TORONTO, Aug. 7, 2014 /CNW/ - The 2014 TEDxToronto conference is expected to be at capacity this year, as hundreds of applications to attend the conference as a delegate have poured in. If you needed more of a push to apply to be in the audience this year, the ideas conference just added four more speakers to the lineup.
On October 2, 2014, at Koerner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music an Olympian and a superfan, along with a photographer and computer science heavyweight, will be speaking about their 'Relentless Pursuits.'
"Each speaker this year brings a compelling story, and an idea that we believe is worth spreading," said co-chair of the 2014 conference Dan Jacob. "The community really embraced this year's theme, and we've been able to pull together a lineup of speakers, performers, and demos that will leave each member of the audience changed at the end of the event."
The additions to the 2014 TEDxToronto conference include:
Adam van Koeverden: The champion kayaker first captured the world's attention at the 2004 Olympic Games, where he was a double medalist with gold and bronze victories. Since then, he has continued to dominate the sport, taking silver at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, earning two World Championship titles in 2007 and 2011, and being named "Canada's Athlete of the Year" in 2012. He is also a 73-time Canadian kayaking champion, and holds the Guinness World Record for paddling the fastest-ever 500 metre in a canoe or kayak. @vankayak
Nav Bhatia: Known as the Official Raptors Superfan, he was recently was given the title Raptors South Asian Community Ambassador working alongside superstar Drake. Nav owns two Hyundai dealerships in Mississauga and in Rexdale, with the Mississauga location recently recognized as the number one Hyundai volume dealer in Canada. He is heavily involved in bringing Bollywood to the non-resident Indians and through his love of basketball and his business Nav is helping to change the perception of Sikhs among a mainstream audience.
Colin Boyd Shafer: He is an award-winning Canadian documentary photographer and high school teacher. He holds an MSc in Political Economy of Violence Conflict and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Shafer is the winner of the 2014 Toronto Urban Photography Festival's Global Building Giants Award for his work on the documentary photography series 'Cosmopolis Toronto.' The project has been featured widely in the media, including in the Globe and Mail, the Wall Street Journal, as well as on CTV, CBC, and Global. @ colinbshafer
David Fleet: David Fleet is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. He received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto in 1991, and has published papers on computer vision, image processing, visual perception, and visual neuroscience. He has won numerous awards for his research, including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in 1996, and the Koenderink Prize in 2010 for his work with M. Black and H. Sidenbladh on human pose tracking.
These four join speakers Dr. Margot Taylor, Rachel Parent, and John Cruickshank, along with performers Choir! Choir! Choir!, who were announced earlier this summer. (Photos of the speakers are available upon request.)
This is the 6th year for the conference ,which brings together Canadians to share their ideas with the GTA. The event is broadcast live to the world, and more than 30,000 people watch the conference via satellite feed around the world. Recently, a 2013 TEDxToronto Talk by Mark Henick has garnered more than 500,000 views on YouTube.
Applications to be a part of the audience are now being accepted, with an attendance free of $150. To apply to attend the conference as a delegate, visit TEDxToronto.com and fill out an application. There are a limited number of seats available for the event. Delegates are selected based on a process that considers only the information provided on the application form. The deadline to apply to be a delegate is Thursday, September 4th at 11:59 p.m.
Stay tuned as more speakers, performers, and demonstrations are added to the lineup this month.
To learn more about the speakers and the conference, visit www.tedxtoronto.com.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
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. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a conference in California 1984, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with many initiatives.
At a TED conference, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. TED speakers have included Roger Ebert, Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Brian Greene, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On TED.com, talks from TED conferences are shared with the world for free as TED Talks videos. A new TED Talk is posted every weekday. Through the Open Translation Project, TED Talks are subtitled by volunteers worldwide. Through our distribution networks, TED Talks are shared on TV, radio, Netflix and many websites.
The TEDx initiative grants free licenses to people around the world to organize TED-style events in their communities with TED Talks and live speakers. Selected talks from these events are also turned into TED Talks videos.
The annual TED Prize grants $1 million to an exceptional individual with a wish to change the world. The TED Fellows program helps world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. TED-Ed creates short video lessons by pairing master teachers with animators, for use in classroom instruction or independent learning.
For information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration
Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED
Video with caption: "Video: At this year's TEDxToronto conference on October 2nd at Koerner Hall in Toronto, UofT Computer science professor David Fleet brings to life the possibility of machines who see and think. ". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5lTAlO38go
Video with caption: "Video: Pushing the boundaries of human potential with sport. Olympic and world champion Kayaker Adam van Koeverden joins the 6th annual TEDxToronto conference as a speaker on October 2nd at Koerner Hall in Toronto.". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFsfcg4E0bc
Image with caption: "2014 TEDxToronto speakers Nav Bhatia (Raptor's Superfan), Adam van Koeverden (Olympic Kayaker), David Fleet (Computer Science Professor) and Colin Boyd Shafer (Photographer, Cosmopolis Toronto) will take the stage on October 2nd at Koerner Hall in Toronto. (CNW Group/TEDx Toronto)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140807_C9648_PHOTO_EN_42361.jpg
SOURCE: TEDx Toronto
For interviews with TEDxToronto organizers or speakers:
Candi Jeronimo
Public Relations Manager, TEDxToronto
[email protected]
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