Businesswomen Jacinda Violi and Sara Pixley secured the licence to host TEDx in Griffith. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
One of Griffith’s oldest and one of the city’s newest businesses will support a global public speaking forum to be held in the town later this year.
TEDx – a conference that operates under the slogan “ideas worth spreading” – will be held at Marian Catholic College on Thursday 29 August, after businesswomen Sara Pixley and Jacinda Violi secured a licence to stage the event in Griffith for the first time.
Cater and Blumer, a law firm that celebrated its century in Griffith last year, has been signed up as a major sponsor for the conference, while The Perfect Pour, a mobile bar launched in 2023, will provide beverages for speakers and the audience.
“We are thrilled to have the support of highly respected businesses like Cater and Blumer and The Perfect Pour,” Ms Pixley said. “TEDx is a not-for-profit venture run by volunteers, so we need community support to make this a success.
“We’d love to hear from more businesses that want to contribute, either through direct funding or in-kind support. We’re happy to provide promotional shout-outs and tickets.”
Laura De Mamiel and Kylie Barrington of the Perfect Pour will be serving drinks at TEDx . Photo: Oliver Jacques.
The TEDx conference will feature up to eight speakers, who will each present an innovative idea, most of which originated in the Riverina.
Speaker applications have now closed. An organising committee recently evaluated several talks at a pitch day held at Griffith City Library.
“I was overwhelmed by the huge number of high-quality applications. We heard from people who spoke on issues as diverse as dead bodies, martial arts, fashion, Indigenous identity, health, science, agriculture and much more. There were teenagers who spoke, retirees and those of all sorts of backgrounds; most were locals,” Ms Pixley said.
“Our team are working really hard to ensure we have the best line-up possible. We expect tickets to be on sale by the end of the month and a full program to be released by July.”
Ms Pixley said that in addition to speakers, the night would also feature a musical performance and an open mic section in which audience members would be invited to give spontaneous two-minute TEDx style talks.
“We’d like to hear from anyone who can provided a self-composed musical performance,” she said.
“The Wagga TEDx event last year had an open mic section and it went really well. It’s always good to incorporate some audience participation.”
The businesswoman attended the Wagga event and said she had learned a lot from its organiser, Adam Bannister.
“The Wagga TEDx event really made you go away thinking; that’s we want to achieve,” she said.
Under TEDx rules, only 100 tickets can be sold for an inaugural event.
“There’ll be fierce competition for tickets, so keep an eye on our socials and website. If this conference is a success, we can do another one in the future that will cater to a bigger audience.
“This is our chance to showcase all the talent we have in this region. Please get in touch with us if you’d like to get involved.”
Further information and updates on the Griffith TEDx can be found on its website and Facebook page.
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