Inspiring Event Returns for Second Year to Spark Dialogue about Myanmar’s Past, Present and Future
Event tickets can be purchased online from 1 April 2017
Yangon, Myanmar, 24 February 2017 – After the success of last year’s TEDx event in Myanmar, the event organizers are gearing up to host a larger TEDxYangon event for the second year with over 600 attendees expected, double the 300 attendee number from last year.
The 2017 event with the theme “Tapestry” will be held on Sunday, 21 May 2017 at The Rose Garden Hotel Yangon and aims to share ideas that inspire, open minds and spark dialogue about Myanmar’s past, present and future. The talks shared at the event will explore the threads that bind the people of Myanmar together, stories woven throughout the country and showcase the myriad of textures, layers and colours that make up the tapestry of Myanmar.
Thiri Thant Mon, Lead Organizer of TEDxYangon, explains, “We are excited to build the momentum from last year’s event to share inspiring and empowering ideas among Myanmar society to help move the country forward. This year, more than 100 people applied to be speakers and our team has worked over recent months to carefully narrow the group down to around 16 speakers. Our speakers represent a diverse range of voices and expertise and we are thrilled to hear their ideas.”
This year, the event organizers are able to host the TEDx event with “Yangon” in the official name, following the success of the TEDxInyaLake community event in 2016 – as part of TEDx’s global guidelines. Thiri Thant Mon says, “We wanted to bring TEDx to Myanmar to give a platform where positive ideas can be shared and to expose our community to the ideas and innovations that are accessible through TED talks and other freely-available information and education sources online.”
The speaker line-up includes a social entrepreneur focused on conserving Yangon’s heritage and urban renewal, an activist working to bring education, justice and advocacy for women and children, and an award-winning documentary Myanmar filmmaker. The event will also feature a prominent figure in Myanmar’s media industry, along with authors, private sector leaders, artists and conservationists who all bring a unique and valuable perspective on Myanmar’s complex tapestry.
How to Purchase a Ticket
Speaker Moe Thitsa, Founder of The Foggy Spring mobile library, explains why she is motivated to speak at TEDxYangon during the press conference on 24th March, 2017 at Rose Garden Hotel.
Members of the public who wish to attend TEDxYangon can purchase a ticket from 1 April 2017 through www.shop.com.mm. Each ticket is priced at MMK 135,000 and the ticket price is inclusive of all talks, lunch, coffee breaks, snacks and evening drinks. Participants are encouraged to stay for the full day event, which is from 8am to 8pm.
To complete the purchase on the website, buyers will have to provide their full name, email address, mobile number and delivery address for the ticket. Shop.com.mm will deliver the tickets and collect cash payment upon delivery. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis and a separate purchase should be made for each attendee.
Additionally, the event organisers and sponsors will provide concession tickets to selected students attend TEDxYangon 2017. This is aimed at encouraging and inspiring the younger generation to create and share their own stories in the future.
Sponsors and Partners
The independently organized TEDxYangon event is a not-for-profit initiative licensed by TED. The event is supported by sponsors including Rose Garden Hotel Yangon, Deboer Fellowship, Coca-Cola, Skynet and Ooredoo, among others.
Organisations or persons looking to support TEDxYangon as a sponsor can contact Ms Alexandra Vanderschelden at alexandra.tedxyangon@gmail.com or Ms Candy Phyu Khin at candy.tedxyangon@gmail.com.
TEDx events are held in communities all over the world to bring people together to share ideas. The 2016 TEDx event in Yangon featured 16 speakers, comprising of writers, artists, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and experts, connecting Myanmar through their stories, experiences and ideas. Videos of the talks from the 2016 TEDx event can be viewed on YouTube – http://bit.ly/2httIvB.
For more information and updates about TEDxYangon 2017, please visit the event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxYGN.
Group photo of organizer and speakers for the 2017 TEDxYangon event (left to right) Sonny Swe, Thiri Thant Mon, Moe Thitsa, Htar Htar and Lamin Oo.
What is TEDx?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized event bringing people together to share a TED-like experience. The Myanmar event is called TEDxYangon where x = independently organized TED event. At TEDxYangon, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark conversation, connection and community.. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including TEDxYangon, are self-organized.
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.
TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
Connect with TEDxYangon at www.tedxyangon.org or www.facebook.com/TEDxYGN.
Speaker Sonny Swe, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Frontier Myanmar Magazine, featured in a 1:1 interview at the TEDxYangon press conference on 24th March, 2017 at The Rose Garden Hotel Yangon.
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