TEDx Soweto: ‘Delve deep into the conversation about our future’

TED started out as a group of bright minds meeting up every year in Monterey, California 25 years ago. The principle behind it was simple: “Ideas Worth Spreading”. These days it’s an international phenomenon with conferences bearing the famous TED logo taking place all over the world. These conferences include the TED Global and TED X streams.

The TEDx stream, while licensed by TED is independently organised.

Soweto, Johannesburg will be hosting its second TEDx conference at the end of September. The event organisers claim that it will “delve deep into the conversation about our future”.

Some of the topics being explored include:

• What form society will evolve into — a network of diversity or a global Ubuntu?
• Will we harness technology to transcend our human abilities or will machines become more like us?
• Who gets to make the new rules? Can we grow our economies without destroying the planet?

The organisers say the event line-up includes select pre-recorded talks and presentations by more than a dozen “remarkable local and international live speakers”.

These include groundbreaking educationist Taddy Blecher; tech entrepreneur Stafford Masie; animation director Tiaan Franken of Jock of the Bushveld; New York-based agent for global citizenship Jenny Buccos; biophotonics researcher Patience Mthunzi; and Afro-futurist Musician Spoek Mathambo tells his awe-inspiring story as township tech musical pioneer.

“While last year’s event was focused on building local community, this year’s event strives to create an international dialogue – with some of our speakers coming from the US and Europe,” says Kelo Kubu, organizer of TEDxSoweto, TEDx Ambassador for Africa, Fellow at TEDGlobal in Arusha, Tanzania.

The event will be live webcast on www.livestream.com/tedsoweto