
In the spirit of "ideas worth spreading," TED has created TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxRedding, where x = independently organized TED event.
At TEDxRedding 2012 on February 4, TEDTalks video and live speakers combined to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, was self-organized.
Our 2012 theme was TEDxRedding: Fill in the Blank.
Why Fill in the Blank?: We’ve all taken a test that has featured fill-in-the-blank moments. They ask more of us than multiple choice questions do, and they require us to distill our response to its essence, often only a word or phrase.
How will the theme work?: Sharing ideas worth spreading about the creative and constructive exercise of filling in the blank. Spaces that speakers explored included:
-Lessons Learned: How I filled in the ____ when faced with a turning point, and what I learned from that
-Giving of Our Strengths: I see a ______ out in the world that our community can help complete
-Identifying Gaps: Here is a _____ that needs to be filled, and the seeds of a proposal for doing just that
-Imagining Blanks: _____ doesn’t exist yet, but it might yield abundance if it did