Welcome back, TEDx-ers!

TEDxUTAustin hosted its 2022 conference, Blueprints, on March 5th. Between nine unique TED Talks, two outstanding performances, and an expansive company showcase, Blueprints offered attendees the chance to broaden their perspectives, network, and have a good time. 

But they aren’t the only ones who took advantage of this amazing opportunity to learn, grow, and have fun.

At the center of our conference, our speakers worked on their TED Talks for months leading up to Blueprints. Working with our team, these inspiring individuals drafted their own Blueprints and learned what makes a TED Talk so special. 

Our first speaker, Gloria Chan Packer said that preparing for the conference taught her how to practice what she preaches. While preparing a talk that focused on mental health in the workplace, she said it was “a constant opportunity to be able to practice real self-compassion and be like “what I would tell someone else?” 

Approaching her own experience with the same empathy and understanding she expressed in her TED Talk, Gloria Chan Packer led by example in her preparation and delivery, encouraging everyone to reflect on their own circumstances and how we interact with our environments. When asked about the biggest takeaway from her Talk, she said she hopes that everyone will “practice curiosity for themselves and others, and to try to understand each of our reactions that pop up for ourselves and to ask about where we learned that. I think the more we understand how our past experiences impact our present, the more free we can feel from patterns or behaviors that we don’t love or want to change.”

Similarly, Valeria Colunga learned how to be more vulnerable and reflective through drafting and sharing her talk about youth activism. In preparation for Blueprints, she admitted, “I drafted my talk over five times, and in each draft, my talk got more personal. The experience of sharing with a wide audience some of the things I’ve gone through: that can be nerve-wracking sometimes.” 

Learning how to open up to an unfamiliar audience and approaching a familiar topic with fresh eyes allowed Valeria Colunga to approach activism in a unique way on the TEDxUTAustin stage: “it really made me think about how brainwashed I had been into saying things certain ways and preparing a certain way to inspire people, but this experience has shown me that there are other more gentle and personal ways to connect with the audience beyond just showing what’s already evident, which are the issues in front of us.” At its core, TEDxUTAustin seeks to share new ideas and approaches to things that affect our daily lives. Valeria’s inspiring call-to-action epitomizes how crucial fresh perspectives are to making substantial changes, however big or small.

A special experience like Blueprints was made even more memorable for Valeria and fellow speaker, Sanika Bhave as these two roommates prepared for their own talks together. Recalling a story about the two practicing together the night before, Bhave shared how “it was very powerful that the two of us could care very deeply about the world and go about it in two different ways. I think TED was a reminder that all of us have our own way to go about making change.” 

Valeria and Sanika’s Talks approached very different issues in our society, but preparing for this experience together embodies how TEDxUTAustin welcomes diverse perspectives on a variety of topics and issues. This conference was about drafting your own blueprint, regardless of where it might take you.

Sanika Bhave’s informative and encouraging TED Talk about electronic waste taught the audience about an often-ignored issue and how to make sustainable changes on an individual level. “Each of us makes a choice with how we live our lives and how we use our technology. Even when things feel very overwhelming and hard to solve or hard to attack, we still have agency. We still have a choice. Ultimately, we can’t control what anyone else does, but you can control what you can do. If everyone had that mindset, together, everyone could have a massive amount of change.”

And this willingness to grow is what made Blueprints such a unique experience for the speakers and attendees alike.

When asked about why she wanted to speak at this conference, Sanika Bhave shared how TED conferences provide an opportunity to not just share your own opinion as a speaker but hear what other speakers and the audience have to say as well. “I auditioned for TED because I care about this issue and I’ve spent four years trying to figure out what to do about it. And I realized that, ultimately, there’s nothing more powerful than being able to share your ideas and have people that will listen. I think the most important thing I’ve learned was to just show up and listen to people, whether it's at events like these or day-to-day conversations with your friends, you can build a community just by listening and being in the audience.”

As we begin moving forward and focus on our 2023 conference, TEDxUTAustin hopes that our speakers and their unforgettable Talks continue to inspire and push every attendee and viewer to become their own Blueprint. Like Sanika Bhave said, “start small. What you have to say doesn’t have to be validated just at the TED level. Start conversations with the people around you. Change starts with you and with your actions, not necessarily with a stage. So take that first step, make that first choice. It starts with you.”

If you missed out on attending Blueprints this year or are interested in speaking at future conferences, subscribe to our newsletter and follow our Instagram for updates on TEDxUTAustin’s 2023 conference.

Stay ConnecTED!

Caroline Harrison