The virtual TEDxUofSC brings “ideas that are worth spreading” straight to you
Published: October 13, 2020; Updated: October 13, 2020
By Thom Harman, [email protected], 803-777-7705
The University of South Carolina will host its first TEDxUofSC virtual event on October 21st. Guided by TED’s goal of sharing “ideas that are worth sharing”, TEDxUofSC 2020 will be broadcast from the Columbia campus via Facebook Live from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, so an extended lunch and access to Facebook is all you need to attend .
After the sold-out live event in 2018, the TEDxUofSC team faced the challenge of monitoring during a pandemic. When the stoppage started earlier this year, it looked like the entire event would have to be postponed indefinitely. But TED, the parent organization that approves TEDx programs, didn’t want everyone to miss a year (or more) of sharing good ideas and innovative progress, so they approved an alternative: licensed TEDx programs could go virtual.
The organizers of TEDxUofSC, already in the process of selecting speakers, took the chance. A virtual presentation of the lectures would allow them to offer a program for the university and Midlands communities, keeping all participants safe and healthy. The lectures, for example, could be pre-recorded to limit contact between the speakers, the host, the organizers and the team.
The team also realized that it was a great opportunity to offer their talks to anyone in the world, right away. Moving the program online means that anyone can “participate” from anywhere. Although the event is free and open to the public, participants are encouraged to register online at sc.edu/TEDxUofSC.
For university president Bob Caslen, the event shows some of the great work being done in South Carolina. “In 2020, our resourcefulness and creativity are stronger than ever,” he says. “I saw how ideas can inspire people, uplift communities and even change the world. It’s happening right here in South Carolina. ”
TEDxUofSC 2020, presented by student Rania Jamison – a dynamic public speaker, entrepreneur and communication consultant – will present five insightful lectures. Archie Crowley, a PhD. Student of linguistics, knows that words have the power to connect us. They will provide a historical and cultural perspective to help the public embrace linguistic developments in relation to gender and identity.
Amit Sheth, founding director of the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Carolina, leads an application development team and chat bots that keep chronic disease patients in more regular and robust communication with their healthcare providers.
Ann Eisenberg, an assistant professor at the Law School, will closely examine how to revive our rural communities. A specialist in rural decline, she has a vision to build a new and prosperous rural America.
I saw how ideas can inspire people, uplift communities and even change the world. It’s happening here in South Carolina.
UofSC President Bob Caslen
Researcher professor Lorne Hofseth studies the link between chronic inflammation and colon cancer. He will discuss how the Western diet and lifestyle creates a hospitable environment for colon carcinogens and will provide some tips for reducing chronic inflammation.
Kailey Mattison, Pharm.D. The candidate who retired from football while in South Carolina, will share with her parents her tips for creating off-the-field habits with her children to ensure that success on the field is accompanied by success throughout life.
The main objective of TEDxUofSC has always been to share stories of how the opportunities of the university community and the successes of research improve life in our state and country, and even around the world. Thanks to flexibility and ingenuity, that hasn’t changed, even in the middle of a pandemic. For more information, go to sc.edu/TEDxUofSC or email [email protected].
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
With the spirit of ideas that is worth spreading, TEDx is a program of self-organized local events that brings people together to share an experience similar to TED. At a TEDx event, the TED Talks video and live speakers combine to generate a deep discussion and connection. These self-organized local 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 non-profit organization dedicated to ideas that are worth spreading, often in the form of short lectures by key thinkers and directors. Many of these lectures are given at TED conferences, intimate TED Halls and thousands of TEDx events organized independently around the world. The videos of these talks are available for free on the TED.com website and on other platforms. The audio versions of TED Talks are published in the TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.
TED’s free and open initiatives to spread ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the world to expand the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; The Audacious Project, which brings out and funds critical ideas with the potential to impact millions of lives; TED Translate, which provides crowdsourcing for subtitling TED Talks so that great ideas can spread across languages and borders; and the TED-Ed educational initiative. TED also offers TED @ Work, a program that reinvents TED Talks for workplace learning. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Pindrop and TEDxSHORTS.
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Topics: speakers, exclusive events, faculty of arts and sciences, faculty of engineering and computing, faculty of law, faculty of pharmacy