By IANS,
New Delhi : The high-powered TED talks – short for Technology, Entertainment and Design – have come to the Indian capital with a micro-level avatar, TEDx Mehrauli, to address issues confronting the community and city which is transforming in the globalisation rush.
A host of high-profile speakers, including Mani Shankar Aiyar, Saba Naqvi, Nilanjana Roy, Arpita Das, Peter Smetacek and Rahul Ram will assemble on Saturday at Olive, a hip resto-lounge in the ancient archaeological site of Mehrauli dating back to the early Islamic rule in India, for the event .
TEDx Mehrauli is a confluence of ideas, the meeting of some of the most accomplished minds in the sphere of art, culture, writing, technology, innovation and environment, Anurag Srivastava, the organisor of TEDx Mehrauli said.
Tedx Mehrauli is an offshoot of the TED talks set up in US in 1984 as a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas. It has brought together veterans from the world of technology, entertainment and design to debate new ideas, share life stories and provide platforms for inspirations.
Over the years, the organisers of TED in US have spread out the talks to cover the cities and communities worldwide through a Tedx independent franchise network.
The programme is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.
“At the TEDx events, a screening of TED talks videos – or a combination of live presenters and TED talks videos – sparks deep conversation and connections. The discussions fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis,” Srivastava said.
Curator of the talks Hina Mobar said: “TEDx Mehrauli had started off with just a few ideas”.
“We were amazed at how enthusiastic the response was. It is indeed very motivating that this is our pilot event and we already have a list,” Mobar said.