TED is a non-profit organization that believes powerful ideas, powerfully presented, move us: to feel something, to think differently, to take action.
While many of us have watched a TED Talk on YouTube, few have had the opportunity to experience one in person. A license from TED can allow a community or a college with the opportunity to provide a live experience under its TEDx program. Several New York state colleges have pursued this successfully, however the city of Oneonta is one of only a few communities in our state to have done so.
This impressive accomplishment is the result of the vision and work of Oneonta’s Dan Buttermann. My plan to have breakfast with Buttermann in an effort to learn more turned into a Zoom meeting when I recently tested positive for COVID-19 (with a quick recovery thanks to today’s advances in pharmaceutical science).
Buttermann’s 2016 application to TED succeeded in convincing those in charge he was capable of organizing a valued experience and that the Oneonta community was capable of hosting such an event and recruiting meaningful speakers. This will be the seventh year Buttermann and his committee have made good on that commitment.
Oneonta is now part of the global TED community, attracting people from places that include Utica, Albany and Binghamton. 2020 was the only year Oneonta skipped TEDx — due, of course, to the pandemic. “COVID ruined that,” Buttermann said. “COVID ruined a lot of things.” Previous years’ themes have included The Tipping Point, Think Again, Transformation, Connect, Indie World and Look Around, Look Ahead.
I wanted to hear from Buttermann about just what motivated him to make all this happen.
“You can’t replicate the energy and feeling that you get from watching a talk on You Tube,” he said. “If you come to our event, there will be five speakers and I promise you will walk away glad that you came. One of the speakers will have said just one thing that inspired or connected with you — or maybe talked about an idea you already had and provided that final ingredient — there you go, you never know.” Buttermann said he doesn’t expect everyone to like every speaker or to like the same speaker, but he feels that a win is when just one idea from one speaker jump-starts change.
Oneonta’s TEDx seeks to recruit speakers with diverse backgrounds and from diverse locations. Previous speakers have traveled here from New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Australia, just to share their 15-minute talk.
Speakers submit applications through the TED website and are reviewed by our local committee. This year’s five speakers were selected from more than 100 applicants who hoped to come to Oneonta. The committee also recruits local speakers through networking and word of mouth.
While the speakers are neither paid nor provided travel reimbursement, they do receive a video of their talk. That video, Buttermann tells me, has served as a spark plug to many in advancing their careers.
This year’s Oneonta TEDx is scheduled for Oct. 18 at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center. This year’s theme? Ideas Change Everything.
The titles of the talks chosen will include The Complexity and Power of the Human Bond, DEI and the Problem of the White Doll Dipped, Hope Driven Leadership and Powerful Lessons from a Bullied Teen. Oneonta’s own Cassandra Miller will talk about Why the Arts Matter to the Bottom Line of a Community. Buttermann said tickets can be purchased online at OneontaTEDx.com or at the door.
While a small group of people have put a whole lot of work into bringing TEDx to Oneonta, Buttermann said why it is worth it.
“Each year is an opportunity to bring inspiration and to connect people,” he said. “If you do those two things, good things will come out of it.”
With only 15 to 20 TEDx talks across the country taking place each month, Oneonta is clearly special, and it is those like Buttermann and his volunteers who make it special.