TEDxYouth@ValVerde 2017 will be held Saturday, Octoberber 21, 2017 at Rancho Verde High School. This independently organized event is part of the TEDx program created by the nonprofit conference and event organization, TED. 

TED is a wildly successful conference/event series where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the subjects covered at these events have become broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.”

The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Malcolm Gladwell, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.The first TED conference was held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson’s Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; TEDWoman; TEDActive, and several media initiatives, including TED Talks, TED.com and the TED Prize.About TEDx, x=independently organized eventIn 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, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. 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)There have been hundreds of TEDx events worldwide; some are organized around a specific theme, such as TEDxOilSpill or TEDMed; some are regional like TEDxYouth@ValVerde. 

TEDxYouth@ValVerde is a nonprofit event organized by teachers from the Val Verde Unified School District to discuss Ideas Worth Spreading. Speakers apply for the opportunity to share an 18-minutes-or-less talk at the event. The talks are captured on video, live streamed on the web and shared with the community. For our first event, only 100 specially selected high school students will be admitted. Dozens of educators, designers, technologists, community members and businesspeople are working hard to make TEDxYouth@ValVerde happen.