…one long and exciting journey that began in September 2012 culminated in what was for us one of the greatest days in our lives: TEDxESCPBerlin on February 16th. We would like to thank everyone who participated in this event, if as speaker, sponsor, organizer, or guest. Without each and every one of you this day wouldn’t have been the same and it’s this open-minded and communicative TEDx atmosphere that made it so special.
Here’s a recap of the day and some nice pictures made by Christoph Sterz for you to enjoy. The videos are still being edited and will be online soon.
Thursday and Friday before the event everything was set up and prepared for the big day. This included bringing four monstrously big TEDx letters from the TEDxBerlin headquarters to the ESCP Campus – we first tried a car and then came back with a van. A very warm thank you again at this stage to the TEDxBerlin team for lending us the letters!
Saturday, February 16th, 2013 – the big day has arrived: TEDxESCPBerlin
8.00 pm: the team arrived on campus and last details were arranged.
11.00 pm: the technical equipment arrived and first sound checks were made
12.00 pm: our speakers were welcomed to the speakers’ lounge behind the stage
12.30 pm: check-in time for the guests at the front desk
1.00 pm: the light in the festively decorated ballroom got dimmed and the program began
Welcome by the hosts Daniel and Julia
As its tradition at all TEDx events a TED Talks was shown at the beginning of each speakers’ block. There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life — how are you going to remember them all? Cesar Kuriyama started to record 1 second of every day in his live – cool project! http://www.ted.com/talks/cesar_kuriyama_one_second_every_day.html
Welcome by Marion Festing our ESCP Berlin campus director
Brittany Arthur held the first speech of the day and led us on a motivational journey commencing on a ship wreck at the shores of Australia.
Anthony-James Owen underlined the importance of having and being a mentor in life and had the audience instantly connect by having them face one another.
Maëva Tordo shared with us her personal story and views on social entrepreneurship and made it tangible with a magic trick.
2.30 pm: Our guests can now indulge in our sponsors’ nice little treats during the first break and start to get to know each other.
3.15 pm – Second round!
TED Talk: Ric Elias sat in the plane that landed on the Hudson River – and he shares 3 things that he learned during those seconds. http://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias.html
Roman Kirsch was our first speaker of the second round and gave valuable advice on how to make the best out of the opportunities you encounter in life.
Till Behnke shared his unconventional life story and how he ended up founding betterplace.org.
Borris Förster took us on a trip across two continents that ended in Tadzhikistan and changed his life.
Jim Geraghty came all the way from Boston and talked about the tough but essential battle against rare diseases.
Right before the second break Matthias Götz blew us away with his amazing beat-boxing performance.
4.30 pm – In the second break conversations continued and the wide range of snacks was explored further.
5.15 pm – the third and last block for the day commenced!
TED Talk: Matts Cutts challenged himself with 30-days challenges and urges us to take the opportunity and try the same. http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html
Niko Alm opened the third session with his story of being a political activist and defined an agnostic state.
Arne Krueger touched upon the often circumvented topic of failure in our lives and how to see an opportunity in it.
Dagmar Quentin took us you for a walk to her proper World of Opportunities, starting a long time ago and ending up totally unexpectedly in Palestine now.
Kaycie and Giacomo gave us goose bumps with their great performance including a guitar, drums and an amazing voice.
Prof. Ulrich Weinberg discussed the pressure we are facing today, to change towards a more integrated and holistic way of thinking.
Ole Bischof shared his experiences on how to take on challenges and grab opportunities by telling his story about preparing for that one special moment.
The end of the official TEDxESCPBerlin program had come. Johannes Bittel addressed some final words about the origins of TEDxESCP to the audience and thanked the organizing team for all their effort and hard work that had finally paid off.
7.30 pm – After a champagne reception in the hall the TEDxESCPBerlin Salon was opened with warm food, outstanding wine and a memorable music performance by Jazz artist Kenneth Knudsen.
11.00 pm – The last guests left and the grand clean-up began.
2.30 am – The front gates of the ESCP campus finally shut on TEDxESCPBerlin!
We enjoyed the ride and hope you enjoyed it with us!
Organizing TEDxESCPBerlin was an opportunity and we took it.
And we will never regret it.
