TEDxJacksonville, a volunteer-run event licensed by TED, was held at the University of North Florida’s Lazzara Performance Hall on Nov. 16.
The TED Foundation allows individuals to share their thoughts, ideas and expertise through keynote presentations known as “TED Talks.” These presentations are delivered primarily at the TED Conference, the organization’s flagship event. Local groups can also organize independently-run conferences licensed by TED called “TEDx” events. The TEDxJacksonville event on Saturday lasted from 11 a.m. to around 6 p.m. and featured 12 keynote speakers from various disciplines, from military to A.I. research.
Dr. Richmond Wynn, UNF Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships Vice President, helped bring TEDxJacksonville to campus. As an avid viewer of TED Talks, Wynn got the idea to host the event at UNF after attending the conference in 2023.
“I said to myself as I left: ‘TEDx needs to be at UNF in the future,’” he said.
Shortly after the conference, he contacted co-organizers Jeanmarie Grimsley and Ron Hubbard to begin the planning process. Wynn believes that UNF’s partnership with TEDxJacksonville has been beneficial.
“I think it’s a great partnership because we share a value and a mission around ideas, creativity and innovation,” he said.
By attracting more high-profile events such as TEDxJacksonville to the university, Wynn hopes UNF will be seen as more than an educational establishment. His goals are larger—for the university to be seen as a Jacksonville institution.
“When we see the news coverage of today’s events, other people who weren’t here today go, ‘Oh my gosh, they did that thing, that thing we know is called TEDx, here on a campus—that’s right here in Jacksonville,’” Wynn said.
“It sends the message that UNF is open. We do more than teach reading, writing and arithmetics,” he said. “And it’s more than just about getting a degree. We are part of an anchor. We’re an anchor in this community,” he said.
Mario Barrozo, the TEDxJacksonville collegiate outreach coordinator and nursing student at Florida State College Jacksonville, said preparations for the event began in January when the organization decided on a conference theme. The speakers were selected from April to July and practiced their talks until the conference day.
The 2024 conference theme was “The Overlap.” The event’s program described this theme as a shared space “where different disciplines, practices and perspectives converge.”
Speakers were grouped into three sections based on themes in their presentations: “Harmonizing Differences,” “Beyond Barriers” and “Breaking Through.”
Harmonizing Differences
The first speakers were grouped based on their presentations’ political and civic themes.
Emcee Hope McMath, the former Executive Director of the Cummer Museum, introduced the first group of speakers. First up was Layla Zaidane, president and C.E.O. of Future Caucus, a nonpartisan organization assisting over 1,800 millennial and Generation Z legislators in the U.S.
Zaidane shared several stories of state representatives, many of them millennials, who came from non-political backgrounds to affect change in their communities, stressing the importance of average citizens’ involvement in political affairs.
After the second presentation, the audience was given a group activity where each participant received a card with a word and definition. The words themselves had no exact definitions in English, but in their original language, they described complex emotions. After they had read the word’s definition, they had to define it to those around them and give an example of how they express this emotion in their lives. The words were printed on cards that were given out alongside complimentary tote bags before the conference started.
Next was Col. Eries Mentzer, a United States Air Force veteran and the first Black woman to command Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. Col. Mentzer spoke about her journey from living at Maxwell as a child to taking command of the base as an adult. She also brought attention to the racism and setbacks she experienced while serving in the military over 75 years after the armed forces’ desegregation in 1948.
At certain points in her presentation, Mentzer was emotional and paused to hold back tears. After her presentation, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
The final speaker for the “Harmonizing Differences” group was Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which advocates for restoring voting rights for Floridians with past felony convictions.
Meade’s initial presentation was a prerecorded video where he shared his journey from felon to FRRC president, ending with the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018, which restored voting rights to 1.4 million Floridians with prior felony convictions.
The first group’s presentations concluded with a performance by In the Midst, a local hip-hop dance collective.
Beyond Barriers
The second session focused on accessibility issues within the healthcare industry.
After a “fireside chat” between Meade and McMath, the second group of speakers took the stage.
The first to present was Dr. Matthew Thompson, co-founder and C.E.O. of Telescope Health, a virtual healthcare company advocating for easier access to medical care. Thompson’s presentation focused on the “layers upon layers” of barriers individuals face when seeking medical care, such as the high costs of emergency visits.
Dr. Luyi Kathy Zhang, a hospice and palliative care physician, ended the session. Her presentation gave advice on how to improve one’s life without needing near-death experiences or the death of loved ones as catalysts.
“You have everything it takes to change,” she told the audience.
The Panmarco Players, a local handpan ensemble, took the stage to perform to conclude the second group’s presentations
Breaking Through
The third and final TEDxJacksonville session highlighted speakers who foster growth in their communities.
Robert Jackson, labeled an “Afrofuturist” by the event’s program, gave a presentation on memory, specifically, how remembering creates one’s sense of self.
Aishwarya Reganti, an artificial intelligence researcher and Amazon’s tech lead, explained the perils of misinformation created and perpetuated by AI.
Kady Yellow, vice president of placemaking for Downtown Vision, a nonprofit organization with a mission to improve Downtown Jacksonville, shared the story of her career and how she has applied her skills to creating community space for Jacksonville.
Nicole Snell, described as a “Global adventurer & Personal Safety Expert” in the program, shared how she uses her self-defense training and violence prevention strategies to empower women to live without fear, especially when navigating spaces alone.
The conference concluded with a performance from Morley, a musician blending several genres “into a powerful voice for human rights and environmental justice,” according to the program.
Along with the intellectual stimulation, Wynn appreciates the human connections that come from attending TED conferences.
“It’s the emotional and spiritual, even, moments that are occurring. I think when human beings connect with each other across differences that just sends a kind of synergy that just changes the mood.”
“We can talk about differences. We’re not afraid to do that, but I think it’s more important to spend time on where we are connected and how we relate to each other. And that brings a sense of unity, not only to this space, but to our campus, to our city, to our state, to our country and to the world,” he said.
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