TEDx returns to Karolinska Institutet

Musical Performance| ELENA KÜSSNER & XINHE XING

Musical Performance | PALOMA RUIZ DECASTROVIEJO TEBA

How Public Is Our Public Land? | PAULA URBANO

Rainbow Blood: The Need of an Evidence-Based Blood Donation Policy in Sweden | TOBIAS STRÖM

The Art of Mental Health Advocacy | MATILDA (crazyheadcomics)

To Solve a Crisis, Just Look at What Is Around You | OLLE BJERKÅS

AUTHOR: MARIA PAVLOU

Most of us have heard a TED talk before – these are organized by TED and have gathered billions of views around the world. But did you know that anyone can organize a TEDx event for their own community?

Well, I’m proud to say that TEDx returned to Karolinska Institutet after a decade on May 27th, 2021.

I was one of the Public Relations Directors on the TEDxKI team, and we embarked on this journey in mid- March. It began with a flurry of activity – planning, coordinating, and creating an image and profile for TEDxKI was our top priority.

Creating this image required maintaining a social media presence, which is an unrelenting task that requires ongoing communication with all the members of the team. To help us build and improve we had endless meetings where we shared ideas and brainstormed together

Our team wanted to make sure that the first TEDx event at KI in a decade was memorable – a task that is always tricky, and even more so with an online event. To get the full TEDx event experience, we included breakout rooms, interactive activities, and a post-event mingle to help our attendees connect with each other and the speakers. It was a blast!

The theme was “From Mirage to Oasis”, and drew a red thread through the programme. To me, it represents a journey, a transition. Thee beautiful thing is that this thread is open to interpretation; every speaker and attendee had a different and uniquely personal way that the theme spoke to them.

The last weeks before the event were the hardest, as everything was coming together and final preparations took place. Although there were plenty of things to consider and manage, the best part is that we had a blast. Not only on the day of the event but in all of those months preparing.

My favorite part of being a part of the team was the creative thinking behind our work and the interactive role in online presence. Furthermore, I got to improve my communication competence through social media and sharpen my graphic design skills. Not to mention, I met new, amazing people which made this process even more fun!

Overall, I am so proud of being a part of this team, and I am so happy that our social media campaign was successful in building a fully-fledged event!

If you are interested in being part of the future team organizing the next TEDxKI event, stay tuned for upcoming announcements!