Local speakers present fresh ideas at first annual TEDx Sun Valley

At some point, you have probably stumbled across a TED Talks video making its way around the internet.

TED Talks present an opportunity for experts in any given field to share some insightful knowledge.

Now mini TED Talks, called TEDx, are making their way to smaller communities, like Sun Valley.

The first TEDx Sun Valley took place on Wednesday at the Sun Valley Opera House.

“We wanted to leave the topic pretty open, so we called it Fresh Tracks. We wanted to hear fresh ideas and perspectives from our community here in Sun Valley. So naturally, because there are people from here, we do have speakers talking about nature and climate change, but we also have people that are working on solutions in our local community in Sun Valley around hunger issues and how we can diversify our economy in the face of climate change, for instance,” said Aimee Christensen, co-organizer of TEDx Sun Valley.

The first ever TEDx Sun Valley featured 14 speakers who brought in over 200 audience members to listen to their short and inspiring talks on a variety of topics.

“I spoke about the evolutionary arms race between climate change and skiing and how the ski industry and ski towns and ski equipment is all going to have to evolve with a warmer climate,” said Jae Hill, Community Development Director for the City of Sun Valley.

“I’m an academic so a lot of times I’m speaking at conferences or with students and this is a totally different setting. So I really had to think about , how can I communicate my research in a way where I can really talk to everybody about it and really share what I’m passionate about with them and share something I really think matters and can make a difference,” said Vanessa Fry, Assistant Director of the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University.”