This article was edited on March 14 to update the date of the event.

Bucknell will hold a TEDx event from 5–8 p.m. at the Campus Theatre on April 23. The theme of the talk will be “The Essence of a Changing World.” 

TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a nonprofit organization which seeks to “foster the spread of great ideas. It aims to provide a platform for thinkers, visionaries and teachers, so that people around the globe can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and feed a desire to help create a better future,” according to their website. 

TEDx is a more localized program than TED, which focuses more on community organizing than its larger counterpart. While TEDx is not directly controlled by TED, it still obeys by the general TED rules and guidelines it sets for its events.

“For the attendance, we are capped at 100 attendees including my TED team, donors and any other invites,” event organizer and Bucknell TEDx Club president Sahana Paravantavida ’23 said in an email. “From there, we will most likely be sending out invitations and opening up the rest of the tickets after that.”

“The expectation for this year’s event is a sort of ‘debrief’ after all the changes the pandemic has forced us through.” Paravantavida said. “It will be a great place to engage with the speakers and each other and enjoy some food while we’re at it. TEDx events are good opportunities to hear from various disciplines about a common theme.”

The TEDx program description says that their “mission is to increase awareness surrounding pertinent topics through the voices of qualified speakers…We will bring in about five speakers; a combination of students, faculty, alumni and others.”

The various committees working on the TEDx program at Bucknell include Selection, Event Management, Finance, Design, Media and Video Production.

While the full list of speakers are yet to be released, Lewisburg mayor Kendy Alvarez, is confirmed as one of this Spring’s five speakers.

“What inspired me to get involved is a few things. That being my experience living abroad before coming to Bucknell, my desire to connect various communities on campus to work on a collective effort, and bringing TEDxBucknell back to life,” Paravantavida said. 

The last time Bucknell hosted a TEDx event was in 2018, where students, professors, and other guests spoke on the theme of “Under Pressure.”

Two notable speakers for the event were George Pierson, President and CEO of the civil engineering firm Kleinfelder, and Jennifer Mellon, the Co-Founder and President of cybersecurity company Trustify.

“I think the emphasis is that the tickets are very limited,” Paravantavida said. 

She said that although most of the tickets will be given out as invitations, there will be a select number available on Bucknell’s ticketing website. The final price is undecided at the time of publication, but Paravantavida estimates they will be around $20 per ticket.