TEDx Event at York Beach

York Community Auditorium is hosting a TEDx event. This will be held on February 10, 2023. The non-profit organization, TED, is dedicated to spreading ideas. It started over 30 years ago in California at a 4-day conference. Now it is an international organization spreading ideas of great thinkers from all around the globe. Some notable TED speakers include Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, and Elizabeth Gilbert. There is now an annual TED conference where more ideas can be shared. Many of the talks are available to watch at TED.com. An extension of the organization is TEDx. The TEDx program allows for opportunity at a local level. TEDx allows communities, organizations and individuals all over the world to experience and start conversations, simulated at a TED-like experience. TEDx events are coordinated and planned individually, but are managed and facilitated under TED guidelines.

The theme for the York TEDx event is “Power of the Past, Force of the Future”. The event’s lead organizer is Amanda Woods, she is a local community member. The co-organizer of this event is Jennifer Brooks. Both hope to make a large impact on the community. Their goal is to “inspire, motivate, and organize an unforgettable TEDxYorkBeach event.” The event is in collaboration with York Adult and Community Education. TEDx is a non profit event and all of the money made from ticket sales goes towards funding the event. It is completely run by volunteers, and many local companies and businesses are sponsoring the event. Some of these businesses are Stonewall Kitchen, Bagel Basket, Kennebunk Savings, Lobster in the Rough, and many more. Those involved hope to create positive change in the local community. 

The event held auditions on November 9th and 10th, 2022. The event coordinators were looking for a variety of speakers from the local community. The talk ranges from  5-18 minutes. Political, self promotion, or marketing business ideas are prohibited. The speakers for the event have now been selected. They are working with Sheila Jones, who is the head speaking coach and is passionate about helping businesses and people grow and develop. The official speaker list for the event has not been released. York High School sophomore, Chloe Whitbread, has been selected as a speaker. She is excited for this opportunity and to share her ideas. TEDx is a very unique and life-changing experience. Many talks produced by TED have gotten thousands and millions of views from all over the world. 

As a result of TEDx guidelines the event has a capacity of one hundred people. The event is now sold out. The main mission of this event is to bring the community together while sparking new ideas. The website for the event describes the goal as, “TEDxYorkBeach is working on creating a unique event in the town of York, Maine that will unleash new ideas, inspire, and inform.” For more information on the event you can visit their website: http://tedxyorkbeach.com/.