TEDx sets Birmingham thinking
SOME of Birmingham’s brightest thinkers will be gathering in the spirit of sharing ideas and sparking discussion at TEDxBrum on March 24 at the Midlands Arts Centre.
TEDxBrum is an independent spin-off of the annual TED Conference held in Long Beach, California, which has hosted speakers such Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson and Al Gore. The theme for TEDxBrum is ‘The Next Revolution’ – exploring what will be the 21st century equivalent of the Industrial Revolution for the city.
The event is organised by a group of volunteers from Birmingham who began collaborating via Twitter after seeing videos online from TED Conference.
Anneka Deva, organiser and licensee of TEDxBrum, said: “After seeing such inspirational speakers via TEDTalks, I wanted to bring a little piece of this to Birmingham. I began talking to other TED fans in the area and we decided to meet up at Urban Coffee Company to plan how we could organise the first TEDxBrum event.
“Birmingham has a reputation for great political, industrial and social thinkers throughout history as well as groups like The Lunar Society dedicated to advancement. We also live in an interesting time with The Localism Bill offering Birmingham’s citizens the chance to influence how the city develops and flourishes over the next century.
“TEDxBrum is about bringing brilliant people together with brilliant ideas – and inspiring action.”
More than 80 potential speakers have thrown their hats into the ring although the final line up for the event has yet to be finalised.
Members of the Birmingham business community are already throwing their support behind the event, with corporate and in-kind sponsors currently including Birmingham Science Park Aston, Class Creative, Clive Reeves PR, Ormiston Education and Taurus Wealth Management.
