The Theatre of TEDx Amsterdam

The pre-conference circular stated, "Think of TEDxAmsterdam as a theatre performance." That's exactly what it was; a day full of oration, music and emotion.

Apparently, to qualify for TEDx, a speech must have the capacity to make the audience, think, laugh or cry. All these were present last Friday at the independently organised TED event, TEDxAmsterdam. Even the venue, the city's Royal Tropical Institute with its marble walls and plush velour seating, added to the air of theatre.

I heard many ideas worth spreading. Louise Vet presented her scientific thoughts on biodiversity and 'circular', ecological economies. Other topics were more 'rocket science'; like the theory proposed by former Dutch astronaut, Wubbo Ockels, that, 'Time is a creation of life in response to gravity'. While for other ideas, we were asked to suspend judgment on calling them 'mad science'. Marcel Dicke's, 'Why not Eat Insects?' and Gerhard Knies' proposal of tiling the Earth's deserts with solar mirrors, probably both fell into that category.

So that was a taste of the thinking, what about the laughing?

Hans Aarsman described himself as a ‘former photographer’. Tired of the contrived, aesthetic norms of contemporary photography, he dryly argued that a truly beautiful image connects us directly to the subject without the intermediary, 'baggage' of composition or aesthetics. There was more laughter as Danish Architect, Bjarke Ingels, suffered every presenter's worst nightmare; a technical failure. He adeptly recovered, turning the disaster into a comedy moment. The humor continued as he went on to describe run-ins with Chinese censors during an international Expo bid.

And the crying?

Some presentations were more contemplative and referenced very personal experiences. Rabbi Soetendorp, told of his wartime persecution and pleaded for interfaith dialogue and compassion. Media magnate, Gary Carter gave a perplexing speech, titled, 'Learning to Kiss'. He wove together his professional life, producing targeted television, with the personal story of his son's autism. It became a very compelling and touching celebration of acknowledging 'human difference'. Karsu Donmez's piano recitals added to the uplifting vibe and provided further opportunity for reflection.

Throughout the day, frog was also busy sharing one of our own ideas. We created the 'Who's Who' application to help visitors put names-to-faces and discover others within the TEDx community. At our photo-booths, we asked attendees to strike-a-pose and smile. Using our bespoke software, the photos were sliced into three digital cards (head, body, legs) and linked to visitors’ registration data and ‘personal breakthrough’ statements. Then, just like the kids game, these cards were shuffled into weird, 'mash-up' combinations and displayed as real-time screen animations around the venue. We also created a counterpart iPhone web app. This enabled individuals to match to others with similar interests and to learn about the Speakers. We captured over half the audience and certainly created some conversations and laughs. Wired UK also enjoyed it, calling it a ‘particularly smart’ app. Read more at the TEDxAmsterdam blog or at this site.

I tried to see as much as I could, but inevitably missed some of the laughter, thoughts and tears. In the coming days and weeks, I'll be keen to visit www.tedxamsterdam.nl to catch the full video presentations as they become available.