TEDx: An Attempt by The Humanity to Inspire, Share, and Change

Last year, Jamie Oliver, a young cook from Britain became the winner of TED2010, after giving an eighteen-minute talk on the the need to “teach every child about food.” The TED2010’s theme was “What the World Needs Now,”and many people, along with Jamie Oliver hadgiven speeches on what they think is the most urgent matter for the world and suggested ideas to solve the problem.
 

All photographs provided by TedxSeoul

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

TED, short for Technology Entertainment and Design, is a non-profit organization that has the goal of disseminating “ideas worth spreading.” It holds a set of conferences every year, putting forth a theme that covers a range of different ideas concerning culture, science, and humanity. TED, where many people with the same goal of bettering the humanity’s lives, also encourages formation of relationships. This encouragement is based on TED’s belief that larger number can make come true something that one person can only hope for.

The spread does not stop here; TEDx events are furthering the spread even more. The ‘x’ of TEDx means “independently organized TED events.” TED-like events are held by communities, organizations, or individuals in the hope of advancing TED’s mission of disseminating “ides worth spreading.”

 

 Interview with Evangelist Han-Seok Ryu of TEDxSeoul

There are numerous TEDx’s happening in South Korea, such as the TEDxSeoul, TEDx YongSan, TEDx’s at universities, and endless more. An E-mail interview with Han-Seok Ryu and In-Hyuk Song of TEDxSeoul was carried out for more detailed information of how ideas could be spread insie Korea. Evangelist Ryu and Song (evangelist meaning “the person who spreads”) are two of the organizers of TED. 

How did TEDxSeoul start?

I (Ryu) personally started as a translator of the TED videos. I watched one or two of them, and I thought that they were really worth spreading to people around me. The wish to spread TED led me to actually organize TEDx with others who had the same passion as me, finally culminating in the formation of TEDxSeoul. The team formed initially in June of 2009 and held the first event in the same year November. We held two more events last year, and during that time 60 more TEDx’s formed around the nation. This level of enthusiasm had never been witnessed by the TED community until now, even at the global arena.

You two went to the original TED conference in California last year. What was it like and how did it “inspire” you?

Many famous people attended such as Bill Gates and Jason Mraz. But this really is not the important part. The real charm was the love for humanity that existed in the heart of everything and everyone. Obviously, the knowledge and ideas you can get from just watching the video, so it was attending the conference itself that could provide something that really mattered. The conference was special in the sense that you can communicate with these people and really “share” the idea. TED is a very expensive conference, and people sacrifice so much to “meet” and develop relationships with others who have the same zeal for humanity. One memorable comment by one of the attendees was, “I feel relieved to find out through TED that leaders from around the world have such caring minds and hearts.

There are so many TEDx events happening around the world. We really cannot expect what we will end up with them, but one thing for sure is that it will be amazing.

There are also students and teenagers who have great interest in bettering the humanity. How do you think they could participate in TED activities?

There are many ways students can participate. Since TED spreads ideas, we have a natural interest in education. We think much about how TEDx could affect education, and one of the projects that work on this part is the “TED ED”(http://education.ted.com/). Moreover, there are many TEDxYouth events being held around the globe, such as the TEDxYouth@Tokyo and TEDxYouth@Seoul. Usually, such youth events are carried out by students with assist from teachers.

We heard that there have been two or so events held in Korea until now. Learning by book and lectures is not enough now. Getting to realize who you are and what you are passionate about through experiencing diverse activities is the real learning. In this sense, organizing and participating in TEDxYouth events yourself will be worth it for sure.

What do you think is the TEDxSeoul’s ultimate goal in Korea?

TEDxSeoul’s mission is “Inspire. Share. Change.” This means to bring to surface the many hidden inspirations, and spread them to people around us, so that we can make even the smallest changes to this world. Change starts from the inside. When we decide “I need to do something,” this is when the change
starts. Like Mahatma Gandhi once said “be the change you want to see in the world.” We are just hoping that our small changes will aggregate into a bigger one.
  

I personally believe that TED is different from other conferences that are held to further improve the lives of the upper minorities. TED’s true interest is not about the technology, entertainment, and design. It is about enhancement in the overall quality of human life. TED exists to bring out the ideas buried in one person’s mind, ideas that have the potential to make revolutionary changes when supported. Students can participate in TED through TEDx events, or just by watching the TED videos on TED website and participating in the ongoing debates and conversations about the ideas introduced. What’s the point of having ideas cramped up inside you? Share them!

 

If you wish to meet the “ideas worth spreading”, or want to spread yours, below are the links to TED homepage ,TEDxSeoul homepage, and TEDxYouth homepage:

TED: www.ted.com

TEDxSeoul: www.tedxseoul.com

TEDxYouth@Seoul: http://www.tedxyouthseoul.com/