The non-profit organization TED will partner with the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to bring the first ever TEDxEMU on March 9 in Sponberg Theater.

TED, Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a non-profit organization established in 1984. It’s goal is to promote “Ideas worth spreading.”

Gregg Costanzo, the coordinator of arts, cultural, entertainment and intellectual programming at Eastern Michigan University, is in charge of planning TEDxEMU.

Costanzo said the ‘x’ in ‘TEDx’ stands for an “independently organized TED event.”

“They [TED] provide the parameters and the framework,” Costanzo said. “It will be a collection of 15-minute talks, as well as performances and exhibits.”

Zack Franklin, a resident advisor at EMU and a member of the TEDxEMU selection committee, attended TEDxDetroit last September.

“It was just incredible,” Franklin said. “It’s kind of like you’re away from home for weeks or months, and it makes you realize all the little things you didn’t notice just because you lived with them.”

Costanzo said students or staff interested in attending TEDxEMU must act quickly. Due to limited space, the audience is limited to 200.

“My goal is that TEDxEMU will be an annual event. I think we can very much do large venues on campus in the future,” Costanzo said.

TEDxEMU tickets are free, but guests are expected to stay for the duration of the conference, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Students or staff interested in attending or presenting at TEDxEMU can go to www.tedxemu.com to register. Attendees must register by Feb. 10, and speakers must register by Feb. 13.