The process of sharing ideas can be quite nitpicky; Socrates experienced this quite grievously, although he was disturbing people on a market while they were doing their shopping. Everyone may have an idea worth spreading, or, if proficiency or ego permitting, a lesson worth sharing. For everyone at Spring Agora in Bergamo who would like to phrase their thoughts, there is the TEDx @ Agora Bergamo.
The Beginning
The TEDx @Agora Bergamo is set to replace the inspirational and motivating AEGEE Inspire talks. According to Anna Gumbau, host of AEGEE Inspire at the EPM in Burgos in 2015, these talks have been organised since they were first adopted at the EBM in Valetta in 2013. The aim of AEGEE Inspire was for the speakers to present a short story, which they would find inspiring, and which would subsequently inspire the audience. Each edition of AEGEE Inspire had a different host and a different set of speakers.
The Change
According to Paolo Corti, Special Activities responsible of Agora Bergamo, his local was thinking about how to make the Spring Agora in Bergamo a special and unforgettable experience for its participants. They then decided to take AEGEE Inspire, and transform it into something that would bring the members of AEGEE even more inspiration for their generation and, if possible, for the association in general. Because of this, they decided to get directly to the platform, on which AEGEE Inspire was built, TED.
The Run-down
At Spring Agora Bergamo things have been shaken up a bit, since AEGEE-Bergamo has come to an agreement with a local licensee of the TED format to organise their own session of TEDx, called the TEDx Salon. During this edition, three professionals will tell their respective stories to the Agora on the 22nd of May. The event, according to Corti, will be most likely hosted by a local owner of the TEDx format license. Thise is to guarantee the excellence of the content during the TEDx Salon. Unlike at AEGEE Inspire sessions, where the speakers’ only requirement was to provide a summary of their topic for being allowed to speak, and their complete speech afterwards for approval, the TEDx sessions meet additional requirements. Speakers at the TEDx @ Agora Bergamo must be present at rehearsals of and meetings about their speech, speaker releases need to be signed, and speakers must be reputable experts in the topic of their speech.
The Speakers
If you are at the TEDx Salon this year, you can attend a performance by Chiara Luzzana, a Sound Artist and Music Performer, as well as two speeches, one by Simona Biancalana, a Digital Engagement Expert, and one by Hady Ghassabia, an Aerospace Engineer. Lastly, the organisation will play a video of another TED session.
This year, as a TED talk, the criteria for a story have been sharpened, because, at this edition, it is not only about the ideas worth sharing, but also about the ideas worth sharing on the website of TED. Relevance, according to the organisation at the Spring Agora, is therefore the key word. Not every inspiring story in this edition is no longer one to share: both the speech and the speaker need to be authentic yet well rehearsed, it has to be a simply explained concept of grandeur, one is to play upon on people’s emotions, and not show off his or her ego, sell anything, or, if at all possible, not to sell their ego. Yet, if you pulled this off without a hitch, it could be your story that you may pitch.
You have time to book your place until the 8th of May at 23.59 following this link.
Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen