Tapan Parikh, an assistant professor at the School of Information who designs, develops, and deploys information systems in the rural developing world, will be speaking this week at the TEDxBerkeley conference.
“I became interested in this area through my direct experiences working with non-profit and community-based organizations in rural India,” explained Parikh. “It was apparent to me that improved access to information, and the ability to turn that information into actionable knowledge, could provide immediate dividends.”
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes, and then makes their talks available, free, at TED.com.
This year’s TEDxBerkeley event includes talks and performances from a variety of thinkers, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs. In addition to Parikh, scheduled speakers include Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk (and a member of the I School Advisory Board); author David Ewing Duncan; Berkeley-based a capella group DeCadence; violinist Lindsey Stirling; environmentalist Dr. Maria Fadiman; comedian and magician Robert Strong; and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, the founder of the Webby Awards; among others.
The event will be live webcast at http://www.livestream.com/tedx2?
