FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2020
For information, contact:
Anna Goldsmith, TEDxPortsmouth Organizer
anna@thehiredpens.com, 617-359-8133
Save the Date: TEDxPortsmouth Comes Back to The Music Hall on Sept. 25th 2020
Organizers now actively looking for 2020 speakers and sponsors
Portsmouth, NH — TEDxPortsmouth is back for its ninth year after a hugely successful sold-out show in 2019. As a true community-driven event, TEDxPortsmouth 2019 brought together 900 audience members, more than 200 volunteers, and sponsors from a variety of businesses and organizations around the Seacoast.
The full-day event features more than a dozen speakers — spanning a wide variety of topics and industries — with the mission to share big ideas that inspire action. And they do.
In 2018 pediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom gave a talk about how lack movement in schools had a huge impact on kids’ ability to learn. One teacher came out so inspired she started taking her students running every day. Behavior issues decreased, the kids were happier and now several teachers have followed suit. The team was also thrilled to hear that Portsmouth recently adopted Hanscom’s suggestions: lengthening recess time and preventing kids from losing recess as a punishment.
This year’s theme is “Hidden in Plain Sight,” because “how can you not do a vision-related theme in 2020?” asks Goldsmith. But truly, the theme represents the idea behind TEDx — speakers featured each year are our Seacoast neighbors, co-workers and friends, each sharing a meaningful story that we might not otherwise have known. While TEDx is a big annual event that sells out the Music Hall, it’s also a chance to hear from someone you might not have known had such a personal, moving story to share.
The core team of 25 volunteers, headed by Anna Goldsmith of Portsmouth and Amy Sterndale of Durham, is currently looking for their 2020 speakers and sponsors.
For speakers, this is your chance to get your big idea in front of a huge audience—not just a packed Music Hall, but a global audience on the heavily viewed TEDx YouTube Channel. Last year nearly 100 people threw their hat in the ring for one of the coveted 15 spots. This year the team is expecting that number to at least double, but don’t let that deter you. If you have a great idea, we want to hear it. Learn more at https://tedxportsmouth.com/nominate-speaker/
And for sponsors, TEDxPortsmouth draws a huge crowd of engaged, highly educated community minded leaders on the Seacoast. There is nothing quite like it. If our mission and goals align with your organization, and you’d like to learn more about partnership opportunities, email info@TEDxPortsmouth.com. We’d love to hear from you., as sponsorship spots are also filling up fast.
Tickets for the ninth annual TEDxPortsmouth event go on sale this summer, and because they tend to sell out quickly, organizers advise anyone who wants to attend on Sept. 25 to sign up now for email updates via the TEDx Portsmouth website, https://tedxportsmouth.com/. After that, be sure to catch up on last year’s talks; 2019 speakers covered a range of topics — from the importance of childhood mental health screening, to seeing climate change first-hand, to growing up Thai in America. You can watch all the TEDxPortsmouth talks on the TEDx Portsmouth website: tedxportsmouth.com/talks/year/2019/
What: TEDx Portsmouth
When: Friday, Sept. 25, 2020
Where: The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, NH
Tickets: Will go on sale this summer. Sign up for notifications and updates at tedxportsmouth.com
Breakout box: Think you’ve got an idea worth spreading? Throw your hat in the ring to audition for TEDxPortsmouth by filling out this brief survey before April 3: https://bit.ly/2PHzNqM. Auditions The main event will be held Friday, Sept. 25 at the Music Hall.
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About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, including our annual gathering in Vancouver, as well as TEDWomen, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of the talks from TED2019 are published to TED’s podcast TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.
TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; the Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TEDSummit, which gathers the most engaged members of the global TED community for brainstorms, discussions, performances, workshops and an eclectic program of mainstage talks; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, TED en Español and Sincerely, X.
