By Xuyang Jingjing (
Global Times) 09:47, November 22, 2013
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Comments twitter facebook Sina Microblog reddit Lin Shen, one of the founders of TEDxBFSU, speaks as the host at their TEDx event on November 16 in Beijing. Photo: Courtesy of Wang Xianya
What could a multi-media journalist, a gay rights advocate, a modern dancer, founder of anenvironmental education center, and an improv performer/college professor possibly havein common?
The answer is they all shared the stage at a TEDx event hosted by a group of students atBeijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on Saturday to tell their stories under thetheme "xIdentity."
A TEDx event is an independently organized event licensed by TED, a nonprofitorganization that started out in 1984 in the US as a conference. TED, which stands fortechnology, entertainment and design, is devoted to "ideas worth spreading" and bringstogether "thinkers and doers" to give talks in under 18 minutes.
In 2009, TED started giving out licenses for local communities to host TED-like events. Atthe moment, there are over 100 independently organized TED events in China.
It is growing increasingly popular among students driven by the passion for sharing newideas and the joy of creating an event.
Built on a theme
TEDx events are held according to a theme or a specific community, each of which comeswith a set of requirements. In China, many events are based on the university theme.
Anyone can apply on the TED website to organize a TEDx event. Candidates have tosubmit a detailed proposal about the theme and reason for the event. After attendingwebinars that explain the rules and requirements, candidates are interviewed via Skype.
The TEDx license is valid for hosting one event under the proposed theme within one year.In most cases, the audience must be under 100 people. TED also has specific rules coveringaspects from selecting a speaker to finding sponsors.
Zhu Ling, a senior student at Zhuhai College of Jilin University, received a license inFebruary. Their TEDxJLUZH (initials of the school) is planned for December 7 under thetheme "Unnatural."
The idea of the theme is to challenge the things that people take for granted, Zhuexplained.
Zhu, 21, said she grew interested in TED after attending TEDx events in neighboringschools a few years ago. The format was new to her, and being exposed to new ideas andmeeting a group of young people passionate about organizing TEDx events inspired her.
Lin Shen, 25, co-founded TEDxBFSU with two others. He organized a TEDx event back in2009. When he returned in 2012 after two years studying abroad, he found that more andmore students were joining in but didn't necessarily know the best way to go about it, anddecided to help.
"There are many aspects, such as recruiting a team, dividing the team, deciding on a themeand finding speakers, funding, and so on," said Lin, an aspiring entrepreneur.
Over 50 students at BFSU have joined Lin and his friends since July, and were divided intogroups with different tasks. The event on November 16 was held off campus, at a smalltheater in a hutong. Despite a couple of technical glitches, the atmosphere was undoubtedlyTED-like.
【1】 【2】（Editor：WangXin、Gao Yinan）
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