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Third Round of Speakers for TEDxToronto Announced
[August 27, 2014]

Third Round of Speakers for TEDxToronto Announced


(Canada Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Delegate applications open until September 4th   TORONTO, Aug. 27, 2014 /CNW/ - With the deadline to apply as a delegate fast approaching, TEDxToronto is giving potential applicants yet another reason to get their applications in with the revelation of another exciting round of speakers for its sixth annual ideas conference. The city's brightest and most innovative thinkers will take the stage on October 2nd, 2014 at the Royal Conservatory of Music's Koerner Hall.



"This year's diverse lineup of speakers promise to provoke and inspire," said Melody Khodaverdian, Co-Chair of TEDxToronto. "This conference is about building a community around ideas worth spreading. We're looking forward to bringing together Toronto's most visionary and forward-thinking perspectives and driving forward a conversation that we hope will extend beyond the conference itself." Joining the eight previously announced speakers and performers speaking to TEDxToronto's "Relentless Pursuits" theme will be: Sabrina Jalees: After decades of silence, Sabrina Jalees came out to her Muslim family.

It was an experience that would ultimately shape her career, public persona and unique brand of comedy. A successful comedian, actor, keynote speaker and writer, Sabrina has toured North America, England and South Africa as well as played the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival. She is the Gemini and International Emmy nominated host of YTV's InReal Life and can currently be seen on Much Music's Video On Trial, Comedy Network's Match Game and in the US, MTV'S Failosophy and VH1's Best Week Ever.


Tarik Sayeed: Tarik Sayeed's fascination with gesture recognition technology led him to leave a successful career in IT to launch BabyTaxi, a start-up company that builds software to translate American Sign Language into corresponding text and voice. He previously held several leadership roles in companies such as JumpTV, Comcast and First West Credit Union.

Tarik studied at NJIT, the University of Waterloo, and has a leadership certification from MIT.

Jamil Jivani: As a high school student struggling with his grades,Jamil Jivani never imagined meeting anyone from Yale, much less attending the prestigious Ivy League school himself. Now a graduate of Yale Law School, York University and Humber College, he is an articling student at Torys LLP and founder of the Policing Literacy Initiative.

Jamil formerly worked as a consultant for businesses and charities across Canada. His community involvement in Toronto includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

Keith Vanderlinde: A cosmologist who has journeyed to the ends of the earth to better understand the science of the universe, Prof. Keith Vanderlinde is based at the University of Toronto, where he develops astrophysical instrumentation and studies the Large Scale Structure of the Universe.

Keith works with data from the South Pole Telescope and is part of the team building the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), the first new research telescope to be built on Canadian soil in almost 40 years.

Previously announced speakers include Adam van Koeverden, Nav Bhatia, Colin Boyd Shafer, David Fleet, John Cruickshank, Rachel Parent, Margot Taylor and local performers, Choir! Choir! Choir!  (Photos of the speakers are available upon request.)   Deadline for Delegate Applications Approaching Those interested in attending TEDxToronto as a member of the audience can visit TEDxToronto.com to submit an application before September 4th. Submissions are evaluated based solely on the information provided on the application form. Conference organizers seek enthusiastic applicants who are committed to attending the event and motivated to share ideas worth spreading with the community outside of the conference itself.

Applications will be accepted until Thursday, September 4th at 11:59 p.m. There is an attendance fee of $150.

Stay tuned for more updates as the speaker and performance lineup will be finalized next month.

To learn more about the conference and previously announced speakers, visit http://www.tedxtoronto.com.

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, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. 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 nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.

Started as a conference in California 1984, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with many initiatives.

At a TED conference, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. TED speakers have included Roger Ebert, Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Brian Greene, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  On TED.com, talks from TED conferences are shared with the world for free as TED Talks videos. A new TED Talk is posted every weekday.

Through the Open Translation Project, TED Talks are subtitled by volunteers worldwide. Through our distribution networks, TED Talks are shared on TV, radio, Netflix and many websites.  The TEDx initiative grants free licenses to people around the world to organize TED-style events in their communities with TED Talks and live speakers. Selected talks from these events are also turned into TED Talks videos.  The annual TED Prize grants $1 million to an exceptional individual with a wish to change the world. The TED Fellows program helps world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. TED-Ed creates short video lessons by pairing master teachers with animators, for use in classroom instruction or independent learning.  For information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED SOURCE TEDx Toronto Video with caption: "Video: Canadian comedian Sabrina Jalees will take the stage at TEDxToronto on October 2nd to talk about the intersection of sexuality and comedy and how coming out changed her career.". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20140827_C7995_VIDEO_EN_42550.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20140827_C7995_PHOTO_EN_42550.jpg&clientName=TEDx%20Toronto&caption=Video%3A%20Canadian%20comedian%20Sabrina%20Jalees%20will%20take%20the%20stage%20at%20TEDxToronto%20on%20October%202nd%20to%20talk%20about%20the%20intersection%20of%20sexuality%20and%20comedy%20and%20how%20coming%20out%20changed%20her%20career%2E&title=TEDX%20TORONTO%20%2D%20Third%20Round%20of%20Speakers%20for%20TEDxToronto%20Announced&headline=Third%20Round%20of%20Speakers%20for%20TEDxToronto%20Announced Video with caption: "Video: A cosmologist who has journeyed to the ends of the earth for a clearer view of the universe, Prof. Keith Vanderlinde joins TEDxToronto as a speaker this October 2nd, 2014.". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20140827_C7995_VIDEO_EN_42551.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20140827_C7995_PHOTO_EN_42551.jpg&clientName=TEDx%20Toronto&caption=Video%3A%20A%20cosmologist%20who%20has%20journeyed%20to%20the%20ends%20of%20the%20earth%20for%20a%20clearer%20view%20of%20the%20universe%2C%20Prof%2E%20Keith%20Vanderlinde%20joins%20TEDxToronto%20as%20a%20speaker%20this%20October%202nd%2C%202014%2E&title=TEDX%20TORONTO%20%2D%20Third%20Round%20of%20Speakers%20for%20TEDxToronto%20Announced&headline=Third%20Round%20of%20Speakers%20for%20TEDxToronto%20Announced

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