UNC to host conference in the style of the famous TED talks

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Niklaus Steiner is the director of UNC Global. Steiner is the director of UNC’s Center for Global Initiatives. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

Intellectuals from around the world — and some from UNC — will gather for a one-day event in January thanks to an effort by students to further their “Ideas Worth Spreading.”

TEDxUNC student coordinators Rachel Myrick and Mackenzie Thomas are busy planning the Jan. 21 event, which will feature at least 10 speakers.

The event will cost approximately $17,000, Thomas said, which includes travel fees, meals and a two-night stay at the Carolina Inn for the speakers, who will appear for free.

Myrick said the fee will be paid for by a variety of sponsors, some of which are still being solicited.

TED is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” It features intellectuals giving 18-minute speeches, which are posted online for free viewing.

TEDx events are independently organized but modeled in the style of TED talks.

The UNC production is part of Carolina Creates, an offshoot of the $125 million Innovate@Carolina initiative.

Myrick said the coordinators have been planning since the beginning of the school year.

“We were really looking for a scope of people that hit a variety of disciplines that really honed in on the global initiative theme that we’re going off of,” Thomas said.

“From the start, we wanted to engage students in thoughtful discussion by bringing in a variety of innovative, dynamic, interdisciplinary based speakers.”

Dan Ariely is a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and a New York Times bestselling author. The UNC alumnus said he will speak about procrastination.

“Procrastination is about our tendency to not do the important things that we should do and our ability to fall into temptation,” he said.

“I know from experience that UNC students have no self control problems … but I still think it’s an important, interesting topic,” Ariely said.

Ariely has given three TED talks and multiple TEDx talks, he said.

Richard Harrill, director of the Campus Y, and Niklaus Steiner, director of UNC’s Center for Global Initiatives, have both worked closely with Thomas and Myrick and said they are proud of their work.

“It’s been completely driven by students,” Harrill said.

“The identifying of the speakers, the management of the event itself — that’s been a very impressive exercise to watch.”

Both said they look forward to students interacting with dynamic and creative speakers.

“There’s always benefits when you get creative people in the same room,” Steiner said.

“Sparks simply fly. You don’t know where it’s going to go, but something good comes out of it.”

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