Adam Bannister hopes to showcase some of the Riverina’s best ideas at TEDxWagga Wagga. Photo: Chris Roe.
Adam Bannister reckons that Wagga locals have plenty of ideas worth spreading.
The organiser of the inaugural TEDxWagga Wagga hopes to provide a platform for unsung regional innovators when the event hits the CSU Riverina Playhouse later this year.
“I just thought there was so much we had here to shout about,” he said.
“We want to remind people who have lived here their whole lives that you don’t have to always look externally for great things.
“I think we need to celebrate our community, not just in terms of growing capital and the industry around here, but the culture, the vibrancy and the thought leadership as well.”
The TED brand, (technology, entertainment and design) has grown into a global phenomenon, staging public speaking events and sharing engaging ideas via bite-sized online videos.
TEDx events are modelled on the original TED Talk format but are locally run, featuring local speakers presenting great, well formed ideas in under 18 minutes.
“TEDxWagga Wagga is being organised by a local team of volunteers and is entirely community-driven and not-for-profit,” Adam explained.
“They are doing it because they want to make their community better.”
Having grown up in rural England before migrating Down Under, Adam describes himself as an advocate for the “creativity and the brilliance of regional people” and has built a career staging and producing events.
“Anyone can apply for the licence, but I just fell in love with this community and how diverse it was and how interesting it was and thought – let’s give it a go,” he said.
“I just feel that there’s so much here that doesn’t get told to the world.”
TEDx attracts huge audiences to local events across the globe. Photo: TEDxSydney.
While the event will take place in November, the window is closing for expressions of interest to either present something yourself or nominate someone you know.
“We’re looking for predominantly local people or people with a connection to Wagga or the Riverina,” Adam said.
“You don’t have to be a professional speaker, we are really looking for new and fresh ideas that haven’t been told.
“Part of what we’re going to do when we take speakers on, is we go through a program of developing their talk and we help them in refining their content so that it looks as professional as it can on the day.”
Adam is hoping that TEDxWagga Wagga is something that the community will get behind and that it will become an annual showcase of the community’s best and brightest.
“In organising something like TEDx here, we can showcase ourselves to the world and really celebrate what we’ve got here,” Adam said.
“Those talks then go out onto the TEDx social media channels and through their networks so that anyone in the world can see them.
“Wagga is going to be alongside TEDxNew York or TEDxLondon.”
TEDxWagga Wagga’s live event will be held on 18 November at the CSU Riverina Playhouse, but speaker applications are open now and you can register here.