“What are you going to do with your next ten days?” This was the closing challenge to the TEDxLive attendees, from Kymberlee Weil, Strategic Samurai and Executive Producer of TEDxSantaBarbaraLive.
Ten days ago, TED sent a letter to TEDx organizers offering the opportunity to provide a FREE livestream of one day of the TED2015 conference. TED wanted to share the ideas worth spreading with as many communities as possible. Kymberlee Weil and Mark Sylvester, former producers of TEDxAmericanRiviera, decided to come out of retirement from producing TEDx events and bring TED back to Santa Barbara.
That was ten days ago.
In ten days they were able to secure an amazing venue, fund the effort with community sponsors and orchestrate the many people it took to produce a memorable event. The audience appreciated the cool vibe of the space, the warm and friendly welcome from the volunteers who gave freely of their time, and the innovative refreshments provided by local companies.
Many people have enjoyed a TED Talk and are familiar with the provocative themes, excellent presentations and the compelling graphics. What was different about TEDxLive was seeing unedited talks from the main stage of TED2015, including Chris Anderson’s introductions and insightful wrap-up questions. These are normally edited out of the talks we are used to seeing online.
Over 250 communities around the world gathered to enjoy TEDxLive and share the enthusiasm and energy the naturally follows when you collectively watch a series of presentations. 805connect was delighted to sponsor the event in the Santa Barbara area. In a wrap up at the end of the day, Chris Anderson celebrated the global participation of TEDxLive by running a series of images gathered from the various local events.
After the event one attendee wrote, “It was nice to spend so much time around high energy, positive, creative people in the room and on the screen.”
As Kymberlee said, “Ten days ago, TEDxSantaBarbara didn’t exist. Now we have a vibrant community of minds who are interested in making the world a better place.”
TEDxSantaBarbara wants to thank the generous support of the community:
To those who attended, thank you for you participation and enthusiasm.
To our volunteers, thank you for your initiative.
To our Community sponsors, thank you for your financial support.
To the In-Kind sponsors, thank you for stepping up with only a day or two notice and adding to the experience.
To our Media sponsors, your telling of the story helped us spread the news of the event.
To our After Party sponsors, thank you for going above and beyond including for staying late to help us celebrate.
To our Organizing sponsors introNetworks, Strategic Samurai and 805connect, special thanks to Mark Sylvester and Kymberlee Weil who co-produced the event and managed to bring together everything it took to create an amazing experience.
