TEDxBuffalo 2012: The World in Your Backyard

BUFFALO, NY. It’s time once again for TEDxBuffalo, the multi-discipline speaking event under license from the popular TED conference. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 pm. on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, at the Canisius College Montante Cultural Center (2001 Main Street, Buffalo).

TED (www.ted.com) is a non-profit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” It began in California in 1984 as a conference that brought together people from three different worlds -- Technology, Entertainment and Design -- and has grown to support multiple disciplines and initiatives, including TEDx, a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Although TED provides general guidance for the TEDx program, individual TEDx events, including TEDxBuffalo, are self-organized.

“This year’s TEDxBuffalo brings more great Buffalo ideas to the stage, and to the worldwide TED brand,” said Kevin Purdy, the local license holder and organizer of TEDxBuffalo. “Astrophotography, entrepreneurship, seeing and mapping the city as an archaeology project, turning social media into community action—we’re really excited to show the crowd and the web some really great ideas built up in Buffalo.”

The theme of this year’s TEDxBuffalo conference is “The World in Your Backyard,” signifying the global reach and unencumbered ingenuity of local thinkers and leaders. At TEDxBuffalo, 12 scheduled speakers and performers will take the stage, along with curated videos of TED Talks from around the globe to spark deep discussion and foster connections among different fields of work and study. A full list of speakers is available at the event web site, tedxbuffalo.com (under the “TEDxBuffalo 2012” heading).

TEDxBuffalo is limited to 100 attendees under its license. Anyone seeking to attend can apply through the web site at tedxbuffalo.com/apply. TEDxBuffalo will also offer a few tickets through its sponsor partners, and through its Facebook page (facebook.com/tedxbuffalo) and Twitter stream (twitter.com/tedxbuffalo).

Organizers and event sponsors will offer TEDxBuffalo to the community free of charge. Approximately 100 invited participants will attend in person, and satellite viewing parties will take place at various establishments throughout Western New York. The event will stream live on the TEDxBuffalo website, and the TED site will archive all presentations for future viewing, and possible presentation of select talks to a much wider audience.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the all-volunteer, non-profit-oriented event. Anyone interested in sponsoring TEDxBuffalo should contact Elizabeth Callahan at elizabeth@tedxbuffalo.com

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About TEDx: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

About TED: TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.