Kevin Purdy is looking for normal people - average, everyday people - who are passionate about what they do to speak in front of hundreds of people for 18 minutes.
Purdy, a freelance writer, is the founder and license holder of TEDxBuffalo. TEDx is a national nonprofit organization devoted to spreading ideas. It started in 1984 as a way to bring people together from three academic worlds - technology, entertainment and design.
TEDx is the version of the conference"designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level," according ted.com.
Purdy was responsible for the first two conferences held in the Queen City.Each speaker gets 18 minutes to talk about "an idea worth spreading." Videos are then uploaded to the Internet for the public to view.
"It started out as a small gathering with just people in those fields where they got together and talked about stuff, and then it grew into a much bigger event where it has a much broader focus," Purdy said.
Chaz Adams, a business analyst at AIX Group, a local insurance agency, will take over for Purdy this year and will be the head organizer of the conference. Adams anticipates a larger turnout this year compared to previous years because when the organization first got its license to host a TEDx conference, there were restrictions on attendance and fundraising.
In previous years, the event has been limited to 100 people. In order to "unlock a bigger license" the coordinators fundraised at an event in California, Adams said.
The goal is to have 300 people in attendance this year on Oct. 15 and the organizing team is hoping the theme of "Renaissance People" will bring those attendees.
The coordinators also hope to have UB students and faculty members involved in the thinking conference.
Jessica Seabury, senior assistant director of the University Honors College, has been helping to plan this year's event. She is hoping UB students will be motivated to present their ideas.
"We're looking for somebody who has a great idea and can tell it in a really compelling way," Seabury said. "We'd love to have someone from the refugee community in Buffalo this year ... I think they have a lot of good stories to tell and a lot of great experiences they can share."
Purdy said students can show academic transcripts to future employers, but it is a whole other level to be able to point them to a "professionally recorded video where you're talking to 200 people about your topic."
"We're letting you step outside of just presenting to your peers on campus," Adams said. "You're speaking to a group that you're pitching an idea to. You have an engaged audience who will embrace what you're speaking about,"
He looks forward to showcasing the "diverse and intelligent community," which he believes exists at UB.
Seabury agrees. She thinks there are so many diverse people at UB who are "doing really cool things" who could contribute valuable ideas to the conference. However, the selection process is important. While they don't want to limit the speakers to topics related only to Buffalo, there is a need to embrace the fact that this is TEDxBuffalo.
"You need a combination of somebody who is really smart but can also convey that in a way that's accessible to an audience and can relate to the audience," Seabury said. "As you know with teachers, you can have someone smart who can't really get that across to students."
Purdy said the biggest success has been a local astro-photographer named Alan Friedman.
Friedman's TEDxBuffalo video has 35,000 views and the number is still rising. Friedman runs a graphic company in Buffalo and, in his spare time, shoots photos of the sun with a telescope in his backyard.
Purdy says someone like Friedman is what TEDxBuffalo is all about - normal people doing amazing things. He said TEDx programs are all about trying to find these people.
"Every town has people like Alan Friedman," Purdy said. "It's [the job of TEDx] to find those folks and just give them 18 minutes, which is not enough time to teach a Ph.D.-level class, but it's enough time that they can tell you why they're so enthusiastic."
For Purdy, TEDxBuffalo's goal is to "give these people with smaller ideas a chance to shine."
Email: features@ubspectrum.com
