Chilliwack – A record number of applicants put their names forward to speak at TEDxChilliwack. To narrow the list of potential speakers, the organizing committee sifted through dozens and dozens of applications to select fourteen people to audition for a coveted spot at the TEDxChilliwack main stage on April 11, 2020.
To make it to the audition stage, organizers looked for speakers who have an “idea worth spreading”. Previously, TEDx speakers’ talks had to focus on Technology, Entertainment or Design. For 2020, organizers widened the focus to include 19 different topics—from health, nature or the environment to business, science or collaboration—and everything in-between.
Auditions will take place at the Applicant Showcase Night on January 23, 2020 at Cowork Chilliwack. Each invited applicant will take the stage for four minutes each. Each will explain what their “idea worth spreading” is, why they are qualified to speak on it, and how they would encourage TEDxChilliwack attendees to take action. Following their four-minute synopsis, each speaker will be posed a question from the emcees.
Once all 14 speakers have taken their turn, the studio audience will vote for “The People’s Choice”. At the same time, a speaker selection panel of TEDxChilliwack organizing committee members will choose up to five additional applicants to join the People’s Choice winner in moving on to speak at TEDxChilliwack’s main event on April 11, 2020 at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.
The first TEDxChilliwack event took place in 2016.