TEDxGrinnell ‘Speak Out!’

A sold-out TEDxGrinnell conference featuring seven notable Grinnell College alumni will be available for the public on Saturday, Feb. 21 through live streaming from 1 to 5 p.m. Central time.

Talks will address a variety of issues on the theme “Speak Out!” from children learning to speak to speaking out against injustice.

Presenters include:

• Wadzi Motsi ’12, an analyst at Clinton Health Access Initiative in Zimbabwe;
• Joshua Tepfer ’97, an assistant clinical professor at Northwestern University School of Law and co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth;
• April Dobbins ’99, filmmaker and recipient of the S. J. Weiler Fund Award.

TEDx conferences, which are self-organized events operating under license from TED, are local events that bring people together to share "ideas worth spreading." The conferences emulate the TED conference, an annual gathering of leaders in technology, entertainment, and design.

Grinnell College and the Donald L. Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership are sponsoring TEDxGrinnell.

“TEDx is not a place for people to learn everything there is to know about physics or art history,” said Meghna Ravishankar ’17, organizer of TEDxGrinnell. “It’s a place for self-discovery and curiosity, encouraging people to challenge preconceived notions and push themselves out of their intellectual comfort zones.”

About TEDx, x = independently organized event


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 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com.

TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast event in nearby Whistler. The annual TEDGlobal conference was held in October 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

TED's media initiatives include:

• TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily;
• the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide;
• and the educational initiative TED-Ed.

TED has established:

• The annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action;
• TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world; and
• the TED Fellows program, helping innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter or TED on Facebook.