So it’s been a week since our minds were challenged in the best possible way. We laughed, we cried, we nodded in agreement, we shook our heads in heads in disbelief, we caught up with old friends and met many new. TEDxQueenstown 2016 lived up to its theme of CONNEXIONS as we explored what these meant to our speakers and what they meant to us.
Now that the 30+ volunteers, that put in over 4,000 volunteer hours, are slowly catching up on sleep, we can start to take stock of what an amazing event we created and be incredibly proud of the connections we have created. We are currently in the process of editing the videos to go online as fast we can but in the meantime, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at all the mind-blowing ideas worth spreading our speakers shared from the stage this year.
Amy Scott set the bar high as first speaker of the day, educating people on their communication styles. Tony Crabb followed and he had one of the the simplest and most practical solutions to reduce the impact of climate change that we’ve ever heard. Liz Breslin flipped people’s perceptions of ‘spoken word poetry’ on their head with an amazing performance. She later surprised the crowd by coming back on at the end and performing a poem she had literally just written on what connections means to us – using the words that delegates had shared throughout the day!
Father and son farmers, Neil & Mark Gardyne, humorously explained the connection of working the land and the use of technology through the use of drones on their farm. Ken Clearwater deservedly earned himself a standing ovation with his brave talk on sexual violence and male victims. His idea worth spreading was very clear – “Sexual abuse is a human rights issue not a gender issue”. Holly Hoogvliet treated the audience’s ears with a beautiful performance of her original songs. Peggy Oki spoke about how she came into environmental art and activism, with intent to inspire everyone to be pro active in their own way.
Nikki Bezzant helped show us how to eat well in a noisy world, using a carrot and a cupcake as a prime example. Patrick Dodson described how he wrote the story of his life, before it actually happened, to create the life he always wanted and gave us the tools to do the same. Online sensation Allan Dixon talked about how the uniqueness of you that is added to your content, is what people connect and relate to. Finally twins Tashi & Nungshi Malik talked about the connection that twins have and how that connection has helped them to achieve the remarkable, adventurous feats they have.
This event would not have been possible without the support of Queenstown’s amazing community. Volunteers who essentially worked an unpaid second job for a few months, but who were paid many times over with the sense of achievement. Partners who were as proud as we were, to be part of such a progressive forward thinking event. Audience members who allowed our speakers to challenge their thinking and put many new ideas in their heads. Everyone should be proud to support TEDxQueenstown in their own way and to be part of a community that welcomes new ideas with open arms.
Videos will be coming soon. Stay connected. In the meantime check out the official to be shared by you under a licence