Last Saturday on November 27, 2010 the first TEDxRyersonU was held at the Ted Rogers School of Management in Toronto. It was a mash up of the innovative drive that has defined Ryerson University over the years and the TED Talks way of sharing ideas and cultivating conversation.
15 speakers and two performers who are associated with Ryerson University in one way or another spoke to over 150 students and faculty from throughout the University. The talks focused on technology, creativity, innovation, nutrition, psychology and several social issues. Each individual brought their own flare and experience to educate and inform the audience in attendence and those online.
Steven Dunn a third year film student at Ryerson was the first session I saw and he has already had some of his films screened at the Cannes International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. He told a personal story about when he was a young boy and he asked for a magic wand for Christmas. When the day came what he really recieved was a pencil and a piece of cardboard shaped like a star but it was magic to him for the next week where he let his imagination run wild.
As a kid Steven wanted to meet his childhood idol Sarah Jessica Parker and to do this he created a portfolio and when he went to see a play she was performing in he gave it to someone hoping it would find its way to her. When Sarah didn’t show up at the backstage entrance after the show and the person their found out it was him who had drawn the pictures he got his chance to meet his idol. For Steven this was a life changing experience that made him believe anything was possible. That is a powerful moment for anyone let alone a child and it is start of what led him to become a film maker.
Peter Nowak is a Ryerson journalism alumnus that has been a tech writer for the better part of a decade for publications like the National Post, the Globe and Mail, and CBC News among others. He is also the author of “Sex, Bombs & Burgers” and his talk centred on the preoccupation the media has had with vilifying technology.
This is something that can be seen in the debates around genetically modified foods which he used as an example where the media doesn’t usually give a balanced look at the positives, but instead focuses on the negatives. In the 1960’s we had an optimistic view of technology and Peter’s example of this was “The Jetsons” whereas today society can be cynical to the point of fear and this warps our society’s view on technology.
While it is important to be careful with technology we should recognize the good as well as the bad in order to make an educated choice. That is something that is not always represented in the 24 news cycle where the focus is more in sound bites and headlines that understanding. That is all for now, the next part will delve further into a few more of the facinating talks that took place at EDxRyersonU.
