Playing a Violin Outside the Box
Geoffrey Castle aims to shatter people’s preconceived notions of what is possible on a violin.
With a strong interest in community outreach, Castle is thrilled to give back through performances at schools from kindergarten to college. When playing for schools, Castle loves inspiring kids— first to pick up a stringed instrument, and then to learn to “play outside the box”.
Blue jeans or blue water? Fashion powering conservation around the world
Most people don't link high fashion with the conservation movement but Ava Holmes founded Fashion for Conservation (FFC) to do exactly that.
Ava and her team of industry-leading fashion professionals and her colleagues in the conservation movement have been raising awareness as well as funds by producing wildlife-inspired fashion campaigns and hosting events at Fashion Weeks around the world such as Elephantasia, a campaign to help protect African elephants, And now Elephantasia can be seen as part of TEDxSeattle in the first fashion show included in a TEDx talk. Inspired by her film producer mother and by her father, an instructor in outdoor survival skills, Ava grew up with a deep love of nature as well as beautiful art. A noted producer, Holmes’ career in fashion has always been influenced by her connection to nature, so combining her interests in fashion and conservation became an obvious choice. Eschewing traditional fashion production because of its excessive waste, Holmes decided fashion should be the solution to its own problem and created Fashion for Conservation. It’s working. Her nature-inspired approach to fashion is featured on the catwalk in fashion weeks worldwide as well as in mainstream media, reaching non-traditional audiences with a message of conservation. Fashion for Conservation now funds a variety of innovative conservation projects in threatened ecosystems around the world.
Setting scientific research free
The results from taxpayer-funded, scientific research are often locked behind a paywall.
Jennifer Hansen, a senior officer in Knowledge and Research at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, says the cost of accessing that data is too high. Limiting access to the research results in social inequity and puts human lives at risk. She argues that the current model of research distribution is overdue for disruption. Hansen says it’s time to foster a scientific revolution through open access to data. Jennifer Hansen is an equity advocate with a fierce dedication to ensuring information and scientific knowledge is free and available to all. Her professional career has revolved around closing the digital divide and inspiring others to believe in the power of knowledge to shape their world. Ms. Hansen currently works at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as the Senior Officer for Knowledge & Research. She drives the strategy development and management of the foundation’s research outputs and is an influencer in shaping the future of scholarly communication. She championed and led the implementation of the Foundation’s groundbreaking Open Access Policy – a policy requiring that all its funded published research be immediately available to everyone, everywhere without barrier or restriction. Nature called the bold action to open up scholarly research the”world’s strongest policy on open access research.” And, The Economist described it as “something that may help to change the practice of science.”
Everyone has a song - welcoming refugees through music
What started as a place to sing became a refuge.
Founded by Erin Guinup, just as the U.S. was closing its borders to citizens from select countries, the Tacoma Refugee Choir was determined to turn its musical practice into a celebration of human connection by welcoming voices from around the world. The Choir has created an original song to showcase the idea that it takes diversity to create true harmony. Featuring vocals by Wanz, QDot and Stephanie Anne Johnson.
How traveling at the speed of a bullet will change a region's culture
Hyperloop technology will allow travel at the speed of a commercial jet on the ground. What happens when cities like Seattle and Portland – three hours apart by car – are suddenly a 20-minute pod ride apart?
Charlie Swan, student and Hyperloop proponent, believes the new commuter option could do more than relieve traffic congestion and redistribute housing prices across a region. Swan argues the speed of connection will transform culture and even sense of personal identity for the people along its path. Charlie Swan, co-founder of Pacific Hyperloop, is a senior at the University of Washington pursuing undergraduate degrees in Economics and Entrepreneurship. Out of over 2600 applicants worldwide, Pacific Hyperloop represents the region as 1 of 12 semi-finalists in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. As head of Regional Engagement & Economic Development at Pacific Hyperloop, Charlie has engaged with organizations across the business and engineering spectrum as well as evaluating the economic and cultural implications of a Seattle to Portland hyperloop route on an urban and regional scale. He routinely communicates about hyperloop to public and private stakeholders, and is navigating partnerships with local industry and policy-makers.
Dance as protest; say their names see their names feel their names
Using a combination of live performance and their viral-sensation video of the protest dance “Hell You Talmbout”, these Northwest Tap Connection students work to heighten awareness about black individuals killed by police. Movement is power and these young people have the power to move us all.
TEDxSeattleLive 2018
Session 1: Doom. Gloom. Outrage. Uproar.
Jaron Lanier: Scientist, musician, visual artist, author.
Diane Wolk-Rogers: Florida public school teacher for the past 33 years.
Tracee Ellis Ross: Actress, performance artist, motivational speaker.
The Soul Rebels: Brass ensemble who blend their New Orleans brass tradition with funk, soul, hip-hop and jazz.
Zachary R. Wood: Crusader for dialogue.
Kirsty Duncan: Politician, scientist.
Steven Pinker: a professor of cognitive science (the study of the human mind) who writes about language, the mind, and human nature.
Session 7: Wow. Just Wow.
Kai-Fu Lee: Investor.
Giada Gerboni: Biomedical engineer.
Renzo Piano: A builder of shelters for human beings. And communities.
Luhan Yang: CRISPR/Cas9 pioneer.
Simona Francese: Analytical chemist.
Luke Sital-Singh: Singer-songwriter.
Alex Honnold: Rock climber.
Creating purposeful wonder
Inspired by the view through his first telescope of a fuzzy, but awe-inducing glimpse of Saturn, entrepreneur Jim Haven was spellbound by wonder.
He is now creating ways to discover and share that sense of wonder with others. Haven’s message to all of us is look up and wonder. A lifelong daydreamer and former advertising creative, Jim learned from some of the most creative people in the business before forming a creative agency in Seattle and London. It was this relationship with creativity that inspired him to change careers and a chance encounter with Saturn that has sparked his present endeavor. Jim has turned his focus skyward, co-founding Look Up where he serves as Wondernaut and Executive Director. Look Up explores the power of wonder through art, science, and space. The organization is creating collaborative experiences designed to incite wonder.
A powerful strategy for disrupting child trafficking
Patty Haven Fleischmann is successfully combating child trafficking in Seattle and catalyzing similar nationwide efforts.
As a therapist, child of a Holocaust survivor, and “kid advocate,” Fleischmann uses her ability to hold two opposing truths to attract a diverse and committed community and disrupt a seemingly insurmountable problem. Launching a Seattle-based non-profit which has raised $4.5 million to fund local organizations that combat both supply and demand, Fleischmann is galvanizing the community and driving a national conversation. A licensed marriage and family therapist of 25+ years, Patty is the co-founder and President of the StolenYouth board. StolenYouth’s mission is to support the rescue and recovery of our community’s sexually exploited youth. Patty and StolenYouth have worked tirelessly to build a unique coalition of organizations fighting trafficking on all fronts. Since then, these organizations have pioneered new ways to disrupt the scope and nature of child trafficking. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Virtual reality can be a powerful tool for understanding each other
Virtual Reality is a work in progress, says Sandy Cioffi, and she outlines exciting ways VR is being used to experience "the other," to virtually "walk in someone else’s shoes."
Artists as using immersive media, to create new narratives that would allow you to put on a high-tech headset and feel what it’s like to float down the Amazon river, experience life as a different gender, or scatter in the wake of destruction on a Syrian street. With examples of some of the most exciting work going on in this new media, Sandy argues that VR can provide a seismically new way to understand ourselves and, in the end, give us a greater understanding of what it is to be human. Sandy Cioffi was the Director of SIFFX, the Seattle film festival's celebration of virtual reality and immersive filmmaking and is currently director of the New Media and Virtual Reality X Fair coming in 2018. As a filmmaker, Sandy has worked with human rights organizations in global hot zones and has worked extensively with Hate Free Zone (now One America) producing films about treatment of immigrants post-September 11th. In 2005-2008, Sandy traveled to the volatile Niger Delta in Nigeria to film "Sweet Crude," documenting conditions and interviewing the region’s key stakeholders, including leadership of the armed resistance movement. She has been active in political advocacy for the Delta’s people, appealing to media, U.S. legislators, international diplomats, and NGOs. Sandy has worked as an artist-in-residence at many middle and high schools in Washington State and through the mentor/apprentice film program at the Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center. She was the founder and Director/Chair of Film + Media at Cornish College of the Arts. Currently, Sandy is directing a non-fiction media project with CREA, a feminist human rights organization. She is the co-founder and Creative Director of the start-up fearless360º creating immersive media and education events around the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Disease eradication is within reach
Steve Davis is working to bring an extraordinary vision to reality—the global elimination of some of the world’s most deadly and debilitating diseases.
Davis is the president and CEO of PATH, a 40-year-old, Seattle-based, global health-focused, non-governmental organization which works on vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and system/service innovations. In this talk, Davis lays out the “how to” of disease elimination calling on his diverse experience as a former human-rights lawyer, a nationally-recognized technology business innovator and social activist. Steve Davis, president and CEO of PATH, combines extensive experience as a technology business leader, global health advocate, and social innovator to accelerate great ideas and bring lifesaving solutions to scale. Prior to joining PATH in 2012, he served as director of Social Innovation at McKinsey & Company, CEO of the global digital media firm, Corbis, interim director of the Infectious Disease Research Institute, and he practiced law at the international law firm K&L Gates. Earlier, he worked extensively on refugee programs and policies, and Chinese politics and law. Mr. Davis is a lecturer on social innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He currently is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the board of InterAction, and sits on several advisory groups, including the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Social Innovation and the Clinton Global Initiative’s Global Health Advisory Board. He also serves as a trustee of the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Challenge. Mr. Davis earned his BA from Princeton University, his MA in Chinese studies from the University of Washington, and his law degree from Columbia University. He also studied at Beijing University.
We're drowning in BS, but you can learn how to fight back
Jevin West is not afraid to call out bullshit for what it is and wants to teach us how to do the same.
West is an assistant professor and co-creator of a new course, “Calling BS: data reasoning in a digital world” at the University of Washington. In this engaging talk, West shows how dangerous and misleading some news stories can be and warns that while BS is fairly easy to create, it’s harder to clean up, especially when shared relentlessly on social media. Jevin D. West is an Assistant Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. He co-founded the DataLab, a collection of faculty and graduate students focused on research in Data Curation, Computational Social Science, Data for Social Good, Information Visualization and the Science of Science. He is one of the chief architects of the new Data Science curricula for undergraduate and graduate programs at UW. Together with Carl Bergstrom, he developed the Calling Bullshit course to help the public refute the onslaught of misinformation in today’s digital and data-driven environments. The course is being adopted at universities and high schools around the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.