Photo credit: Loretta Humble
During the planning process for TEDxAsheville, the idea of theme has come up several times.
Although TEDx events focus on Technology, Entertainment and Design (after all, that’s the name of the game), there’s often a theme or focus that encapsulates the speaker topics and performances. In some cases the theme comes first, while in others it emerges organically as the speakers are chosen.
For TEDxAsheville, it’s been a combination of both, and neither. At one point, we discussed choosing a theme, but there was some concern that we might unintentionally limit our speakers by doing so. So we decided to avoid giving our event a theme and just focus on creating a lineup of great speakers and entertainers.
On the other hand, once we got going several thematic concepts seemed to coalesce on their own out of the ether of great ideas, great personalities and great topics our speakers were bringing to the table.
Eventually, like a pattern of notes resolving into a cord, the theme of Home began to emerge. From bell hooks’ work, the idea of home as the place of your heart and your soul (whether that’s an actual place, a culture or even just a feeling). From Drew and Dee, the need to keep the Earth – home of the entire human race – safe for everybody through sustainability, collaboration and innovation. From David McConville, the concept of the universe itself as our home on a literally cosmic scale. And from Caroline Younge, the prospect of a peaceful and dignified return to home, family and finally the Earth at the end of our lives.
In the end, the theme of Home is isn’t something we chose, really. It’s something that sort of chose us. And it’s still officially unofficial, but in the way a new cat’s temporary nickname (“We are NOT calling him Mr. Poofypants!“) eventually gets adopted as it’s nom de famille seemingly by osmosis.
But I like it. It’s a concept that means different things to different people, one that can encompass almost everything important to us without limiting us to one feeling or idea. And after all, isn’t the very idea of TEDxAsheville itself about taking a really great big global concept (TED) and bringing it down to a local scale based on what’s important to us, here, in this place we call home?
So to all our fans out there I say, “Welcome to TEDxAVL, the home of ideas worth spreading in Asheville. Come on in, pull up a chair and make yourselves comfortable.”
Soni Pitts,
TEDxAsheville organizer
