At the tranquil and architecturally outstanding interiors of the Digi Centre, Lot 10, tucked away in the heart of Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, inspiration and ideas were on the menu, concocted by nine speakers and served by TEDx in its purest form.
Organised by My Khatulistiwa and sponsored by DIGI, TEDx Klang Valley saw 11 inspiring individuals take to the stage, with talks ranging from addictive marketing to igniting passion to ethics and social responsibility.
TEDx is a ‘local’ variant of the world renowned TED conference which brings together people in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design, to spread ideas worth spreading to provoke progressive conversations within the community.
TEDx is fully organised and developed independently by local communities to fit their local environment.
The first speaker, Gurunathan Nagapan, founder and managing director of Addictive Media (and hardcore Apple fan) talked about how brands and individuals should not just broadcast their messages, but they should communicate them, citing Apple and Starbucks as example, he also spoke on creating a base of loyal repeating costumers and how important they are to sustain a business.
The second speaker Kal Joffres, chief operating officer at the Tandem Fund, spoke on the control consumers have over product as opposed to the popular belief that modern products are limited in function.
Kal Joffres was followed by Gurmit Singh of Cetdem (Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia), a man who has campaigned against bad government policy and public apathy as an environmental activist his entire life. He spoke on obstacles and achievements in this long and successful career in environmental activism.
Among the speakers were two prominent poets, Jamal Raslan and Malaysiakini’s own Hazlan Zakaria, who both awed the crowd with the recital of their poems, their spoken word being edge-of-the-seat stuff.
Soon after, 14 year-old Dhakshini Jeganathan and musician Andrew Devidass gave the crowd a taste of live ‘expressionism’, combining music and canvas drawing in an impromptu.
TEDx Klang Valley was also high on charisma and that elusive x-factor courtesy of Sarimah Ibrahim, who made an appearance on only two days’ notice and inspired the crowd with her life story and motto: smile and never give up.
The final speaker, Nur Hamurcu, marketing partner of Samhoud in Asia spoke on the importance of social connection and initiatives to reduce the gap in society created by racial and religious stereotypes, especially in the West, after September 11.
Overall, TEDx Klang Valley was a pure offering of what TED has long stood for, making-do with the bare essentials of bringing people together and spreading ideas.
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