So in a about a week I’ll be landing in Vancouver/Canada for possibly one of the most exciting weeks of the year. Here’s why…
Since I was invited to attend TED2017 it has been week after week of excitement and pure joy. It feels somehow as if you entered an alternative reality and you start feeling like life is a dream where many things you imagine impossible become possible. Well, maybe because that’s the way we should look at life.
We humans are amazing and capable of accomplishing the amazing. With this, I like to define TED as a showscreen for those accomplishments. The event has not yet begun and I have already connected with several incredible people which leads me to say that yes, there will be amazing talks and workshops and interactive events, but my real expectation for this week is to connect with people at a human level that will make “The Future Me” more in tune with “The Future Us”.
Now, of course I can’t just leave that there and ignore the mindblowing aspects of the event. For that, here are some of my personal expectations for the week.
Event starts previously for TED Translators with a workshop on Sunday where I’ll be able to meet some of the most wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure of spending the time talking to in the last weeks. You can get to know a bit about them here: A closer look at TED Translators.
I’m sure it will be incredible to share some time together. Sunday will then close with a Family Dinner with around 50 people. I guess the toughest decision will be to decide to go back to the hotel.
(decided now to get structured with my expectations to keep this short)
Workshops and special events:
From what I’m feeling, workshops and special events will be sort of those cherries and strawberries plus cream and chocolate sprinkles on top a delicious cake. Some of them are:
1) OK GO. I bet many of you have already seen some crazy guys sing on threadmills. If not, check it here: Here it goes again. What will they be up to in a live stage?
2) Shared Studios Portals: a way to connect with people from anywhere using Virtual Reality. I chose to enter two portals: First, I’ll join the residents from the Centro de Cultura Digital to discuss the formation of new cultural, social and economic practices that emerge from the daily use of digital technology. Second, I’ll connect with residents from the Milwaukee area on issues of criminal and social justice and reform. Milwaukee, Wisconsin zip code 53206 has the highest incarceration rate of any zip code in the US.
3) The VOID: ok, so the image below quites sets up the expectations for this experience.
4) Intergalactic transportation 101 with Adam Savage. What do you get when you glue WWII model parts to a simple shape like a cylindar? Why, a spaceship of course! So we’ve been warned there will be spray paint and superglue involved.
5) TED en Español Celebration Dinner. I really don’t know what is up for this night, but I’m very (very) happy to be able to spend some time with truly inspirational people from the TED community that takes incredible ideas further breaking the barriers of language.
And of course, the TED Talks:
From the amazing line-up of speakers this year, the following are the ones I’m mostly enthusiastic about seeing.
1) Richard Browning(Gravity). So, if you haven’t seen what this company has been up to, take a look at gravity.co and see a bit of Stark technology yourself (for real).
2) Jorge Drexler: my favorite singer of all time. I’m very inspired by this guy and I’m sure you can be too. Get a feeling for him here: Todo se transforma.
3) Serena Williams: someone that is brilliant in and out of the courts.
4) Garry Kasparov: from playing chess against a computer to preserving democracy.
5) And I couldn’t leave behind… Elon Musk: from Tesla, to SpaceX and Solarcity, seeing Elon will be like getting a glimpse into the future.
In this event, other than the human connections above stated that I wish to create, I hope that it can be able to place in my mind a vision for the future that I want for me and for the ones around me so that I can start taking action today to trace a path towards it. Needless to say, my expectations are very focused in living this event the best way possible but most of all, to living life after it as the better person that will result from this week.