TEDxOblong

16th October, 2011

Three Oblongers—Tim, Emma and Gem—were lucky enough to get spots at this year’s TEDxBrisbane, the independently organised version of the conference devoted to ‘ideas worth spreading’. This is the second year we’ve attended this inspiring event, and we were just as blown away this time around.

Held at Brisbane’s most beautiful venue, the State Library, TEDxBrisbane is split into four sessions with four feature speakers, interspersed with ‘brain bursts’ (short 3-minute talks). The theme was All you need is… with each of the four sessions focussing on a different area: to connect, to be open, hope, and change. The speakers were incredibly diverse but united by their outstanding success in their respective fields.

It seemed that almost every TEDx attendee agreed that Eva Cox, old school political activist and feminist, was the most compelling speaker of the day, despite the fact she was speaking via a terrible Skype connection. She articulated beautifully so many thoughts about the state of our society and how we could improve it, reminding everyone that “we need to remember we are living in a society, not an economy.” Her rapid-fire delivery of countless valid points certainly hit home—at one point the crowd cried “nooo” in unison when the video cut out, and gave her a standing ovation once she’d finished.

Another of our particular favourites was Mara Bun, CEO of Green Cross Australia, who spoke about the concept of inertia in regards to sustainability, shedding light on important facts about the consequences of our actions and how they continue on well into the future. Andrew Bartlett used his 18 minutes as a Q&A session with Mr. Hassan, an refugee from Afghanistan. Mr Hassan’s story was both enlightening and heartbreaking—if only something like that could get on national television! The final speaker was Jeff Waldman, who hangs up swings wherever he can in the hope that adults will come across them and rediscover the pure joy of childhood and the power of a push. He finished his talk with an uplifting and joyful video of his recent trip to Bolivia, a perfect way to end the day.

All in all, it was a fantastic day filled with great ideas and inspiring people. Fingers crossed we can attend again next year!

Photos from Flickr, taken by Mark Lobo.