The University of Mississippi will host its first TEDx UM Talk at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Gertrude Ford Center for Performing Arts. The event will include 10 guests speaking on the theme “In Plain Sight,” referring to simple concepts that hold a deeper meaning.
Senior international studies and French major Elizabeth Wicks coordinated the event and said the theme was created to be broad and allow audience members to draw their own connections between the talks. The talks will include Randy Watkins on nanotechnology, Michele Alexander speaking about “The B Word,” and several other topics.
Each speaker has 12 minutes and the audience will have the opportunity to participate in interactive breakout sessions. The sessions allow audience members and the speakers to engage about the topics.
Wicks said he came up with the idea of TEDx UM Talks this summer at a Southeastern regional TEDx workshop. Wicks is coordinating the event with political science associate professor Marvin King and junior business administration major Georgia Norfleet.
Wicks said the coordinators were searching for people who were creative, had innovative ideas, broad audience appeal and ties to the University to speak at the event. Wicks hopes the audience members will appreciate the speakers chosen.
“We are seeking to showcase the talent and innovation that we have here at our University and in the state— a talent that we believe the world should appreciate,” Wicks said.
Norfleet said the topic of the event speaks to her personal motives.
“I firmly believe that education should expand past the classroom, that as students, we should pursue conversations beyond the classroom, beyond the limitations of our own major and beyond our current realm of understanding,” Norfleet said.
The event will also feature artwork by graduate student Hailey Hodge.
Life-sized TEDx letters have been created as an interactive station. One will feature a peg-board with rubber bands on which audience members can write ideas that they can then spread to create a piece of art.
Another interactive station will be made out of chalkboard material. Audience members will have the chance to answer the question “What does ‘In Plain Sight’ mean to you?”
Computers will also be set up with philanthropic games that participants can play and an “ideas worth spreading” photo area.
King said this event is a fantastic way to inform people about the research and work taking place in Oxford and the surrounding areas.
“If a morning of TEDxUM talks helps people see the world in a new light then we’ve done our job,” King said. “The purpose of a university is to conduct research, disseminate knowledge and actively engage with its community. TEDx talks embody that purpose.”
