Updated 9/11/09

Today, out of Toronto, Canada comes the latest TEDx offering, TEDxTO. A passionate group of volunteers independently organized the event, which will offer a free, live webcast of its proceedings today, beginning at 1:00 PM EDT and lasting until 7:00 PM.

Click here to view the TEDxTO webcast >>

Please tweet and (re-tweet) this URL to link to the webcast: http://bit.ly/XPdEZ

Today’s program includes TEDster Richard St. John as well as Gavin Sheppard, Min Sook Lee and Peter MacLeod. The live event will take place at the Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto’s Queen West district. View the complete TEDxTO program >>

If you live in Toronto, several venues in the metropolitan area are hosting viewing parties that are open to the public.

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Update: Summary of TEDxTO

A creative, entrepreneurial crowd gathered in Toronto’s Queen West district at the Theatre Passe Muraille to join the conversation happening at TEDxTO.

The event began with a burst of poetry by D’bi Young, who asked: “What’s next?” and answered: “Love.” We may not be able to love fearlessly, she said, but we can love courageously. It was a message that echoed through the rest of the event.

New media thinker Don Tapscott talked about a topic that other speakers would revisit: the future of education. As the existing education system fails so many, he looks toward new ways to engage students through interactive, creative approaches to learning.

Michael McClelland explored the history of Toronto — and its future potential — by looking at its “invisible” systems and structures. He wants to redefine how people think of cities by retrofitting old architecture and infrastructure to meet future needs.

Google developer Steven Woods talked about the future of the Internet — how content and applications are rapidly moving onto mobile platforms. As mobile devices get faster, they’ll be able to do more — and we’ll continue to reap the benefits, as long as more engineers work on enhancing those systems.

Richard St. John emphasized the conference theme: Success is always asking “What’s next?” “If successful people were cars, they’d have huge windshields to look forward (and tiny rear-view mirrors).”

Over music and breathtaking images, elipse-chaser David Makepeace explained how the study of the sun helped him realized that he was not a mere observer, but an integral part of a universe — a way for the universe to examine itself.

Charlotte Yates looked hard at labor unions, and their place in western economies: What are their benefits — and can they benefit us as they once did? With union memberships declining worldwide, it’s critical that unions use technology and new media to create a new place for collective action in an increasingly individualistic world.

Matthew Ingram talked about how new media might save old media. A veteran journalist (and blogger), his funny talk included five actions traditional media can take to reclaim lost audiences and, perhaps, become more profitable.

Waawaate Fobister told his emotional story of young love in a culture unfriendly to homosexuality. After tragically losing his love, art and performance provided a way to reclaim it.

Gavin Sheppard explained how he created hip-hop-oriented community centers to serve the learning needs of struggling neighborhoods in Toronto — centers designed to bring people who dropped out of traditional education back into the process of learning. By emphasizing interpersonal learning — learning through connecting with others — he has given hope to people who had been failed by the traditional school experience.

Filmmaker Min Sook Lee explored what it means to be a parent in a world of products laden with dangerous chemicals. She showed a clip of her feature-length documentary, “My Toxic Baby” (which premiers at TIFF this weekend) and discussed the pitfalls — and hopes — for new parents hoping to raise their children safely, away from dangerous chemicals.

Peter McLeod closed the event with a powerful talk about the history of Toronto. By examining the long history of cities, we learn the most important types of trends that affect where a city ends up — where it fails and succeeds.

Read the complete TEDxTO liveblog entry >>1:00pm – The seats are filled. The lights are dimmed. TEDxTO begins!

1:09pm – Welcome video: Chris Anderson says “all knowledge is connected.” And  by making it freely available, you can change the world. TEDx was born of that mission. Now you can enjoy the TED experience as a part of a group — and join the conversation about creative responses to what you’ve seen.

1:12pm – D’bi Young asks “What’s next?” And waxes poetic: Love. The language of compassion is written on our hearts … but has been lost in history as it once was in the hearts of our elders. How do we reclaim it — a forgiving love, a compassionate love? Who keeps it? She wants to re-learn the language of integrity, of language. “Were it not for fear, I would kiss you.” We can’t love fearlessly — but we can love courageously.

1:17pm – New media thinker Don Tapscott talks about the future of education. Most of our institutions are collapsing. Governments. The energy grid. The media. We need to re-industrialize Earth. It is crucial that we re-build the institutions of education.

1:20pm – Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants. The immigrants are the older generation. Young people are the natives. The natives, those to come of age in the digital age, have the power to change education. They aren’t passive recipients of media; TV is almost “ambient” to them, like Muzak. They seek information actively — and they learn differently.

1:23pm – The “one-way” lecture model needs to change to fit the way the “natives” learn. At a planning meeting for a new school to meet natives’ needs, a student said, “I don’t read books. I know what’s in them — but I don’t read them. If I have to read a book, I attack it like a website, jumping around to the info I want.”

1:26pm – Tapscott later interviewed the student. 4.0 GPA, president of student government, involved in sports, 18 committees, created a health clinic in New Orleans after Katrina … and he does not read books. The only Rhodes scholar from Florida … does not read books. The model for learning must change from broadcast to interactive learning.

1:29 – The definition of a lecture? The process by which the notes of a professor are transferred to the notes of a student without going through the brain of either.

1:31 – Students are now seeking the way to get an ‘A’ without having to attend a lecture. We must make education interactive, collaborative. Example: Virginia Tech’s Math Emporium. “Staring at a screen” is not the same as a “decline in face-fo-face” interaction. In fact, technology enables more “face-to-face” interaction.

1:35 – If we don’t reinvent education for the 21st century, the next generation will reinvent the way they learn themselves. Don’t fear this change. Embrace it. The future isn’t something to be predicted — it’s something to be achieved.

1:40 – Tom Rand talks about the Planet Traveler hotel — an innovative hotel in Toronto that uses geothermal pipes for heating and cooling, solar power for electricity and cut its carbon emissions by three quarters. His hotel is a model for the fact that going green, cutting carbon can be highly profitable — and change the world. The hotel’s success prompted the City of Toronto to establish public laneways for the installation of geothermal pipes.

1:45 – Architect Michael McClelland says “invisible cities exist.” But you have to know where to look for them. He wrote a book called “Concrete Toronto” about the “concrete heritage of Toronto.” He asked, How do cities think of themselves? How should they? And how can that identity influence the way cities prepare themselves for the future? He shows a deck of examples of ways that cities might retrofit poorly designed areas to create sustainable neighborhoods that will last across several generations.

1:50 – The history of Toronto uncovers the city’s identity. Buildings were build with very little insulation, and are very energy inefficient. McClelland wants to retrofit such buildings, which contribute to a huge carbon footprint, with systems that will reduce the carbon output.

1:53 – Toronto contains two cities: a city of wealth and a city of poverty, each of which are clearly defined by the shape of infrastructure and “intensification zones” where poverty is increasing. The increase in poverty can be tackled by looking at the way public transit does or does not allow access to services.

1:58 – McClelland shows a slide of a cluster of inexpensive housing buildings, all of the same design, with no public space, no access to other parts of the community, and how we might retrofit such communities so that the city “thinks of them” as cohesive neighborhoods. There are places in the city that show how these issues can be successfully addressed. The ugly, concrete buildings can easily be retrofitted — but it had better be done soon or Toronto runs a risk of riots in five years.

2:00 – Old buildings from Soviet Russia — of a similar style to the buildings in troubled zones in Toronto — have been retrofitted by market forces. Street-level shops have opened, and revitalized blighted areas. Examples elsewhere show how well-designed neighborhoods that were once troubled can begin developing vibrant cultures of their own.

2:01 – Cities must make visible the invisible parts of its cities so they can change themselves over time and grow.

2:02 – Video: Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity – Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

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3:15 – Googler Steven Woods talks about the evolution of the web: Will it remain open and dynamic, or might it revert to the “walled garden” approach that was prominent in its earlier years? And how will its path forward affect the development of the web as experienced on mobile phones?

3:20 – The crux of Woods’ idea about the future of the Internet is that the entire Internet will be mobile. But we need standards in order to make it possible. Web browsers continue to evolve, and more and more developers are contributing to the development of browsers, making them faster. In tandem with advancements in hardware, technology for web access has reached a tipping point where soon the whole world will flock to the web.

3:25 – Moving into a “mobile web” is basically a second chance to do things right. Woods shows off new applications for smartphones such as the iPhone that allow desktop-speed applications to run via a web browser on a mobile phone.

3:35 – Richard St. John says success is always asking us “What’s next?” Some of the world’s most successful people have advised him: Always look ahead. Always anticipate what’s next. “If successful people were cars, they’d have huge windshields to help them look ahead.”

3:37 – St. John says, if people were cars, they’d also have tiny rear-view mirrors. Don’t look back. What worked yesterday won’t work today or tomorrow. And also, our minds alter the past as we think about it. Even terrible, negative experiences seem “fun” in retrospect.

3:40 – Video: Allison hunt gets (a new) hip – When Allison Hunt found out that she needed a new hip — and that Canada’s national health care system would require her to spend nearly 2 years on a waiting list (and in pain) — she took matters into her own hands.

3:44 – “Eclipse chaser” David Makepeace criss-crosses the globe seeking out eclipses. He uses the study of solar events to understand who we are, to capture a sense of being a part of something greater than one’s self. He talks about how his first eclipse catapulted him into an understanding of how the universe is as much a part of him as he is a part of the universe.

3:47 – Dr. Charlotte Yates talks about the future of unions. For many people, unions are “old fashioned” organizations. They belong to the past, and don’t have a place in the world of Twitter, Facebook … or casinos, hotels and day cares. Yet unions still have a strong place in contemporary society.

3:51 – What do unions do? Firstly, they negotiate and bargain for better treatment. Union workers do on average get a better premium on hourly wages. They also get a better premium on benefits. But they also “give a voice to workers.” This helps union workers get more coverage by social protections such as health care. Overall, unions create income equality and increase a population’s health.

3:54 – Yet, worldwide, union memberships are in decline. Why? Global pressures, such as globalization, diversity and fragmentation, and “the cult of the individual.” Countries and communities both compete for jobs. Increased competition is hurting wages — people keep pushing down on wages — and thus hurting unions. Meanwhile, governments and businesses are attempting to reduce the levels of unionization.

3:58 – The “cult of the individual” has been deeply ingrained in culture: if you do poorly, it’s your fault. There is less social responsibility and more individual responsibility for negative outcomes. Unions rely on collective efforts, but that collective activity is being eroded by the pressure toward individuality.

4:00 – How do we slow or reverse this trend? We need new forms of collectivism — creating new types of communities based on shared experiences that go outside of the limits of the workplace. We need “GlobaLocal strategies” that apply to the globalized world, but also the increasing trend toward solutions that are specific to local communities. One way “globalocal” communities can form is through technology — such as Second Life. This allows people to mobilize internationally.

4:05 – Unions are a critical institution if we want to reduce poverty, and increase democratic rights. We are more than a society of individuals.

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5:04 – Mathew Ingram talks about five ways new media will save old media. He starts by outlining three assumptions behind his talk. He asks first, Does it need to be saved? Newspaper revenue is dropping. Companies are going bankrupt. Second, Can it be saved?  He’s not sure. If we mean “returning media entities to previous levels of profitability,” then no. Finally, Should we save old media? Do such ungainly institutions deserve saving?

5:10 – Old media has many strengths: accuracy, independence, and a sense of trust from its audience. So maybe we should seek to evolve old media — rather than to save it. “We must teach the fish to walk on fins.” We associate old (or “traditional”) media with conventions, standards, an ethical platform. We need to add to those traditions — or change them.

5:13 – What if the new ethic of journalism included reader interaction? What if interaction were just as important as fact checking?

5:15 – Ingram used to be a journalist: “I called people up, asked them irritating questions, wrote down what they said, and put it in the paper.” Soon he stopped writing columns and started a blog. He learned two powerful changes: (1) people could link to his writing, promoting it to friends and (2) people could comment on what I wrote, telling me when I was wrong, or adding information.

5:18 – How can we save old media? (1) By enlarging the size of the media pie. (2) By making media a process instead of a product. (Real events don’t occur in neat, time-specific packages.) (3) By making media human. People look for trusted filters, i.e. Walter Cronkite, to relay information. (4) By making media multi-directional — engaging “people formerly known as readers.” (5) By giving people choice. Media is a spectrum. There is no “one size fits all” experience.

5:31 – Waawaate Fobister, a performer, dancer and playwrite, gives a talk on “Telling Very Personal Stories.” He talks about his difficulties being gay and living on a reservation — and his difficulties expressing himself in an environment where his feelings were frowned upon. He shares personal moments of realization — and human connections he made along the way as as he learned to accept his feelings and his place in his culture.

5:39 – He shares his awkward — and adorable — first encounters with another young man that he had a crush on. After two years of merely noticing the other young man, he finally spoke to him. The two began a relationship, but soon Fobister moved to Toronto. After deciding, from many miles away, that he wanted to see his friend again, he learned that his friend had committed suicide the day after he left. These experiences, where two similar spirits were joined, but finally torn apart in tragedy, were the basis for his play, “Agokwe.”

5:45 – Video: Nellie McKay sings “Mother of Pearl” – The wonderful Nellie McKay sings “Mother of Pearl” (with the immortal first line “Feminists don’t have a sense of humor”) and “If I Had You” from her sparkling set at TED2008.

5:48 – Gavin Sheppard talks about creative education. He asks, “How many here have been tested to see if they should be advanced a grade?” A few hands go up. “How many have been tested to see if something was wrong with them?” More hands go up. Sheppard says his experience was the latter. He was finally diagnosed as “apathetic.” It’s a diagnosis that has, unfortunately, been dumped on most of his generation.

5:55 – He felt insulted by the education system — and so he turned away from it. Yet he’s since become a person passionate about his own learning — just outside of the school environment. But he’s still bothered by how people fail to succeed in school, even though they have thirst
for knowledge. He thinks that school does not foster “interpersonal” or “emotional intelligence” — the way we learn by talking with others, joining in communities, sharing ideas.

5:58 – He got involved with a local community center that was struggling bringing people together. He asked, how do we encourage communities for learning when people are reluctant to leave their homes, see the world outside of their neighborhood? Paranoia about leaving is a real problem in “priority” communities. “Kids use the ‘hood as their safety blanket,” he says. Sheppard then wrote an essay called “Why we should have a hip-hop community center.”

6:01 – He finally convinced a skeptical organizer that a hip-hop community center would work. They built a center with free turntables, a wall for graffiti, monthly open-mic nights. Today, the center has a fully operational recording studio where people are finally able to express themselves, and connect with other creative people in their communities for support and positive influence.

6:07 – Today, the community center is driving forward with the option for participants to join a six-month curriculum based on the recording arts and business. They’re encouraging people who have not had success in the school system to find their system. “Culture is our Trojan Horse,” he says, to bring young people who have quit a system that failed them back into learning and education.

6:13 – Filmmaker Min Sook Lee joins TEDxTO to talk about her latest work, “My Toxic Baby.” We watch the opening sequence of the film: shots of an infant in a bath as the names of chemicals and toxins in baby bathing products are read in voiceover. (Lee will be premiering the full film at the Toronto International Film Fesitval tomorrow.)

6:16 – Lee remembers being overwhelmed by being a new parent. She was confused by all the products available to help her raise her baby. Before her was the purest, newest thing in her whole life, and she didn’t want to expose her to “fake lavender scents,” substances that you would need a chemistry degree to understand. The thing her child needed, she says, was skin to skin contact — not chemicals. “There’s a baby-industrial complex out there that convinces you that the first thing you need to do is go shopping.” The idea that you can “buy your way into the Parenting Hall of Fame is misguided.”

6:18 – Many of the chemicals we use on a day-to-day basis have never been tested for the results of their exposure to humans. Many of the solutions we offer our children are known to be carcinogenic. We have the highest ever levels of childhood cancer. But Lee wondered, “what can I do? I’m not a chemist. Maybe I’m not the right person to make this documentary.”

6:23 – The problem is disturbing because it is influenced by so many sectors. Doctors aren’t sufficiently informed. Lawmakers aren’t sufficiently informed. The businesses themselves often aren’t sufficiently informed. It often takes years to make connections between abnormalities mentioned anecdotally and products that cause them. There’s an extent to which taking stock of the danger that surrounds you is going against the establishment.

6:26 – But how do you confront this? It often seems so overwhelming, so depressing, so difficult. Medical conditions have been so normalized. You can’t reinvent your whole life, and you can’t solve every problem at once, but you can make simple, incremental decisions that bring you into a healthier life.