TEDxKinjarling calls for Albany freethinkers to ‘throw their hat in the ring’ for the 2024 event

TEDxKinjarling is calling for big thinkers in the Great Southern with “ideas that can change the world” to “throw your hat in the ring” and apply to speak at the upcoming conference. Now in its third year, the event showcases local speakers and offers them a chance to be included in the global TED online network. Organiser Kristen Pyrz-Brown believes this year’s theme of Constructs will provoke discussions on how we structure and frame society. “Many of the applications we’ve had so far concern narrow thinking,” Ms Pyrz-Brown said. “They address questions like ‘what is a disabled person?’, ‘how should a city be built?’, and ‘how should science be enacted?’. “From a thematic viewpoint, it will very much be about how these ideas have been constructed, who by and who for, and how are the people on stage planning on re-structuring or re-framing this? “What we’ve seen over the last three years is that everyone and anyone can come up with something.” Ms Pyrz-Brown said the region was a hotbed for interesting and out-of-the-box ideas. “When I moved (to Albany) three years ago, I found I was coming across some of the most interesting and extraordinary people doing fascinating things that they thought were quite normal and everyday,” she said. “It’s people like that, who’ve been mulling over what WA is going to do once the mining dries up, or who have an idea about policing in small communities, that need to sign up. “Throw your hat in the ring and see how it goes — we want to hear the ideas that can change the world.” As well as offering new insight for audiences, the event provides speakers with a crash course on public speaking, with the chosen speakers receiving tips on structuring their talk, diction, and overcoming nerves. Videos of previous Great Southern speakers have racked up more than 1.5 million views on YouTube. The event will be held at the Albany Town Hall on August 24. Submissions can be made via the TEDxKinjarling website until May 5.