NEWS - Local Breaking News

By Ray Steele, SBJ Editor

You don’t have to be Bill Gates or Richard Branson to change the world. That’s part of the message a local group hopes to spread through the upcoming TEDxCreativeCoast conference on Friday, June 18 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Savannah’s Meddin Studios, located at 2315 Louisville Road.

Affiliated with the renowned TED Conference, TEDxCreativeCoast is a local, self-organized one day conference with the goal to re-create the unique expertise found at the TED Conference. Started 25 years ago as an opportunity to share “ideas worth spreading,” past TED Conferences have invited the world’s leading thinkers and doers including Gates, Branson, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Branson and Phillipe Starck to give the talk of their lives.

Following TED’s regulations, TEDxCreativeCoast is limited to hosting 100 attendees at Meddin Studios this year. As explained on TED.com, “Without an amazing audience, we couldn’t attract amazing speakers.” Speakers at TEDxCreativeCoast are not paid; they come to engage with the audience so as a collective group they can create energy, ideas and strategies based around the theme of the conference.

While the live audience will be restricted in size, TEDxCreativeCoast will provide a live webcast at www.tedxcreativecoast.com. We encourage individuals, companies, schools and other organizations to arrange viewing parties to be able to participate as a group and enjoy a more interactive experience. TEDxCreativeCoast will also be arranging viewing parties to encourage people to come together to watch, learn and share and will have details on the website.

There will also be a networking opportunity at a post-conference reception that evening at Cha Bella, 102 E. Broad St, starting at 7 p.m.

The theme for TEDxCreativeCoast is “Designing Creativity,” in recognition that Savannah and the Creative Coast is an area ripe with business innovation, creativity, science, engineering and industry leadership. Following TED’s celebrated format, TEDxCreativeCoast will be a suite of brief, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances on a wide range of subjects related to the theme of the conference.

TEDxCreativeCoast is organized locally by Frank Spencer from KedgeForward; Jenn Taylor of Armstrong Atlantic State University; and The Creative Coast Alliance.

Tickets are now on sale and are $35 per person. The post-conference reception is free and open to the public. You can buy your tickets online and find out more information at http://tedxcreativecoast.eventbrite.com.