TEDxMestre is a project born in the February of 2019, in order to bring to Venice the American format of TED conferences, through TEDx events: local events organised in an indipendent way but with the same spirit to tell ideas and values of the territorial community. In just six months, a group of local, young volunteers had been able to build the first edition, dedicated to the topic of ‘awakening’, and which had involved more than 700 people. The chosen location was the modern M9, the new museum in Mestre’s centre.
The TEDx conference took place in the afternoon, with the nine invited guests and two artistic performaces on stage. Moreover, free fourteen rounded tables, workshops and lab activites have entartained a public from 0 to 99 years old, and the entire city.
On this link, all the videos from the event:
A big thanks goes to the volunteer team, who organized this adventure, composed by incredible people who employed their time and energies un order to fine-tune every detail of the event and give us a wonderful TED-style experience.
The organizing team reunited on a cultural association, “Animare venezia”, in order to autonomously manage the many practical tasks: looking for needed founds, curing the event, staging, communication, graphic and the relationshps with institutions and parters, which allowed the realisation. The association has created a group of young people and local experts, with the same willing of developing technology, susteinability, and the idea to put people on the focus of needed change, which requires our time.
From the beginning, a lot of problems and difficulties were present: almost nobody had specific experiences in organizing events, interests and personal passions were different and, being a volunteer project, the availability of everyone was limited, because of working and everyday obbligations. However, these differences was the winning key to the variety of the cultural offer, which immediately distiguished itself for an open and playful approach thanks to the many activities and rounded tables that put the public on direct contact and comparison with speakers. The willing to try and the enthusiasm of bringing a new format like TED were never missing and this guided the team to earn many speakers, partners and istitutions’ trust, which were glad to participate and bring their contribute and important support.
A key ideas has always lead and motivated the team’s actions, efforts and sacrifieces, who works for the entire year on the preparation of these events: it seems crazy, but the power of ideas can positevely change the world, and this is something worthy fightening for. In this way, day after day, meeting after meeting, with patience, passion and perseverance a magic alchemy is achieved, the same which is needed to realise such an important event. All of this, thanks to everyone who is crazy enough to believe that ideas and valuable people can change the world… sooner or later, it actually will.
The team is now preparing for the next edition, and it’s trying to involve the community, which was created after many ventures, whose main objective was comparison, sharing new ideas and thoughts for the territory. Meetings are becoming virtual, new solutions for spending time together are being built and technology offers interesting scenarios in order to transform our everyday social habits.
Everyone, with passion and interest, can give its minimum contribute to create these moments of connection, which we really need today. The world is rapidly change, and new visions are urgent, which oblige us to find new ways to relate and build new forms of community for the future society. Despite the difficult situation we are living in these weeks, we like to think that all of these challenges are necessary and could offer the possibility to imagine wonderful scenarios… and we are having loads of fun, trying to build them.
