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So what is TEDxKualaLumpur?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. TEDxKualaLumpur is an event where x=independently organized TED event. At the TEDxKualaLumpur event, TEDTalks video and live speakers were combined to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

It was held in Plug & Play, The Gardens on Wednesday, which I attended together with some colleagues of mine. Due to strict guidelines from TED international, TEDx only allows a maximum of 100 participants. To hold a TEDx event, the organizers need to abide by a lot of these strict rules during the whole event. There can be NO promotions, branding or positioning. Basically, if you ever watched the videos on TED.com, it’s all about sharing your ideas.

scene from TEDxKL. photo by Melvin Chan

We have some really good speakers like Yasmin Ahmad, Kid Chan, Roshan Thiran, Dr. Bernard Leong, Krishnakant Mane, just to name a few. Most of them spoke about their experiences and thoughts which I thought was ok. The video presentation by Brian Greene was really mind blowing. Makes you stop and wonder if there are really more than 3 or 4 dimensions in the universe.

Yasmin Ahmad speaks about “Charisma”

Kid Chan speaks about choosing the right mentor

Overall I thought the event was not really that great but just alright apart from an idiot presenter, who was promoting entrepreneurship week (remember the rules? no promotions allowed). I feel Malaysia needs to have better speakers. Someone who can really inspire by sharing their ideas and leave their audiences captivated in awe by the end of their talk. So far NONE of the speakers made that impact. Probably the best speaker of the lot was Krishnakant Mane who is from India and is visually impaired mind you. Despite being blind, he was still able to operate the laptop (with the aid of a voice reader) to give a presentation on Free Software. He seems more able rather than disable really. I really salute him.

"Anything that is created out of the body is technology. I hope everyone will realize the freedom that technology brings one day." - Krishnakant Mane

Now to me…that’s really inspiring!