The third edition of TEDX Panaji presents an impressive lineup of 14 speakers who will touch upon ideas ranging from fashion to green energy to relevance of Sanskrit language
JAY JOSHI
TED, short for technology, entertainment, design is an organisation popular around the world for its efforts to spread ideas. The TEDX event that is held in Panaji every year under the aegis of TED has also helped bring to fore ideas and innovations from the Goan soil. As the talk series enters its third edition, the effort is to deliver more than just talks, giving the attendees a hands-on experience of Goan culture.
“This year we have set up a ‘startup zone’ and an ‘experience zone’ as a part of the event,” explains Dattaprasad Shetkar, organiser of the event. “The startup zone will showcase ten innovative Goan startups, while the experience zone will invite the guests to see and try for themselves traditional Goan activities such as Kavi art, Azulejos tiles, and coconut-leaf-weaving (malla).”
This year’s TEDX series brings an impressive lineup of 14 speakers including fashion designer Wendell Rodricks and young Goan IAS officer Ashutosh Pednekar among others. The speakers will touch upon diverse areas such as fashion, game development, green energy technology, to solving issues of traffic congestion, and testing the relevance of Sanskrit language today. The event will also feature two dance performances-an aerial dance and a performance of traditional Goan dhol. The theme of this year’s TEDX talks is “Hacked” which the organisers define as ‘a smarter way of using one’s intelligence, creativity, resourcefulness, and perseverance to rise above the ordinary’.
That said, TED is a free event, why showcase startups and businesses as a part of the venture? Responding to this question, the organiser claims that TED is more about ideas than businesses. “We are not promoting established brands but giving a room to startups who foster innovative ideas. Secondly, through the experience zone we are making an effort to preserve and promote the Kaavi art of Goa. The core value of TED has always been to promote good ideas, and promoting startups is the need of the hour because they represent the spirit of unique ideas and innovation,” Shetkar clarifies.
Elaborating more on TEDX Goa venture, Shetkar asserts that TEDX has had a deep impact on Goa and has been driving change in slow but steady manner. “We have previously organised an event where attendees met with progressive organic farmers around Goa, and today, a number of those people are into kitchen gardening and allied activities. There is a group of about 250 people who exchange ideas about organic food,” he says.
Going ahead in the TEDX event circuit, the organisers are now planning to hold the TEDX Salon event in the near future. At TEDX Salon, stakeholders in a particular issue such as garbage disposal will come together to watch TED talks about the issue, discuss and brainstorm on solutions. Salons are designed to keep the TEDX community engaged in between regularly scheduled TED events.
