TEDxExeter to be streamed live

TEDxExeter will be available to watch live via a computer or smart phone anywhere in the world for the first time this year.

Its annual conference takes place on Friday 24 April at the Exeter Northcott Theatre, and tickets sold out in two hours last December. Now those who were disappointed don’t have to miss out, as the conference will be streamed live via the TEDxExeter website.

“We are aware that the appetite for what we are doing here in Exeter is growing rapidly,” said TEDxExeter organiser Claire Kennedy. “It’s been called ‘the hottest ticket in town’ and ‘the most inspiring day of the year’. The livestream will allow hundreds, maybe thousands, more people to catch the live event and be inspired.”

As well as the public livestream, there are a number of private livestream events also happening around Exeter. Devon and Cornwall Police are using it as part of its leadership development. Exeter City Council will be making it available to staff and councillors. Students and staff at Exeter College and St Peter’s School will also be able to watch throughout the day.

As always, there is an exciting and varied line up of speakers and performers (see below and, for more detail, on www.tedxexeter.com). The theme this year is Taking the Long View. “We aim to take the long view back into the past, and explore how it has shaped the world we now live in,” said Claire Kennedy. “We want to ask about what responsibilities the past places on us in the way we live now and how we innovate.

“Much current political, economic and personal decision-making is rife with short termism. We will ask how taking the long view can reveal and help us to understand the challenges we face now, and shape the way we live and the decisions we make.”

To enable people to plan their day around the livestream, TEDxExeter is releasing the programme in advance.

9.25 – 10.50am Open Communities

Cool Earth: Saving rainforest a village at a time – Matthew Owen
Tiny satellites show us the earth as it changes in near-real-time – Will Marshall (TEDTalk)
Going viral: the digital future of public health – Rachel McKendry
Before I die I want to… - Candy Chang (TEDTalk)
Can we end child hunger in the 6th richest economy? – Carmel McConnell

11.35am – 12.45pm Global Connections

My father, mental illness and the death penalty – Clive Stafford Smith
A choir as big as the internet – Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir (TEDTalk)
Visions of a future without origin stories and identity myths – Chetan Bhatt
When people of Muslim heritage challenge fundamentalism (update film) – Karime Bennoune
Reimagining security – Celia McKeon

2.00 – 3.10pm Renewed Visions
Dancing or drowning in the rain? – Dick Moore
Effective altruism – Beth Barnes
Magic performance – Kieron Kirkland
Sidelined – Jenny Sealey
We need to talk about prisons – Sara Hyde

3.45 – 5.10pm Changing Perceptions

Work-life balance: balancing time or balancing identity? – Michelle Ryan
Make magic and influence people – Kieron Kirkland
Them and variation in nature and culture – Peter Randall-Page
How the worst moments in life make us who we are – Andrew Solomon (TEDTalk)
Poetry performance – Harry Baker

The programme will also be available on the website, along with more details about the speakers: www.tedxexeter.com