UVic spreading great ideas via TEDX

Several University of Victoria faculty members and students were featured at two TED events last month: TEDxVictoria and TEDxYouthDay. The first event included presentations on biological hackerspaces, rogue wave theory, and the evolution of storytelling. The second event was part of an annual series happening all around the world on Universal Children’s Day.

On Nov. 19 at the TEDxVictoria conference, Dr. Jim Tanaka, professor of psychology and director of UVic’s Centre for Autism Research, Technology and Education (CARTe), discussed how the use of interactive media can help children with autism spectrum disorder develop their social and emotional abilities. Tanaka TEDx video

David Leach, director of UVic’s professional writing program in the Department of Writing, examined how the successes (and failures) of the kibbutz movement’s 100-year experiment in communal life offer lessons to help all communities evolve. A UVic grad and former managing editor of explore: Canada’s Outdoor Magazine, Leach’s work has appeared in a variety of national and international publications and is the current president of the Creative Nonfiction Collective, a national writers’ organization. Leach TEDx Victoria video

On Nov. 20 at the TEDxYouthDay event, UVic students Lilia Zaharieva (child and youth care), Jacob Heliwell (political science), Shawn Slavin (UVic Lipdub, science) joined a host of others to speak at this event designed to empower and inspire young people.

UVic is no stranger to TEDTalks. In July 2011, UVic PhD candidate Genevieve von Petzinger (anthropology) gave a TEDGlobal Fellow talk in Edinburgh, Scotland. On Nov. 12, NEPTUNE Canada director Dr. Kate Moran spoke at the TEDxVancouver conference on the theme of “The Frontier: A Living Boundary with the Unknown.”

TED is a nonprofit organization started as a four-day conference in California in 1984. The TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes and the TED Talks are then made available, free, at http://www.ted.com/.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.
More: http://tedxvictoria.com