Once a year, TEDxYouth@SantaMonica partners with Santa Monica High School to curate a TED-like experience for the high school students of the City of Santa Monica and surrounding community.
This year it will be held Saturday, Nov. 16 from 12-5 pm at Barnum Hall on the campus of Samohi at 601 Pico Boulevard.
With the theme of “You,” organizers hope to inspire all participants to discover what is unique about them, bring it to expression, and share it with the world.
The event will include interactive activities, food trucks, music, and bike valet.
Student and regular tickets can be purchased at www.tedxyouthsantamonica2013.eventbrite.com.
Yolanda Quiroz Soto, TEDxYouth@SantaMonica Co-Organizer, spoke with The Mirror about the event.
For anyone not familiar with TEDx, can you explain the concept?
Yolanda: TED started as a small conference in 1984 as a platform to bring together people from technology, entertainment, and design under the moniker Ideas Worth Spreading. Today, it hosts two annual conferences, the TED Conference and TEDGlobal. TED brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers to deliver the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. The best talks and performances are available on line for the world to view free of charge.
In 2009, TED licensed the concept so individuals could do TED-like events at the community level under the name, TEDx. The “x” stands for independently organized. TEDx has become a huge phenomenon. At the end of 2012, more than 16,000 talks have been given at more than 5,000 TEDx events in 1,200 cities in 133 countries.
How long have you been involved?
I have been involved since May 2012. I’m involved because I believe in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and the world. I’m passionate about presenting new ideas to the community as a means to spark communication and facilitate connections, particularly at the high school level.
What is the format of the Santa Monica event on Nov. 16?
The format is registration from 12-12:30 pm, interactive activities from 12:30-1:30 pm, TEDxTalks from 2-4 pm, and close from 4-5 pm.
What is unique about this particular event?
The event is unique because this year we added an interactive activities component to provide the students with the opportunity to participate in interactive hands-on activities in technology, art, and fitness facilitated by the city’s thought-leaders and change agents. In addition, high school students will have the opportunity to feature their organizations, startups, and projects.
Who’s invited and how many people do you expect to attend? Is the public able to attend and is there a cost?
High school students and adults from the city of Santa Monica and surrounding communities are invited. As of now more than nine different high schools are participating. They are Santa Monica High School, Venice High School, Crossroads High School, St. Monica, Wilson High School, Garfield High School, Colburn School of Performing Arts, Hamilton High School, Animo Leadership Charter High School, and others.
The event is free to high school students, but they still need to register through Eventbrite. The fee for adults is $35 for early birds and $45 regular. Other TEDx events are up to $100.
Last year, over 450 people attended. This year, we expect over 600.
How is this different from the previous TEDx events at Samohi?
This year, the event will be more interactive and will have an outdoor component. In addition to the talks, we are presenting interactive activities (football bootcamp, yoga, technology, art, photo booth, photo portraits, green games, video scavenger hunt), food trucks, music, and bike valet.
