Tufts Idea Exchange becomes TEDxTufts

Tufts Idea Exchange (TEX), a completely student-run organization established at Tufts by a group of synaptic scholars from the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL), is transitioning to become a TEDx organization at Tufts this year, according to Stephanie Cleland, a TEDx organizer at Tufts.

Cleland, a junior, said the purpose of TEDx is to create a platform where students can share their ideas while also representing the essence of Tufts. According to Cleland, while TEX was an independent student organization, TEDx will have contact with and resources from idea exchange nonprofit TED, known for its conference-style talks that must be 18 minutes or fewer.

Since its creation, TEX has held an annual event in the spring, run similarly to a TED event, including a total of eight speakers, six of whom are students and two of whom are alumni or professors affiliated with the university, Cleland explained.

Regarding the ongoing transition, Cleland said, “The important thing about the transition from TEX to TEDx is creating something that really is able to display the uniqueness and diversity of Tufts, which is the main theme of TEDx here.”

According to ShanZhi Thia, another TEDx organizer, the changeover from TEX to TEDx was largely student-driven, with a group students who thought that TEDx could be a great new thing to bring to campus.

“The draw about TED is its brand that can help foster an even larger event with a global reach, as videos from events can now be shared over the world as many times as desired,” Thia, a senior, said.

According to the TEDxTufts website, the TEDx team includes Curator Slide Kelly and Organizers Tony Cannistra, Valerie Cleland, Shan Zhi Thia, Vadim Reytblat, Stephanie Cleland, Kit McDonnell, Ben Herman and Nicholas Demas, some of whom were part of TEX.

The planning process for the TEDx event started last semester, with the group of students convening to discuss the specifics of the transition and how they would stay true to the values on which both events were founded, Thia said.

However, there are some main differences between the two events, according to Kelly, a sophomore.

Cleland said, “Since we are functioning as a TEDx organization, we have more expectations and things we have to do in order to be a TEDx organization, whereas with TEX we had more free reign about how we wanted to run it.”

At the same time, Kelly noted, being affiliated with TEDx opens up opportunities for advice, as well as opportunities to eventually publicize events across the whole Boston metropolitan area.

He explained that the future for TEDx at Tufts does not only focus on the spreading of the platform across the Boston area, but also on its growth specifically at Tufts, with the ultimate hope that the event will be large enough to fill Distler Performance Hall.

Kelly, Thia and Cleland all explained that the goals for TEDx at Tufts are represented in the group’s mission statement: “TEDxTuftsUniversity functions as a catalyst for connecting provocative thinkers with provocative doers by showcasing bold ideas, inspirational stories and transformative experiences from the Tufts community.”

According to Kelly, TEDx has garnered a positive response from students, with more than 100 applications for student speakers already submitted. The team hopes that this number will continue to grow.

Applications for TEDx for the spring can be submitted until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 6. Kelly noted that interested students do not need to have the public speaking skills or the confidence level to perform a TEDx talk, but simply need to exhibit the drive, creativity and love of new ideas that characterize Tufts.