Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where they cut off your ear
If they don’t like your face
It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home
When the wind’s from the east
And the sun’s from the west
And the sand in the glass is right
Come on down
Stop on by
Hop a carpet and fly
To another Arabian night
After months of hard work, we’re coming down to the wire with the organization for TEDxWaterloo, finally happening next week on February 25 at the Gig Music Hall in downtown Kitchener – and we’re definitely super excited!!!
On a personal note, it’s been quite the journey for me from my initial blog post on a possible TEDxWaterloo event last summer, to opportune meetings with an amazing group of people who are equally as passionate about ideas worth spreading. Credit for putting TEDxWaterloo together really has to go to the entire team of volunteers behind the event, who have collectively given hundreds of hours of their time, energy and commitment towards making TEDxWaterloo a success.
Our diverse range of speakers, all of whom are well recognized and respected in their fields, are also giving us their time and energy because they truly believe in sharing their ideas and experiences with the broader community.
We will be live webstreaming the entire event beginning 2pm EST on February 25 at www.tedxwaterloo.com. All of the TEDxWaterloo Talks will be made available online after the event.
Terry O’Reilly – Advertising visionary and host of the CBC award-winning radio series “The Age of Persuasion“.
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Philip Beesley – Professor at Waterloo Architecture creating vastly complex ‘living’ environments that can breathe and feel.
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Raymond LaFlamme – Founding Director of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing whose insight changed Stephen Hawking’s mind and theories about our universe.
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Paul Saltzman – Beatles photographer and two-time Emmy Award winning film & television producer-director.
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Caroline Disler – A master of translation with working knowledge of ancient languages including Sumerian, Akkadian, Edomite, Ancient Hebrew, Egyptian, Sanskrit, Latin and Greek.
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Madhur Anand – Internationally recognized scientist, poet, and professor of Global Ecological Change at the University of Guelph.
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Michael Sacco – Chocolatier and social entrepreneur promoting the diversity of production of organic cacao through a structure defined as “horizontal trade”.
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Darren Wershler – Canadian experimental poet, non-fiction writer and cultural critic.
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Marty Avery – A connector and catalyst whose strategic approach offers remarkable insight into the human side of business.
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Amy Krouse Rosenthal – New York Times best-selling children’s author, radio host and creative filmmaker.
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Below is a video segment of Jaclyn and I discussing TEDxWaterloo that appeared on the Waterloo Region Record website, courtesy of Philip Bast.
The full interview with Chris Meidell of Waterloo Tech TV can be found here.
In case you missed it, watch Bilodeau’s gold medal run in the men’s moguls here.
I even went as far as giving in and buying a Vancouver 2010 sweatshirt at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto earlier this afternoon. Im glad that I did however, because the Olympic Torch was on display at the Eaton Centre and I was able to get a photo with it. I have to admit, a part of me was disappointed when I missed the Olympic Torch relay when it passed through the Toronto/Kitchener-Waterloo area at the end of December (I was out west in Cranbrook, BC for the holidays then), and I missed it again when it passed through Cranbrook, BC at the end of January (I was back in Waterloo already).
GO TEAM CANADA!!!
Of course, I would also like to express my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the friends and family of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger from Georgia who died in that horrific Olympic training crash just hours prior to the start of the opening ceremonies. Shame on CTV for needlessly showcasing video footage of the horrific crash, sensational journalism at its worst.
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Photos Courtesy of the Toronto Star
I am a 20-something young person keenly interested in learning how transformative social change happens, and passionate about building resilient communities. I also have a strong background in student and youth engagement, and I am convinced that young people have the power and opportunities like never before to affect positive change in the world.
Im definitely getting the 
