TEDxDar 2011: The Review
My article on last November's TEDxDAR and the global phenomenon of TED is now up over at VijanaFM. Here is a little teaser:
In 2009, to open TED up even more, the 'principals' introduced a new concept: TEDx. These events, while still retaining the spirit of a TED conference, would be independently organized. “It wasn’t clear at all that it would work,” Chris Anderson, the curator of TED, who bought it from Mr. Wurman in 2002 for his non-profit organization The Sapling Foundation, told The New York Times. “How do you avoid damaging the TED brand? Can you package TED in a box?”, he asked.
Rather than damage the brand, the introduction of TEDx has globalised it. Since 2009, there have been thousands of TEDx events across the globe. In East Africa, there was TEDxKibera two years ago and every three Saturdays a month, at TEDxCinemaNairobi, attendees watch TEDTalks on a big screen and discuss what they’ve seen.
And in 2010, TEDx came to Dar es Salaam.
The inaugural TEDxDAR proved a hit. The theme of 'What Would Nyerere Do?' resonated with attendees and provoked wide-ranging discussions in the blogosphere. But this year’s TEDxDAR is when the event truly came to its own.
To read more, please go here.
(Photo: The National Theatre stage as it looked during the 2011 TEDxDAR event. By Rosie Marie)