TEDxGrandValley initiative on sustainability still taking applications for speakers

Sharon Hanks

A sustainability initiative from Grand Valley State University is taking applications until Friday for speakers for an upcoming event in October in Allendale that is a self-organized conference patterned after the TED conferences in California.

Grand Valley State University's Sustainable Community Development Initiative (SCDI) is looking for presenters for its TEDxGrandValley, one of the first TED events in West Michigan, to generate excitement and inspiration for ways to become more environmentally sustainable. The TED format is very different from traditional presentations, and speakers are expected to follow the TED Commandments of do's and don'ts.

"We want people to share their stories about sustainability and hopefully, when people hear these stories, they'll be inspired to create their own stories," says Emily Martin, a GVSU graduate assistant for the SCDI. "TED has a really unique format and is a good vehicle for what we want to accomplish. It's short talks and an interdisciplinary approach. Sustainability is about integrated thinking."

Using TED's format, a series of speakers will share short talks that are 18 minutes or less, followed by periodic breaks to facilitate conversations among presenters and the audience.

The concept started in 1984 as a conference that brought people together from three worlds: technology, entertainment and design. Since then, the non-profit's scope has become ever broader.

"It really forces people to think about what it is they're trying to say and to say it succinctly," Martin says. "In this format, people can use Power Points (presentations) but not in the traditional way. It's a visual aid as opposed to summarizing your talk with bullet points. It encourages people to show pictures and key words, not the standard text-heavy points people are used to seeing."

More than 500 TEDTalks are available online, with more added each week. All applications to speak at the day-long TEDxGrandValley event will be reviewed by a committee, which will select the speakers for the day-long event, Tuesday, October 26 at the Cook-DeWitt Center. Chosen presenters will be notified by August 2. Get your TEDxGrandValley Speaker Application Form here.

Source: Emily Martin, GVSU grad assistant for the university's Sustainable Community Development Initiative; TED's website.

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.