By Kevin Coughlin
TEDx, the popular conference series that promotes “ideas worth spreading,” is spreading to Morristown.
A roster of eclectic thinkers is scheduled for a half-day of talks on Oct. 20, 2015, at a location to be announced, said organizer Michael DePalma, a Morristown entrepreneur who was a TEDx speaker in Bedminster last fall.
Among speakers DePalma has lined up for 18-minute presentations at TEDx Morristown:
- Dr. Dan Diamond, a Seattle physician who volunteers at disasters, who will share observations about why some people perform better under pressure than others.
- Troy Neuenberg, who oversees foreign youths in a Martha’s Vineyard restaurant every summer to foster cross-cultural understanding.
- Roya Hakakian, Iranian-born author, poet and journalist, whose most recent book, Assassins of the Turquoise Palace (Grove/Atlantic), chronicles Iran’s terror campaign against exiled Iranian dissidents in Western Europe. She also is the sister of Javid Hakakian of Morristown’s J&K Designer Flooring.
- Chip Paillex, a New Jersey resident who founded America’s Grow-a-Row, a farming non-profit program, in 2008.
- Tom Steinberg, founder of MySociety.org, a nonprofit that has created online tools to help citizens hold government accountable.
“They have to have a story, a big idea. And they must be able to translate it well enough to connect with the audience,” explained DePalma, 48.
If you’re keen on joining that audience, however, be advised: TEDx rules limit attendance to 100 spectators, and you must apply to get in.
“It’s elite. This is not an egalitarian enterprise. Not everyone gets to go to TED. Not everyone gets to go to Harvard. You have to show you can contribute to the conversation … It’s a special event,” said DePalma.
TED Conferences LLC, the nonprofit that licenses hundreds of TEDx events around the world to independent presenters like DePalma, is protective of its brand, he said.
TED is short for “Technology, Entertainment, Design” — pet subjects of founder Richard Saul Wurman, an architect and graphic designer. The first TED conference in 1984 showcased the Sony compact disc and the Apple Macintosh computer.
Videos of TED talks have been viewed online more than 1 billion times, and $100,000 TED Prizes have been awarded to Bill Clinton, Bono, biologist E.O. Wilson, oceanographer Sylvia Earle and the artist JR, among others. (The prize subsequently was boosted to $1 million.)
From TED’s mission statement:
We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.
DePalma is working closely with Sustainable Morristown — which cites “social equity” among its chief causes.
Asked how that squares with the exclusive philosophy of TEDx, Sustainable Morristown President Paul Miller acknowledged “a delicate balance.”
TEDx has proven its value in fostering dialog, which is crucial for a vibrant, sustainable community, Miller said. At the same time, “We are committed to inclusion. Our interest is making sure all elements of our community are represented.”
Meet Michael DePalma at Festival Earth, Sunday, May 17, 2015, on the Vail Mansion lawn. And say hello to us–at 1:30 pm we’ll be hosting an interview show with guests Paul Miller, town planner Phil Abramson, restaurateur Chris Cannon, Bill Ruddick of the Gran Fondo, Kristin Ace of the Shade Tree Commission, and members of Our Youth Their Future and Bike and Walk Morristown.
While TED has broadened the kinds of topics allowed, other rules remain. Conferences cannot have themes or support charities. Admission fees may be charged, but only to cover costs. Speakers are not paid, and they pay their own travel. Certain production values are required for the lecture videos, which must be freely available online.
And the 18-minute limit for talks is ironclad.
“It’s a good pressure. It’s an honor,” said Mendham native Allison Sosna, who spoke two years ago at a TEDx conference in Washington DC about MicroGreens, her nonprofit that teaches disadvantaged schoolkids to eat healthy on food stamps.
The TEDx vetting process and rehearsals for her highly choreographed talk were rigorous, said Sosna, a chef. But the presentation and resulting video generated many contacts and considerable press coverage, including an upcoming profile on MSNBC, she said.
“It’s empowering,” added Sosna, 30, a graduate of West Morris Mendham High School. “Other people are coming [to the event] for you.”
DePalma studied neurobiology at William Paterson University, but discovered a talent for designing databases and became an information technology director. He is president of software firm M3 Health and consulting firm Pensare LLC, co-founder of The Human API (he’s writing a book of the same name), and editor of the blog BrainfoodTV.com.
Organizing TEDx conferences now is a labor of love, DePalma said. But a different emotion set him on this path.
After attending a 2013 TEDMED conference (a spinoff that does allow themes), “I was angry,” recounted DePalma, an avid hockey player.
“I felt I wasn’t doing enough. I didn’t feel like I was making a real difference about the way people live.”
Stay tuned.
