Officials schedule TED talk focused on women

OCU will host an independently organized TEDxWomen conference Dec. 5.

The conference, which will begin at 12:45 p.m. in Kerr-McGee Auditorium in Meinders School of Business, is hosted through licensure from the TED organization.

TED is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading ideas. The acronym stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

“TED licenses people around the world who want to host a TED conference. That’s what the ‘x’ indicates. It’s an independently organized event,” said Mollie Dysart, organizer and curator of the TEDxOCUWomen conference.

The TEDWomen summit conference takes place Dec. 5 in San Francisco. TEDxWomen conferences will take place all over the world this day. This is one of the first TEDx conferences to occur in the Oklahoma City area.

Speakers Janet Peery, Christy VanCleave, Kelly Dyer-Fry, and Susan Carnes Curtiss will present their ideas about resiliency during the conference.

“We decided to turn away from some typical topics that might be talked about at women’s conferences,” Dysart said. “We’re moving toward something that relates to people across the board.

“Resiliency and trying to push past your circumstances is something we thought was really important.”

Corrinne Mica, acting/theater for young audiences junior, looks forward to hearing the speeches.

“I think there’s discrimination toward females, but that doesn’t define us,” Mica said. “It’s not the only thing we can talk about.

“The more we talk about females as victims, the less opportunity we have to empower ourselves.”

Audience members are encouraged to discuss their thoughts and ask questions of the speakers.

OCU’s conference will livestream speakers from the summit conference in San Francisco.

Tickets to the TEDxOCU conference cost $25 for students and $50 for faculty.

The general public can buy tickets online at eventbrite.com for $100.

Students interested in purchasing tickets can email Dysart at molliedysart@gmail.com.

Student tickets can be purchased by check only.

More information about the conference can be found on the TEDxOCUWomen Facebook page.