TEDx program typically combines speakers’ live talks with TED Talks Videos and also allocates time for opportunities to network and share ideas one-on-one between breaks, in a pursuit to spark deep conversation and connections.

 “Ideas are free,” said Chen, “and the best ideas will get spread. TED is about expanding awareness and consciousness for what’s possible. There are so many great ideas out there but the trouble is, there’s often no avenues or backers to support them.”

Chen said TED is about bridging the gap between the old world and the new world. “So much in our world has changed so quickly,” he observed. “We live in such a celebrity-focused world; a world where we’re more obsessed with celebrities lives than we are about the people who are changing our world. TEDx is about giving these people a chance to step up and share their ideas and inspire, because if we don’t step up with new ideas, we become irrelevant.”

TEDxByronBay is also inviting members of the public to speak at the event. “We believe that we can learn from everyone in the world. We’re looking for people that love TED and want to share in the power… people who have new ideas for business or life and who want to make an impact on the world, that’s who we want to register.”

Each event has limited places – TEDxByronBay has space in its venue for 100 people. The team is working hard to make it an incredible event that they say may never be repeated in Byron Bay ever again! However if Chen has his way, TEDxByronBay will become an annual event, bringing a diversity of invited or nominated speakers, entertainers and audiences/attendees together in our region on an annual basis, to connect and communicate and converse with one another. 

Sounds unique? Sounds intriguing? That’s what I thought when I first heard about TEDxByronBay. Best of all, TED is relevant to you. It may be a global movement (that’s gaining momentum at the speed of light!) but TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated locally and independently, to give local groups and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

Any businesses or sponsors who are interested in becoming a partner of TEDxByronBay can hit the Tedx Byron Bay website. Likewise, members of the community who are interested in being inspired by the visions and ideas live speakers (and sharing their own ideas), can also register on the website. You can also follow this event on Facebook.

TED conferences have attracted speakers of the calibre of Bill Clinton, Sir Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Dr Jane Goodall and so many other top leaders, educators, entrepreneurs and activists. On a local level, live speakers may not be as well known as the aforementioned but will certainly be as engaging, brilliant, dynamic and inspiring. Here's hoping we see more TEDx events launched in the regions.

Posted: Wednesday June 30, 2010