“The Unseen Community.” What is that? University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student Paul Bump will discuss what this unseen community is at TEDxHonolulu on Saturday, Nov 16. A long list of speakers from a variety of backgrounds will also take the stage at the Hawaii Theatre during the conference.
The key goals of TEDx, with the “x” meaning this whole event is independently organized, are conversation, communication and collaboration, according to the TEDxHonolulu website.
Genesis Leong, TEDxHonolulu organizer, who joined the TEDxHonolulu team this year along with 200 volunteers, explained that at this event they were really striving to find a wide variety of speakers. To find them, they had a call out for speakers. This is a process that includes applications and auditions. During the auditions, committee members, who may be previous TEDx speakers or part of the organizing team, sit in and help to narrow down the selection of speakers.
“Our focus really is to kind of highlight people locally here in Hawaiʻi,” Leong said.
This conference, with help from a sustainability team, has been declared a Green Event by the Department of Business, Economics and Tourism. In order for an event to be recognized as a “Hawaii Green Business Program EVENT,” planners must follow instructions provided by the DBET department and follow the checklist. To continue the process of becoming a green event, planners can submit other green measures they will be taking, such as encouraging people to bring their own reusable bottles.
Because TEDx Honolulu is being held at the Hawaii Theatre, in downtown Chinatown, the event will hopefully assist in building relationships with people in this area.
“(We’re hoping) to come back and rediscover what Chinatown is,” Leong said.
There are seven restaurants in Chinatown who are on board to host lunch and some will also be helping out with the post TEDx party. Chinatown holds a lot of problems Hawaiʻi faces, Leong said, like homelessness and drug usage problems.
“Maybe an idea will spark (from TEDx) of how to overcome problems like these,” she said. “Youth, as we say, are always our future.”
General Information:
Tickets: $85 (Buy online here)