by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City Kansas Community College will once again play host to an event that encourages community members to come together to discuss ideas and solutions to issues within their own community.
The 2015 TedxWyandotte event is 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at KCKCC, 7250 State Ave. It will feature approximately six presenters speaking on the theme of “Breaking Through: Confronting the barriers that divide us and challenging ourselves to move beyond them.” General admission is $20. KCKCC students can attend for free with student identification.
TED, a nonprofit organization, started as a four-day conference in California almost 30 years ago and has grown to support “world-changing ideas” with multiple initiatives. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event.
Speakers at this year’s event include:
• Janice Burdine, “Negative Space Painting” – artist, educator, illustrator, print maker, author, community activist. She has been a lifelong educator, illustrator, print maker, author and community activist for positive change through education. She is a retired art teacher and school counselor. For the past six years, Janice has been under the mentorships of artists Frank Frazier and Ernani Silva. http://www.burdineartbox.net/
• Vi Nhan Tran – “The Empathetic Power of Storytelling” – musician and playwright will talk about his family’s life story coming to the U.S. from Vietnam and growing up in Garden City, Kan.
• Annette LeZotte – “Sorting Out Race” – Kauffman Museum Director at Bethel College in Newton, Kan., will speak about the college’s exhibit “Sorting Out Race: Examining Racial Identity and Stereotypes in Thrift Store Donations.”
• Hong Hong Hui – a professional Pipa musician (traditional Chinese plucked-string instrument). She first learned to play when she was in Hong Kong 22 years ago. The video is of Hong Hong premiering one of her own compositions that she wrote last year as a master’s student at Northern Illinois University, https://youtu.be/wP3lqkVzUns.
• Dre Tayler – Project Manager of Males to Men, which sets out to provide a platform for youth to step on and shine like stars. Males to Men will address low self-esteem, lack of self-awareness, juvenile delinquency, adolescent fatherhood, violence, health deterioration, drugs, HIV/AIDS, economics and more. www.malestomen.com/.
• Shannon Oleen – “The Millennial Divide.” She will be discussing how to build a personal brand and differentiate yourself and how to excel in a world with four to five generations in the workplace. shannonoleen.com/speaking/.
To register, visit www.tedxwyandotte.org and select the “Register” tab.
Information is also available by visiting TedXWyandotte’s Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/TEDxWyandotte, by visiting www.tedxwyandotte.org or by contacting Marisa Gray, TEDxWyandotte Organizing Committee and KCKCC staff member at [email protected] or 913-288-7284.
