The TEDGlobal Welcome Party hosted at Edinburgh Castle was one of the best parties I've been to in years (which makes me think I really need to get out more.) Despite truly brisk Scottish weather, TED thus far is like being at the most well-attended party ever, populated with the people you most want to have a conversation with.
To say the attendees are diverse is an understatement. This evening I had conversations with a lawyer from Brazil working to advise her government on green tech issues, a Web entrepreneur from Australia based out of Warsaw, a Carnegie-Mellon faculty head overseeing its fledging campus in Qatar, a London entrepreneur returning to Edinburgh for the first time in 40 years (pointing over the view of the city towards the Firth of Forth, "that's where I went to public school, right over there") and a cognitive neurolinguist from Estonia formulating theories on how people learn.
I'm only scratching the surface, of course. And as diverse as these conversations were, the most thrilling part of the evening was recognizing that we all have the same goal. Everyone is seeking the same thing: new ideas, a new way to understand, a broader connection to the global community, friends that can extend their perspective.
Actual conference sessions begin tomorrow but I'm already strategizing how to get back next year. The original TED will be in Long Beach next March and local TEDX events are hosted in almost all major cities around the world throughout the calendar year -- I met many of the local organizers today. However I can already tell that there is something special about TEDGlobal. Many repeat attendees tell me that this event is especially high on personal generosity and good will, with little concern for professional agendas.
And it's fun. People in an exotic locale (at least exotic to most of us) anticipating good conversation with like-minded folks are inclined to be a bit giddy, tell funny stories, and laugh a lot. And, I think, they come up with really interesting ideas. Frankly I can't wait.
And hey, a shout out to a new friend, Chrisstina Hamilton, Director of the Artist Residency Program and School of Arts & Design Speaker Series at the University of Michigan. I did one of those "Hey, I'm from Michigan," things at the corner of the very chilly bar next to the Scotch, and then we figured out that Bob Monroe, the Carnegie-Mellon faculty member, currently living with his family in Qatar, was also from Michigan. All three of us, at the same corner of the bar, in Edinburgh, drinking single-malt Scotch. What are the odds? So far, TEDGlobal may be cold, but it's still really cool.
Comments