Where can you watch TEDGlobal live in a 4-story former print shop (whose first book was printed in 1585!) with TEDsters, TEDx’ers, and other people just crazy enough to think good ideas can change the world? TEDxVilniusLive!
What is TEDxVilniusLive? Well…
1. It’s a chance for you to hang out, watch an official TED conference (live!), explore a bright and vibrant young city (Vilnius, Lithuania), and party, brainstorm, collaborate, and discuss (maybe even argue) with some of the coolest, smartest, most interesting folks you could hope to meet — all in one place.
2. It’s an experiment between the team at TEDxVilnius and TEDx: the very first 4-day TEDxLive event, which promises to be an epic, historic and extremely fun journey.
In short, it’s probably like the dinner party you’ve always wanted to have, the summer camp every geek hoped to dream into existence, and a great way to watch TED Talks.
This June 10-14, 300 adventurous and passionate folks from around the world will gather in Lithuania for 4 days of immersive workshops, engaging activities, city-exploration, and — of course — the live webstream of TEDGlobal, featuring talks from people like women’s rights activist Manal al-Sharif, risk economist Didier Sornette, and novelist Abha Dawesar.
And something even cooler — you could be one of those 300.
Read more about the TEDxVilniusLive program at their website, or register now and plan your trip to Vilnius.
See you in Vilnius!
(Photos: Views of Vilnius, Lithuania via TEDxVilniusLive)
TEDxDzorwulu organizer Mac-Jordan Degadjor named Ghana’s first Internet Freedom Fellow
Mac-Jordan speaks at TEDxYouth@Inspire
TEDxDzorwulu organizer Mac-Jordan Degadjo is a TEDx’er, writer, blogger, activist, and — most recently — a U.S. Department of State Internet Freedom Fellow.
According to a press release from the US embassy to Ghana,”The Internet Freedom Fellows program brings human rights activists from across the globe to Geneva, Washington, and Silicon Valley to meet with fellow activists, U.S. and international government leaders, and members of civil society and the private sector engaged in technology and human rights.”
Until 2013, there had yet to be an Internet Freedom Fellow from Ghana. Mac-Jordan is the first.
His work covering the 2012 Ghanian presidential elections online; advocating for the protection of and collaboration between Ghanian bloggers through a group called BloggingGhana; and co-organizing BarCamps throughout the country to, as the embassy reports, encourage young Ghanians to “get on-line where ever and however they can, making sure they have Ghanaian peers available to walk them through tech challenges,” garnered the attention of the program, and a place among this year’s fellows.
“A free and open world depends on a free and open Internet,” Mac-Jordan said when we spoke to him about the fellowship. “I believe in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, which states that: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’
“If access to the Internet was blocked when I moved to Ghana in 2007, there [wouldn’t have been] news about innovations, entrepreneurship and others coming from Africa and Ghana. Keeping the Internet free and open means more jobs opportunities are shared through social networks and forums, the spirit of innovation and creativity is encouraged.”
Mac-Jordan is especially interested in social media, which he spoke about at TEDxYouthInspire in 2010. “Social media is playing a key role in every aspect of our lives,” he told TEDx, “moving beyond just networking. Social media is also changing the way traditional news sources distribute their information. It enables every Internet user to freely access, produce, and share information with networks across borders. It makes power disseminate into society with ease.”
What does he plans to do now that he’s an Internet Freedom Fellow? “The core aim of this fellowship is to share experiences and lessons learned on the importance of a free Internet to the promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly as fundamental human rights,” he said. “Therefore, I’ll use this fellowship to inspire my generation/network of youths about the positive effects social media and the Internet can bring to them.”
You can follow Mac-Jordan’s work on his blog, or on Twitter or Facebook. For more of his thoughts on technology and Internet freedom, read the rest of our interview below:
TEDxWomen dialogue shines, even in the dark
Photo: Ryan Lash
On December 1st, 2011, the first TEDxWomen event took place at the Paley Centers in both New York and LA.
Simultaneously, over 110 TEDxWomen events were hosted by by TEDx organizers in communities all around the world, including China, the Netherlands, Israel, Pakistan, Romania, South Africa, Lebanon and the United States.
Photo: Ryan Lash
This winter, the Paley Center for Media will host the third annual TEDxWomen event —on Friday, November 30th and Saturday, December 1st, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The theme is “The Space Between.”
At TEDGlobal 2012, TEDxWomen hosted a lunch session for TEDxWomen organizers. As part of the event, TEDxWomen curator Pat Mitchell spoke, along with TEDx and TED Prize director Lara Stein, and June Cohen, Executive Producer of TED Media.
Photo: Ryan Lash
During the lunch, a Scottish Electric power outage caused the entire block in Edinburgh to go dark, but the TED and TEDx women were resourceful — the meeting went on, and TED Fellow Meklit Hadero treated lunchers to an impromptu concert.
Photo: Ryan Lash
TEDx Action Lab at TEDGlobal draws out ideas
Photo: Ryan Lash
TEDGlobal in Edinburgh was a haven for TEDx’ers with new ideas. When not in the theatre, organizers from all over the world gathered in the TEDx Action Lab — sponsored by Intel — a designated common space for TEDx’ers to talk, collaborate, plan and share.
Photo: Ryan Lash
Constructed in all-white, the lab became a public notepad for the state of TEDx, as organizers and other attendees grafittied every surface available with their ideas, plans, inspiration, and innovations.
Photo: Ryan Lash
The room was also a simulcast lounge, so TEDx’ers never missed a beat, and several brainstorms were hosted in the space, including regional meetings and a TEDxYouth organizer meet and greet.
