Tedx McMaster’s theme this year is “perspective, the power of thinking different”. I went last year and had a great time, so expectations were high.
To attend, delegates must apply for 1 of 100 spots. A written application and resume was to be submitted. To be completely honest, I doubt the spots were competitive. For instance, organizers extended the deadline, meaning they didn’t receive sufficient applications the first round. Regardless, it was a useful technique to raise interest and ensure attendees were genuinely committed to attend (after all, they invested time and effort for the application).
The event ran from 9am – 5pm.
We began with delicious round of breakfast from Celias Catering Company. It’s nice to have something different than the typical Paradise Catering that holds a monopoly in our school. Lots of gourmet bread, Danish, pastries were offered.
The event kicked off with the keynote speaker, the very same one from the leadership conference in January. Speakers that came to talk spoke about the importance of different perspectives, and how that lends ability to create positive change, namely creativity, compassion, ambition, happiness.
None of the speakers stood out as outstanding. One of the speakers cancelled last minute, so we watched a ted talk video instead. That was a good play on part of the organizers.
Lunch was served around 12:30pm. A host of sandwiches were offered, as well as salads and leftover pastries from breakfast.
Here is a shot of the sandwiches.
The afternoon sessions were mostly workshops.
The first workshop was about different personality types, and identifying which one fit you. A different color represented a distinct type, totaling up to 4 types. I can’t remember all of them, but green was supposed to be the efficient, direct, honest type that values others perception of them. Orange was the organized, effective and “getting stuff done” type.
The workshop execution was mediocre at best. It wasn’t interactive enough, as the facilitator basically read off a dense PowerPoint slide, then asked us to interpret them. There was no “ah-ha” moment, characteristic of an excellent workshop.
The second workshop was an interactive drama. The facilitator, Hartley Jaffine, is a professor at our school. It was well done and people seemed to really enjoy it. We brainstormed a hypothetical character in their 20s. It started out fun as people made up things such as her having 6 toes, professional pole dancer, etc. As we progressed, things got more serious and we projected her to be highly stressed, in an abusive relationship, low self-esteem, etc. Basically it was supposed to work as a reflection of how we collectively felt, expressed through drama and the arts.
The last workshop was focused on brainstorming green solutions to various issues. It was not well executed, as most of the attendees mentally checked out from the long day and heavy lunch. We were supposed to develop policies that focus on water conservation. Some people suggested implementing sanitary stations for homeless people.
I left early for another meeting, so I didn’t get to watch the final keynote and conclusion.
