Sold-out Ypsi TEDx event announces speakers, plots livestream

A variety of local speakers will give nine eight-minute talks on the topic of interdependence for the second annual TEDxYDL event at Eastern Michigan University’s (EMU) Halle Library on April 13.

The event is co-sponsored by the Ypsilanti District Library and Halle Library. It's one of thousands of independently organized programs around the world licensed through TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading" in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers in various disciplines.

If you want to attend in person, you're already out of luck. The program has filled up completely with a long waiting list both years, with the event’s free tickets being snapped up in the first two hours they were available for the 2017 event.

However YDL communications and development coordinator Gillian Ream Gainsley says YDL is seeking a sponsor to host a livestream event this year so people on the waiting list for tickets have another option. Gainsley says organizers haven’t moved the event to a bigger space because their TED license limits the audience to 100 people.

Gainsley says choosing speakers was fun but challenging. Organizers received 62 applications and cut those down to nine talks (one talk features two speakers) that fit this year’s theme of interdependence.

The application of biomedical illustrator Megan Foldenauer, who plans to talk about the human eye, stood out.

"She told the story about how she started illustrating all of her biology papers and her professor told her about medical illustration as a field. It seemed like a fascinating way to talk about the intersection of art and science, and it fit our theme," Gainsley says.

Another presenter is Jim McBee, owner of The Ann magazine.

"Jim is going to talk about fake news, which is obviously a hot topic, but we’re also hoping he’ll talk about how an independent local print newspaper is functioning and why that’s still important," Gainsley says.

Another speaker, EMU lecturer Ping Zhou, will address the topic of interdependence by focusing on the geography of international trade. Gainsley says the last few months' divisive political climate inspired the topic for the 2017 event.

"There are so many divisions, but at the end of the day the various disciplines, as well as people and countries, depend on each other in interesting ways we don’t often think about," she says.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

All images courtesy of TEDxYDL.