St. Xavier’s College Gears up to Organize its First Tedx Event on Feb 8, 2015

The conference will be held in St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai on February 8th, 2015 from 9 am to 5 pm. TEDxStXaviersMumbai aims to build an atmosphere where ideas can be created, shared and discussed. Our speakers will be covering a broad spectrum of fields, including Physics, Biology, Economics, Psychology, social stigma, entrepreneurship, and performing arts. Head Organiser Nimit Parikh said, “I believe that TEDxStXaviersMumbai is so much more than just another college event. As an organisation, we really want to be able to inspire our community by exposing them to some fantastic people and ideas.”

This is the first time St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai is hosting a TEDx conference with a hope to start a tradition of TEDx conferences in the college and provide students and professors with a platform to voice their views, share ideas, and bring change to not only their immediate surroundings, but also to the world at large.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, 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. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations)

 About TED

TED is a non-profit organization devoted to ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast event in nearby Whistler. The annual TED Global conference will be held this October in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED. 

TEDxStXaviersMumbai brings to you a refreshing line-up of speakers:

Dr. Sam Taraporevala has received the Hellen Keller Award in 2009 for excellence in the field of services for the disabled. He is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

Dr. Spenta Wadia is a Distinguished Professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai and the first Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences. He has been visiting faculty at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, USA and CERN, Geneva.

Mrs. Priya Tanna is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue India at Conde Nast India. The pan-India Vogue Empower campaign has been started under her stewardship.

 Mr. Sumit Saurav is the co-founder and CEO of Campus Diaries - one of the Asia's biggest discovery platforms for creative talent of students and universities. He is driven by the intersection of technology and human development.

Mr. Varun Patra and Ms. Mandovi Menon are Co-Founders of Homegrown, a youth culture magazine, covering a wide range of content across topics like art, fashion, music, literature, and lifestyle.

Mrs. Meherangiz Davar is one of Mumbai's promising counsellors specialising in relationship counseling. Her works also extends to the corporate field, where she counsels at Johnson & Johnson, Mumbai, Accenture and JPMC. She specializes in client centered therapy and transactional analysis.

Mrs. Vidita Vaidya is a Senior Overseas Research Fellow of the Wellcome Trust, and was previously an associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences. She works in neuroscience and molecular psychiatry at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

Mr. Krishan Anand is Mumbai based a strategy consultant whose heart resides in Jammu and Kashmir. He is the Chairman of the ‘Rebuild JnK foundation’ and often writes on issues relating to Kashmir for newspapers.

Mrs. Anahita Sanjana was recently awarded the Outstanding Educator award from the University of Chicago. She is a dedicated practitioner of yoga.

Mr. Vatsal Khandelwal is our only student speaker. He is currently majoring in Economics at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and his passion lies in the intersection of economics and mathematics.

 In addition to the talks, there will also be two performances at the event:

Mr. Neel Madhav is an illusionist with his own TV show ‘You Got Magic with Neel Madhav’ on NDTV Goodtimes.

Ms. Tara Sutaria is a professional singer, dancer, and actor. She is the ambassador of Walt Disney India. Tara has sung in the films Taare Zameen Par, Guzaarish and most recently, David.

TEDxStXaviersMumbai hopes that this diverse group of speakers can provide an enriching experience to attendees, exposing them to new ideas. Registrations to be an attendee at TEDxStXaviersMumbai have opened and will remain so till 30th January. Registration is free, but the number of seats available is limited.

You can find more information at www.tedxstxaviersmumbai.com

About St. Xavier’s College

Named after its patron saint Francis Xavier, St. Xavier’s College was founded by German Jesuits in 1869. Today, the institute has come to be recognised as one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in India, with an A+ rating awarded by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in 2009. In the academic year 2010-11, St. Xavier’s College was granted autonomy by the University of Mumbai, and since then has designed its own syllabi, courses and student evaluation techniques. It has a sprawling campus, and the building itself is constructed in the Indo-Gothic style of architecture and is recognized as a heritage structure. St. Xavier’s College strives to form men and women who will build a just and humane world. It encourages critical as well as creative thinking in its students. Notable alumni include Zakir Hussain, Shabana Azmi, Freida Pinto, Alyque Padamsee, Vidya Balan, and Zubin Mehta.

For more information, contact Aatish Mishra- +91-9619788463 Duana D’silva +91 9004565001 or on tedxpublicity@gmail.com.