TEDx Event "Local Innovations for a Changing World" Comes to Evergreen

(Olympia, Wash.) The Evergreen State College is presenting a series of short, thought-provoking talks with the theme "Local Innovations for a Changing World" from 4-7 p.m. on Monday, February 25 in the Seminar II building, Room B1105, at the college's Olympia campus, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW. The event, called "TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege," will showcase innovative, interdisciplinary responses to challenges, such as climate change, that address the needs of the community now and into the future. The event is free, but pre-registration is encouraged and campus parking is $2.00. Given the demand for this event and TEDx program requirements for limited in-person audience size, most participants will view the talks via live video feed in a nearby room. All participants will have a chance to meet and exchange views and ideas with the speakers and each other at a culminating reception following the talks. For more information and to register, visit http://blogs.evergreen.edu/tedx/registration/.

Topics and speakers will include: Food Justice High - Kim Gaffi, Executive Director of GRuB (Garden Raised Bounty); Electric Vehicle Tourism - Ron Johnston-Rodriguez, Plug-in North Central Washington, LLC; Energy Efficient Homes - Scott Bergford, Scott Homes, Inc. and Northwest Energy Team; Addressing Ocean Acidification in Washington State - Shallin Busch, Research Ecologist, Northwest Fisheries Science Center; and Sustainability in Prisons - Dan Pacholke, Co-Director, Sustainability in Prisons Project & Assistant Secretary Prisons Division, Washington Dept. of Corrections, Andrea Martin, Sustainability in Prisons Project intern.

TED (www.ted.com), known for its "TEDTalks," is a nonprofit devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading" by challenging the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less) at one of their global conferences. TEDx (www.ted.com/tedx) programs are designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis. TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege is an independently organized event, operated under license from TED.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege, are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations). About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in on the West Coast (along with a parallel conference, TEDActive), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily; the new TED Conversations, enabling broad conversations among TED fans; and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide.

TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

For information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED