TEDxRoseburg Seeking to Inspire Local Residents

When Andre Larsen started planning the TedxRoseburg event in early 2020, she had permission from the TEDx organization to have more than 100 people attend. A few months later, COVID shut everything down and the team spent the rest of the year figuring out how to make the event an experience for people at home. "It’s not what we expected but we are proud of what this has grown into," Larsen said. The TedxRoseburg virtual event will be this Saturday, April 10 at 9:30 am. TED conferences began in Monterey, California in 1984. The organization has extended its flagship conferences to support local communities in creating their own TED-type conferences under the label TEDx. All TEDx events are put on by local community organizers with only guidelines from TED. “When you attend the TEDxRoseburg event, I really want you to feel like you’re at a TED event but learning from speakers who are experts living in this area," Larsen said. "That means it should be fun, it should feel like a community, it’s inspiring, and it’s empowering. COVID made that experience challenging but our nation has a similar experience every year for the Super Bowl, we gather around a screen with a select few to engage in an experience of watching something together. That’s what we felt we needed to bring to this event." The day will feature 12 speakers with 12 talks which were chosen for their "ability to make a positive impact." The event will have live stream engagement prizes, a live musical performance, videos from community members, and an online group to interact with other viewers. “Every TEDx event has a theme and ours is RIPPLES,” Larsen said. "RIPPLES has two significant factors. It’s the achievement of an action taken that spreads beyond itself, which is what we are hoping for when our speakers give their talks. We hope their bravery and action to speak on stage lends itself to a collaborative movement that takes their ideas well beyond every day and connects them with others. RIPPLES is also indicative of our lovely area and the North Umpqua River. It’s something integral to this community and we’re happy to tie it in wherever we can." Tickets to watch the live stream are still available through the event day on TEDxRoseburg.com.