, as Curator Returns from Rio

There is much excitement in the camp ofTEDxLabone organisers and
volunteers as the event has been lifted to a higher status and
rechristened TEDxAccra. The change of name came about whiles the
curator, Emmanuel Leslie Addae recently attended TEDGlobal Conference
in Rio, Brazil.
The former TEDxLabone Curator was from 3rd to 12th of October 2014 in
Rio, to have a first-hand experience in the standard way of
organising TED events to enable him replicate the same standards when
he comes back home to Ghana.
According to him, in various meetings and sessions with numerous TEDx
organisers and TED officials in Rio, it came to light that TED
Communities across the world were bigger and could host more than a
100 guests, once they participated in a global conference. The need
therefore arose for an elevation of TEDxLabone to TEDxAccra, as the
Curator is so far the only TEDx Conference organiser in Ghana, who has
had the opportunity to attend a TEDGlobal Conference.
In an official email addressed to Emmanuel Leslie Addae to effect the
change of name, TED Licensing Director Will Davis stated, “Thank you
for your e-mail, and your patience as we took time to respond. Yes, we
have heard from many team members about your experience at TEDGlobal –
fantastic to hear! (In fact, I even noticed you on the TED Global
post-event photos!)
After discussing this with the team, we are happy to confirm your
event has been renamed to TEDxAccra. There have been previous events
under this name, but those licenses have expired – and you now have
the experience in order to organize a larger event, as befits Accra.
The license is also now valid for an event of more than 100 attendees.
Good luck as you begin to organize under the new name! You can see
this name is now reflected on your official event page. Please
remember to use this name across all social media and other web
properties...Good luck as you continue to search for Ghanaian ideas
worth spreading! All the best, Will”
Sharing his experience in an interview with the Communication Team
Leader Yvette Appiah, Emmanuel Leslie Addae noted that two key words
being ‘Quality and Innovation defined TEDGlobal Talk (Conference in
Rio, Brazil) and TED itself which are expected to transcend to TEDx
events organised worldwide in local communities.
“Everything was very orderly from distribution of name tags, order of
sitting at the Beach Theatre, getting easy and quick help from
volunteers on anything that attendees needed, and having all needed
items for the conference in one gift bag. With the gift bag containing
everything, people did not have to queue and waste time for anything.
The colour of one’s tag determined where one sat and ate as well. The
conference was also very environmentally friendly and neat, as water
bottles were provided for the over 1,000 attendees, who only needed to
refill from the numerous dispensers provided. If anyone lost anything
even without their knowledge, they only get a surprise call to show up
at the secretariat for their lost item. Indeed, the event was so well
organised, and I wish it could be replicated here too. We will do our
best as far as our situation in Ghana can allow us,” he marvelled and
chatted.
Emmanuel Leslie Addae further noted TEDGlobal had ‘Core Team Members’,
who were fully in charge of the event, and a lot of volunteers
supporting them which made them very efficient.
He added that TEDx has decided to also award Core Team members in
subsequent TEDx events.
Aside having more than enough to eat, there also numerous side
activities that always kept attendees busy and excited. They included
exhibitions to tourist sites in Rio and exciting workshops by various
sponsors of the event, “I was happy to attend a great workshop by
Nissan- manufacturers of Nissan cars, who were one of the biggest
sponsors of the event”, Leslie noted.
Already, TEDxAccra had opened nominations for Speakers for 2015, from
the 1st to 31st October 2014. The 2015 event comes after a successful
event held in April 2014.
Dubbed the “The Next Chapter”, TEDxAccra 2which will take place at the
National Theatre on 11th April, 2015 is set to thrill audience.
With 2014 event focusing on Informing, Empowering and Educating, where
speakers informed, empowered and educated audience on their ideas, the
next chapter of Ghana’s success story must now be told.

Thank You
Akpah Prince
akpahprince@ymail.com