TedxNOLA: Crisis Breeds Creativity

Some people swoon over chiseled jaw lines, broad shoulders and six-pack abs; and I certainly would not mind looking at such a person. But what really makes me swoon is intelligence. Anyone that can speak passionately about a subject that interests them and anyone that I can learn from. So when I was offered the chance to cover the first TedxNOLA event, I jumped at it.

TED conferences were designed many years ago to bring together intelligent and influential people across all industries in order to promote the exchange of  “ideas worth spreading.” Drawing from that design, Tedx events are independently organized TED events that strive to achieve the same ideals as the original TED conferences, but on a local community level.

This past Friday, August 27^th, New Orleans held its first Tedx event, TedxNOLA at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre. Over 200 people came out to hear a bevy of influential speakers on the subject of Crisis & Creativity. In the wake of the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this TedxNOLA topic was chosen to “highlight the role crises play in helping to develop groundbreaking ideas, ones which lead to creative and innovative solutions to complex and seemingly insurmountable problems.”

Thirty-three presenters gave dynamic presentations and speeches under subtopics relating to Resiliency, Transparency, Prosperity and Creativity.

The event kicked off with a bang with Mayor Mitch Landrieu as the first speaker to present on Resilience. He explained that though “we are captured, as human beings, by what we did before,” we can’t allow that to paralyze us. We must evolve, create and “take the risk of being different.”

Timolynn Sams, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Partnership Network stressed that, “[New Orleans] is a city in love with its neighborhoods,” and it is built upon a network of countless personal connections.

Children and Education were popular topics. Presenters including Scott Cowen, President of Tulane University, Dr. Irwin Redlener, M.D., Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health, Andre Perry, Associate Dean of the UNO College of Education and Human Development stressed the importance of education reform and meeting the needs and exploring the potential of each child in the city.

I felt inspired by the intelligence, the creativity and the loyalty that many of the presenters showed towards the city of New Orleans and its people. Chef John Besh speaking about creating a locally sourced, sustainable New Orleans; Musician Branford Marsalis emphasizing "Cities don't die" in reference to his beloved New Orleans; and Matthew Petersen, President and CEO of Global Green USA, encouraging hugs as the secret to saving the world.

My personal favorite was David Waggonner, President of Waggonner & Ball Architects. He spoke so passionately about how New Orleans needs to learn to live with water. He explained that New Orleans was built in and around powerful bodies of water; and even after hundreds of years, we are still fighting their power instead of utilizing it. He proposed a focus on water-based urban design and landscape that will allow the City of New Orleans to live with, utilize and better control our surrounding bodies of water instead of trying to hide from and fight with them.

The crowd went crazy over James Carville’s equally empowering and entertaining rant over what makes New Orleans different from every other city in the world. “WE DON’T WANT TO BE LIKE YOU!” he exclaims to those people who feel New Orleans would be best served if modeled after some other “successful” city in the United States. He goes on to say, “I want to live in a culture that has its own food, music, funeral, architecture… That’s my choice. You don’t have to,” echoing the thoughts of everyone in the theater.

I was in awe of many of the presenters at TedxNOLA. Their passion was infectious. If there was anything to take from this conference, it is that the heartbeat of New Orleans is still strong. As Carville stated, “We haven’t, and we are not going to retreat one inch in preserving our way of life.” We won’t be stopped.