How would you answer the question, “How are women and girls reshaping the future?” The first ever TED Conference focused solely on women was held in Washington, DC in December to find some answers. Our InterPlay troupe, Wing & a Prayer Pittsburgh Players had the opportunity to participate through TEDxPittsburgh, meeting for two days with 100 or so women (and a few men) at the Andy Warhol Museum. Through the miracle of technology, we viewed the fabulous presentations as they were simulcast. We were connected internationally with other sites around the globe who participated as we did in Pittsburgh, through their own TEDx organizations.
TED conferences are held several times a year, in different parts of the county, bringing together people from all walks of life, and presenters from diverse fields. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and the conferences are an immersion experience of brief presentations which stimulate “conversations that matter.” Many of the presentations from the conferences are made available on line, so the wit and wisdom of the events are shared around the world.
The TEDWomen presentations included:
- Sheryl Sandberg, the CCO of Facebook on why we have too few women leaders.
- New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly on how humor can help women change the rules.
- Journalist Naomi Klein, just back from the oil disaster in the gulf, discussed our culture’s addiction to risk, and what we need to do about it.
- Tony Porter, an international expert on ending the violence against women, called upon men to get out of what he called the “man box,” which contains bogus values and behaviors taught to men that prohibit their compassion and respect for women.
Check out some presentations at http://www.ted.com/talks?event=tedwomen
In between the presentations, our Wing & a Prayer troupe responded to the presentations, as did other Pittsburgh artists. We helped to fill in when the technology didn’t run as smoothly as planned. Using our improvisational system, InterPlay we were grateful we practice creating together in the moment. Take a look at one of our TEDx Pittsburgh Women responses.
