In a vibrant city of well over twenty million people, passion, creativity and the power of ideas are certainly in no shortage. One could not see this more evidently than at TEDxBFU this past Sunday, 18th of March. The venue was filled to the brim with excited energy, shared inspiration, passion, knowledge, but most of all shared ideas. For three hours participants experienced a unique insight into how people live life differently.
Founded in 1984, TED was originally an American conference, based on Tech, Entertainment and Design. “We try to make our speakers look like rock stars”, says June Cohen, head of TED talks. However, TED did not stop there. They then created an offshoot called TEDx, a local, self organised program that brings a community together to share a TED-like experience.
Michael Zheng, captain of the TEDxBFU talks, carefully handpicked speakers from near and far, all sharing a common thread of passion, energy and ability to inspire an audience through their love of China and genuine desire to make a difference. The TEDxBFU event could be described as a Chinese laced with English melting pot of ideas, with talks ranging from making a difference through charity to leading a low carbon life.

The speakers at the event were fantastic, kicking things off with Erin Henshaw’s infectious laugh, which set the tone for the day. Having just arrived from a charity run in Shunyi and still in her jogging outfit, the Charity and Corporate events manager of The Hutong started with a talk on How one person can make a difference. Tang Liang, founder of iYouSee kept the energy of the crowd with his talk on Independence, Image and Charity. Fiona Lawrie, knowledge and content manager of THIRST, stunned the audience with a talk on The ability of youth to make a sustainable difference, spoken entirely in Mandarin. Needless to say, Lawrie was met by a huge crowd cheer at the end. After a short break allowing for a chit chat with the speakers, Andrea Krause, Executive Director of FYSE, gave an informative talk on Women at the

forefront of social change. She was followed by Jeff Wiseman, who helped the listeners understand How to address pollution locally, giving the crowd a true TED experience with his informative presentation, and energetic performance. Wiseman had everyone in hysterics with the wonderfully timed interaction he had with his translator. Suvi Rautio, project manager of Climate Action, who was one of the event sponsors, and Nathan Zhang, founder of Brandnu project, inspired the audience through their talk on up-cycling and how they have managed to turn old discarded clothes into wearable fashion. They were followed by Liu Jianshu on the subject of Humanistic education in the rural communities. He Feng, founder of DemoHour.com, concluded the event with his captivating and hilarious talk on his Last thesis at Stanford.

We are living in a time where information is easily accessible, people are more connected than ever, and new ideas are being generated every day. It is events like TEDx that bring these ideas forward, exposing people and their passions in a creative playground and essentially giving an idea a voice. TEDxBFU truly was successful in uncovering how Life is Different and left the crowd inspired to live life differently.

Do you know TED?

TED is the annual event held in California, USA where the world’s leading thinkers and do’ers are invited to share what they are most passionate and knowledgeable about. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that shape our society and the future. In fact, TED events embrace broader ideas: the ideas that matter in any discipline – our powerful humanity and ingenuity.

This year, TED starts its Worldwide Auditions in partnership with TEDxShanghai.

More than half of the speakers at USA TED2013 will be selected through an ambitious experiment in crowd sourcing: the TED Worldwide Auditions.

From April to June 2012, TED will hold public auditions in 14 cities on six continents seeking to uncover new talents, voices and ideas the world needs to hear. The entire TED community will have a chance to vote on the most promising presenters. And many of these will be invited to join us as speakers at TED2013. In fact, at least half of our program will be chosen this way…

You will be invited to USA; all expenses will be paid and will have an opportunity to give a speech to more than 1,200 audiences in the TED theatre. Also, your idea will be watched by 25 millions TED fans around the world.

Theme

The young.

The wise.

The undiscovered.

Who are we looking for?

Anyone can apply to audition, so long as you and your idea and story is :

Original

Heartful

Global

Inspiring

Worth spreading

We’re especially looking for:

THE INVENTOR … sharing an innovation with world-changing potential

THE TEACHER … sharing valuable knowledge in a memorable way to teenagers or adults
THE PRODIGY … young talent ready to break out

THE ARTIST … who can showcase their work in a compelling, new way (Don’t just talk about it. Show us your work!)
THE PERFORMER … music, dance, comedy, drama … or something entirely different

THE SAGE … wisdom the world needs from those who have learned it the hard way THE ENTHUSIAST … with an infectious passion about a topic they can share
THE CHANGE AGENT … helping shape the world’s future with work that matters THE STORYTELLER … vivid, original, meaningful … with a talent for connection THE SPARK … with a powerful idea worth spreading

Who aren’t we looking for?

Product-hawkers, jargon-junkies, dullards, wafflers, motivator wannabes, self-promoters, spouters of new-age fluff.

Additionally, speakers who have a talk listed on TED.com/talks, or who have been invited to speak at a TED Conference, TEDGlobal, or TEDActive — are not eligible. (We love you, but this is about undiscovered talent.)

How does the audition process work?

- Online audition applications, which include the option to upload a short video, will be available for each city at least two months before the audition.

- From those submissions, TED will invite 30 of the best applicants to each audition, where speakers will have 3-6 minutes to deliver a proposed talk in English. Anyone – with the exception of those who have already spoken at an official TED Conference or have a talk on TED.com – is eligible to apply to auditions in his or her nearest city. In some exceptional cases, TED will contribute to travel costs.

- After auditions in each city have been held, TED will post video of all candidates’ talks on TED.com and likely Tudou.com, inviting the public to vote for their top choices.

- Many of the 50 most popular selections will officially be invited to speak or perform at TED2013, and will make up at least half of the program.

- TED will offer coaching and audio-visual support as needed, as well as cover travel and accommodation to Long Beach, California.

- Members of the top 50 who aren’t a fit for the program will nonetheless receive global recognition on TED.com.

How are winners selected?

After all the auditions have been held, we will post video of all the presenters on a special area of our site. You and other members of the public will have a chance to vote for the ones you think are best. We will then tailor our program from the top 50. Successful candidates will have the chance to deliver a longer talk or performance at TED2013 and we will offer coaching and AV support as needed. We will cover accommodation for the entire conference.

How do I apply?

We will collect the application and short videos around 1-2 minutes through http://conferences.ted.com/TED2013/auditions/shanghai.php

Notices:

-        Open for auditions: march 9th – march 29^th 2012

-        The 1-2 minutes video should include an introduction of yourself, your idea, your craft, and your talent

-        The quality of sound is more important than the video recording. We accept any format of video, recorded by mobile phones, webcam or a variety of video cameras, as long as your voice is clear.

-        We suggest you to practice and rehearse before submitting the final (good) one to assure your exceptional idea is well expressed in 1-2 minutes.

-        If you speak only Chinese, please arrange an interpreter to stand next to you in your video. In this case, please be brief, precise and audience drawing.

-        If you need help with video recording and uploading to TED website, please email (to) TEDx representatives in your city, or the nearest TEDx.

www.tedtochina.com/2012/02/13/tedauditions

www.tedtochina.com/2012/03/10/tedaudition-shanghai-opens

Forms of communication are increasingly moving away from traditional human forms toward entities less attached to human interaction. Technological progress and the emergence of different electronic communication networks have paved the way to new definitions. What is the new definition of communication and is it as authentic as the first? Our theme “Communication: Authenticity” references this and our program invites speakers that divulge their communication through different media and processes to provide answers. Our goal is to connect these people together with a common action that presents a greater meaning.

Session 1: The Analyst 

Data is not useful until it becomes information, and that’s because data is hard for human beings to digest. Before there was a data surplus we treated it as precious. Now that there is we can’t understand what is and what isn’t. How do we return to the previous while finding meaning and value of the new?

Session 2: The Engineer

From PC to iPhone, from Email to Facebook, from QQ to Weibo, we have constructed a new spectrum of communication tools. We use social media to engineer a new form of self. What is this new you?

Session 3: The Source

Monologues are wherein the speaker or writer addresses an imaginary person, inanimate object, or idea. In writing they have no apostrophes, meaning they are not spoken but are internal. Where does the idea come from and how does it change the moment it is let out?

tedxfactory798.com

Here is a list of 5 that we thought you could find interesting:

• Chi Fan For Charity: August 27th @ 6:30PM (北新桥/Beixinqiao)
• Startup Engine: August 27th @ 1:30PM to 5:00PM (工人体育馆北门/Worker’s Stadium north gate)
• 营销与品牌/ Sales and Branding with 王湛，百度公司副总裁 (Wang Zhan, vice director at Baidu):  August 28th @ 1:30PM to 5:00PM (需要提前注册/ Register in advance by contacting au_com@126.com) (海淀区/Haidian)
• Speak, Memory – a conversation with writer-psychologist Douwe Draaisma and novelist-poet Henk Bernlef: August 31st @ 7:30pm (三里屯/Sanlitun)
• BC MOMA Open-Air Cinema Season:  The Metropolis on the Roof : August 31st to September 11 (东直门/Dongzhimen)

Here is a list of 5 that we thought you could find interesting:

• Indie film documentary on China’s spring festival migration via LumDimSum: August 20 @ 2pm (MOMA Broadway Cinematheque) (F3, Building T4, The North Area, Moma, 1 Xiangheyuan Road, 东直门香河园路1号当代Moma北区T4座)
• Tech sharing salon in Garage Cafe hosted by HTML 5: August 20 @ 1pm (北京海淀区车库咖啡)
• Fixed gear Revolution with involvement from one of the original TEDx Beijing speakers, Ines Brunn: August 20 from 10am to 10pm (West Gate of Worker’s Gymnasium, 工体西门)
• Brain Intelligence “互联网用户体验与眼动研究”沙龙 [ 展览/沙龙 ]: August 21  from 1:30pm-6pm (北京海淀区中关村西区立方庭大厦南侧3w咖啡)
• What can the Chinese newspaper industry learn from the newspaper industry crisis in Europe and the U.S.? Rescuing Newspapers: August 21 from 3pm to 5pm (北京市朝阳区朝阳公园路6号院蓝色港湾11号楼rs-16号 单向街书店):
• Lecturer: Fan Dongsheng. Professor and acting Associate dean of Shantou University School of News and Communications

Both Michelle Garnaut and Jonathan Hursh provided insight into their work and ideas about development in China.

Check out the pictures below from the event:

Thanks again to the Beijing Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Hotel (什刹海会馆 – 皮影主题酒店) for hosting this event. Check their blog out at http://shadowarthotel.wordpress.com/

From building communities with shipping containers to bathhouses, this small event will give a chance to both the audience and the speakers to talk about the different ways people are building China’s society.

Please register below. Hope to see you there!

Event details:
Saturday, June 25th 2011 – 3pm to 5pm
什刹海会馆 – 皮影主题酒店，Beijing Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Hotel. 北京西城区松树街24号。（德胜门内大街东侧刘海胡同走到头左拐20米）.

We are FULL!

We are booked! Thanks for the interest if you want to hear about our future events, sign up to the mailing list below:
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Congratulations and best wishes for this new adventure!

NLGX Design is a Heritage-Inspired Products Design Company based in Beijing. They create original-designed apparel including graphic t-shirts, Asian-inspired casuals, and fashion bags made from recycled materials.

“Preserve…Create” highlights the company’s design philosophy of Preserving the Past while Creating New. NLGX creates original designs inspired by graphics, materials, and colors of traditional Beijing.

For more about NLGX Design, its products, or its distribution locations, please visit www.nlgx.com.

Follow BUU Club on weibo (in Chinese):
http://weibo.com/profile.php?uid=1988974785&page=3

Follow BUU Club on Douban for the upcoming events (in Chinese):
http://www.douban.com/event/13960313/

Kama Love Music Festival:
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The weather was spectacular and participants ate lunch and dinner in the great outdoors.  The TEDxGreatWall is a very unique type of TEDx and everyone is looking forward to see what next year will bring.