INDEPENDENT NEWS

Australians in a lather over legalising same sex marriage

Published: Wed 4 Oct 2017 07:00 AM
| 4 October 2017
Australians are in a lather over legalising same sex marriage, but here in New Zealand we’re well-ahead in the LGBTQI* gender conversation…
An upcoming TEDxWellingtonWomen event will roll-out a unique offer that breaks new ground for the popular global “ideas worth spreading” initiative.
Local organisers last night [Oct 3] announced its women’s TEDx event on November 4 will walk the talk on gender diversity. Would-be delegates will only be able to register for two spaces – and then will be invited to bring someone who self-identifies as a different gender to themselves.
TEDxWellingtonWomen is a half-day event for 200 delegates featuring two 90-minute blocks of the main TEDWomen event streamed from New Orleans that will have taken place on 1-3 November. The theme this year is: ‘Bridges’
Delegates will hear a selection of talks which include entrepreneurs, innovators, artists and activists—bridge builders from around the world.
Short facilitated workshops to extend the conversation will take place after each of the screenings.
“Our local take on the TEDWomen Bridges theme has been to invite more voices to the gender conversation,” says Hannah Wignall, a co-organiser of the event.
Producer and TEDxWellingtonWomen license holder, DK, says:“These are really important societal discussions we’ll be having.
“I’ve been to several TEDxWomen events around the world and usually I’m one of the few men there, the others are usually speakers.
“After discussing this with the organising team, we felt it was really important to have all genders represented in the audience when we’re talking about issues such as pay equity, as everyone becomes part of the solution.
“Keeping away from binary language that talked about women and girls, men and women, we decided TEDxWellingtonWomen would introduce a ticketing approach that would result in a gender parity audience which is totally unique for any TEDxWomen event.”
This means that ‘other half of the audience’ did not necessarily need to be men.
Says Hannah:“Our aim is to expose Wellingtonians to a series of perspective-challenging ideas in what will be a safe environment - and it’s as much about the listening as the talking.”
This is the 13th TEDx event organised by DK and the TEDxWellington team in the capital. All have sold out, many within minutes or hours of ticket sales opening.
And it is the second time Wellington TEDx organisers have delivered a world-first for TED. In 2016, they organised an event that had 200 people not knowing where they were going or even who the speakers / performers were for the day.
Delegates for the sold-out event boarded whited-out buses and entered Sir Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production studios through a concealed entrance – so they didn’t even know where they were when they arrived.
The fresh approach was to underscore the theme last year: Trust. [2016 Trust- themed TEDxWellington : 5-minute video]
The idea won the TEDxWellington organisers accolades from the TED organisation.
* Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Intersex.
Fans can follow TEDxWellington on Twitter, Facebook or sign up for emails on the website for news about tickets and other updates.
ENDS

Next in New Zealand politics

Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
By: New Zealand Government
GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan
By: New Zealand Government
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
Parliamentary Network Breached By The PRC
By: New Zealand Government
Tax Cuts Now Even More Irresponsible
By: New Zealand Labour Party
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media