{"id":85609,"date":"2013-11-04T10:09:32","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T15:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=85609"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:12:38","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:12:38","slug":"tedxuconn-its-about-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/11\/tedxuconn-its-about-time\/","title":{"rendered":"TEDxUConn: It’s About Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The TEDxUConn team, from left: Shervin Etemad, Lior Trestman, S’ha Siddiqi, Sam Menza, Dan Violette, Rosy Cersonsky, David Ritter, Sam Turek, Rebecca D’Angelo, Tom Benneche, Dillon Jones, Katie Hires, Meredith Milligan, and Alexandra Buda. (Shervin Etemad\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For nearly 30 years, the nonprofit TED<\/a> has been devoted to \u201cideas worth spreading.\u201d On Sept. 21, speakers from UConn and elsewhere focused on the future in the first TEDxUConn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of UConn\u2019s future, I see UConn definitely moving up in the world,\u201d says David Ritter \u201913 (CLAS), \u201915 (ENG), president of TEDxUConn. \u201cI think it\u2019s about time UConn has a TEDx conference that puts it on par with places like Yale, NYU, and Brown.\u201d<\/p>\n

[TED is] taking what we already know is happening here \u2013 this intellectual fervor \u2013 and rebranding it so that people can really say, \u2018Hey, there\u2019s some good stuff happening here.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ritter says UConn is an ideal location for a TEDx event. “We\u2019re in the orbits of Boston, New York, New Haven, and Hartford \u2013 some of the major academic and business centers in the country. UConn could really become a meeting place for great minds from these regions, and interdisciplinary events like TEDxUConn that can bring that talent to campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TEDxUConn<\/a>
TEDxUConn co-founder, president and emcee David Ritter ’13 (CLAS), ’15 (ENG) talks with vice president of marketing Rebecca D’Angelo ’14 (CLAS) between sessions. (Photo by TEDxUConn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The \u2018x\u2019 identifies the conference as an independently organized TED event. This one was organized by UConn students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to showcase UConn\u2019s talent in two ways,\u201d says Rebecca D\u2019Angelo \u201914 (CLAS), vice president of marketing for TEDxUConn. \u201cThe conference was entirely organized by undergraduates, so it was wonderful to use a professional brand and have that leverage and credibility. The other thing was to use the talent we have on campus, give them the credit and the platform they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ritter, who co-founded TEDxUConn along with vice president of design Tom Benneche \u201914 (CLAS) and vice president of technology Dillon Jones \u201915 (ENG), says the initial idea for September\u2019s TEDxUConn was to forecast what life would be like in 2023. When that topic seemed too constricting, the team decided on a general discussion of trends and predictions about the future, and set about making it happen.<\/p>\n

Soon they had 19 speakers<\/a> from academia, industry, and medicine eager to give their 18-minute takes on technological, sociocultural, and global trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was blown away by our speakers. I knew they\u2019d be good, but they were really, really great,\u201d says Ritter. \u201cWe got a VP from IBM to come; a CEO from a company to come. Those are connections you usually can\u2019t make every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
An attendee adds her entry to the “tell us about your future” poster at TEDxUConn on Sept. 21. (Photo by TEDxUConn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Connections are important to Ritter. He points out that the focus of TEDxUConn is not just to put on events, \u201cbut to build a community around great ideas, to get people interacting, to get relationships between people and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

D’Angelo says the TED format is a perfect opportunity for sharing ideas. \u201cThere\u2019s something that\u2019s so attractive about the TED format,\u201d she says. \u201cI love dialogue, and you don\u2019t generally have the opportunity to formally go up to someone and say, \u2018This is a great idea I have.\u2019 [TED] gives you a setting to broadcast that because it\u2019s part of this universal network. \u2026 It\u2019s taking what we already know is happening here \u2013 this intellectual fervor \u2013 and rebranding it so that people can really say, \u2018Hey, there\u2019s some good stuff happening here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of fervor, what\u2019s next for TEDxUConn?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the crazy idea of putting on another one of these events in the spring,\u201d says Ritter. \u201cWe would love to have new people involved. All it takes to do something great is to put the time in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would you like to do something great? Send an email to tedxuconn@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n