Plans in the works for TEDx's return

The City of Greater Sudbury is unique as the mining capital of Canada, and it is filled with hidden treasures among the youth, Suzanne Shawbonquit, curator of TEDxYouth@Nickel City, said.

That was the message she delivered to about 100 people who filled Cambrian College’s eDome on April 26 for the first-ever TEDxYouth@NickelCity event held in Sudbury.

Shawbonquit said the event, themed ‘Icons and Innovators,’ was meant to showcase a diverse roster of unsung heroes in Sudbury.

“Youth have great ideas and we need to listen to them,” she said.

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is hailed as a global set of conferences curated by a non-profit organization devoted to ideas worth spreading.

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring together people in a forum to share a TED-like experience. The X stands for independently organized event.

The event was hosted by singer, songwriter, actor and radio host, Stephane Paquette, who said the purpose of the event was to inspire, share ideas and acknowledge people who are making things happen.

The event was split into four categories, ideas and inventions, discovery and innovation, passion and inspiration and dreams and potential.

Guest speakers included Tom Fortin, managing engineer of Ontrak Control Systems Inc., Samantha Kuula, communication officer at the SNOLAB, Boris Chan, principal engineer at Xtreme Labs, Terrance Galvin, founding director of Laurentian University's School of Architecture, Mike Prosserman, a break-dancer and executive director of Unity, Eden Beaudin, a 12-year-old published author, and Linsay Willier, founder of Dreams in Motion and finalist in the television show Canada's Next Top Model.

Dr. Greg Baiden, chief technology officer at Penguin ASI, presented the future of robotics. Baiden is part of a group working in Sudbury to develop automated robots that can go underground, deep sea, inside the human body or into space. These robots allow people to go in hazardous or dangerous environments without physically being there, he said.

Mike Prosserman, aka Bboy Piecez had a passion for breakdancing since he was just a youngster. The high-energy speaker said as a child, he was constantly bullied about his height.

“I used the hurtful words and remarks as fuel and motivation to be better,” he said. “I never let the labels that are put on me define who I am or who I will become.”

Along with winning numerous breakdancing awards, Prosserman was also accepted into Cirque Du Soleil, was featured in the major motion picture “Honey” and performed alongside artists such as Kardinal Offishall, and Shawn Desman.

Prosserman founded a youth-led Charity called UNITY to help empower young people and help them realize their true potential by participating in pop-based activities such as breakdancing, graffiti art, and beat boxing.

“It’s your choice to accept labels or redefine them,” he said.

Performers from the Sudbury Youth Rocks music program performed a variety of songs in between the presentations.

Ian Gibson, a percussionist, who has shared the stage with the legendary Paul McCartney and who has played at Carnegie Hall, wooed the crowd with his musical stylings on the marimba, a wooden instrument with a layout similar to that of a piano.

YES Theatre (Youth Entertaining Sudbury) performed a variety of songs including Johnny Cash and June Carter’s Jackson, Mustang Sally, In the Arms of an Angel and Right as Rain.

YES Theatre, founded in 2009, gives young people the opportunity to perform in a professional theatre setting while also empowering them to develop their own artistic voices.

Shawbonquit said plans are already in the works for another TEDx event next year, and hopes it will be even bigger.

“We never see these people, they are great thinkers and we need to bring that out,” she said.

Posted by Arron Pickard