Don’t worry if you missed out on TEDxSydney on Saturday. In today’s guest post, OgilvyOne Sydney’s Simon Bloomfield (@dekkard42) has the Cliff’s Notes.
Firstly let’s be clear, this year I’m here for one thing – Marc Newson. As far as designer rock stars go, he’s a big one. From his iconic Lockheed Lounge to the interiors of the Qantas A380, he’s pretty much designed it all. But as is so often the case, the thing you’re most looking forward to, never quite meets your expectations. More on that later though.
The other big star of this year’s event was the new venue. Goodbye Carriageworks. Hello Sydney Opera House. It doesn’t get much more iconic than this, and the change has taking things up a level in a whole lot of ways. Not only has the audience doubled (to about 2200), so have the stakes.
But it’s also probably given Remo and his team the confidence to think bigger, knowing that an opportunity to walk one of the world’s most famous Concert Hall stages is one few could turn down.
It was also one that few brands could turn down, with a significant upping in the number of “partners.” Previous years had seen sponsors at quite a niche level with the likes of PWC and NAB Private Wealth. They’re back (albeit PWC at a lower level), but add in Qantas (handing out first class amenities bags to all attendees), Telstra, Samsung and a handful more, and we’re almost in danger of turning the Concert Hall foyer into the Convention Centre, complete with 3×2 exhibitor stands. This type of activity is always a sensitive one for the TEDx community, but it’s a necessary evil, and most of the brands handled it well.
But of course TEDx isn’t just about what’s in the goodie bags – it’s about what what’s in the heads of the speakers. And whether they truly are ideas worth spreading.
Session One.
Following the traditional welcome by Michael West and a stunning violin performance by Veren Grigorov, Julian Morrow introduced us to the man who first hired him as a lawyer, industrial and human rights lawyer, Ron McCallum. McCallum was born some 10 weeks premature and completely blind. And yet a hunger for knowledge, and to be frank, a desire to not end up in a sheltered workshop, has seen him achieve more than most. Ron spoke of his blindness, the importance of literacy and the right for all to read, and the way in which technology had matched his own developments to enable him to reach his true potential. But what struck the audience most, was Ron’s infectious humour. He received the first standing ovation of the day (and undoubtedly quite a few tears), not just for what he said, but the way he said it.
Ron was followed by Alice Gorman, a woman with the intriguing title of Space Archaeologist. (And if I’m honest, glancing ahead at the job titles of her fellow speakers, it did appear as though we were going to be having a little game of “Who can come up with the most obscure job title?”)
But as odd a combination as Space Archaeologist sounds, Alice had a point when she spoke of the cultural and historical significance of what many now call “space junk” currently orbiting around our planet: from the oldest man made satellite in space, Vanguard 1, and the way in which it used “citizen scientists” to encourage a peaceful and scientific use of space in the tense, early days of the Cold War; to the Melbourne Uni student-designed, Australis Oscar V, which helped launch Australia into orbit in 1970, even if the battery did only last for six weeks. The question in my mind though – was she really a “space” archaeologist (after all, as my wife – jokingly – asked: how do you dig for stuff in space?), or a space historian who tells a good tale? (Obscure Job Title: 1 Commonsense: 0.)
Then came Jennifer Robinson (@suigenerisjen), a young Australian human rights lawyer, best known for being a member of the legal team supporting WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. And while she opened her speech with an introduction that led many to think she was going to speak of Assange, she was in fact, introducing us to a cause much more personal to her: West Papuan self determination, and the persecution of their leader, Benny Wenda (@bennywenda), by the Indonesian government. It was a truly harrowing story, and the focus in the room was such that you really could hear a pin drop. When she then brought Benny himself out onto the stage, it was a truly moving moment for all.
And following a typically idiosyncratic performance by Musical Magician (Obscure Job Title: 2 Commonsense: 0), Greg Sheehan, that was the end of session 1.
Session Two.
The second session of the day brought a Political Scientist, a Social Entrepreneur, a City Historian, an Economic Geographer, and an Artist/Architect/Gardener to the stage. And while it was probably the least glamorous session, it was probably the most full of ideas session.
They ranged from the simple: City Historian Lisa Murray (@SydneyClio) spoke of our city’s lack of strategies for the archiving of #borndigital records (with the resulting potential loss of important memories in the very near future); to the role of Data (big and small) in Politics. And sadly, given Simon Jackman’s (@simonjackman) track record, his offhand comment about the identity of our future PM was probably bang on.
He also delivered one of the quotes of the day: “In god we trust … all others must bring data.”
A brief musical interlude from Darren “not quite The Voice” Percival, was followed by Social Entrepreneur, Danny Kennedy (@dannyksfun). A former Greenpeace activist, turned Solar energy magnate, Danny had plenty of catchy phrases. But the most important one was somewhat surprising: the increasing potential for profit in solar energy, particularly in the US, is making it more and more likely that a viable solution will come. Capitalism = Good. Yes, really.
Rounding off the session was Artist/Architect/Gardener, Joost Bakker (@greenhousejoost). Dutch-born Joost (pronounced Yoast) is another one of those guys who makes you sick – still in his mid-30s, good looking, modest, and doing some of the most amazing work in sustainable design and architecture. His zero waste, Silo by Joost project is striking, while his earlier Greenhouse project saw him recycling patrons’ urine into fertilizer. And yet his idea for TEDx was simple – we all have the space to produce food that can benefit ourselves and our communities. According to Joost, the average Australian family produces enough grey water over a year to produce 60tonnes of potatoes and 40tonnes of tomatoes. And with a little bit of ingenuity, our walls and even our roofs can become vibrant sources of vegetation. In his mind, it’s about ensuring our houses create habitats, not take them away.
It was the perfect talk to precede the lunch break, particularly a lunch that had been crowdsourced by the team at Grow It Local. But more on that, and just what Marc Newson had to say, tomorrow in Part 2.
Simon Bloomfield is the Creative Brand Guardian – American Express at OgilvyOne. His review of TEDxSydney continues tomorrow. Simon’s other pieces for Nextness include Why all copywriters should tweet and The future of 1dent!ty. Follow Simon on Twitter: @dekkard42.