TEDxConcordiaUPortland -- Our School-Occupy Education -- What Community Looks Like

• Report rights infringement
• published: 06 Apr 2012
• views: 1023

Last fall "We are the 99%" became the rallying cry of the Occupy Movement. What began with Occupy Wall Street soon spread to cities nationwide, including our very own Portland. The movement has been at once praised and criticized for its organizational methods and its goals of fighting social and economic inequality. Some didn't know what to make of a movement where anybody who wants to participate has a voice and there are no set leaders. Others saw in it a new vision of democracy and the power people still have to enact change. The story of Occupy Portland has been chronicled by both local and national media. Coverage of the police confrontations, the downtown camp, and the protests throughout town have provided the public with a glimpse of this movement. Many people still have a limited view of why the protests took place and what the movement has accomplished. Along these lines, we're pleased to welcome Liam Doherty-Nicholson, Hilary Boyd, Mark Nerys, and Elmira Rodriguez from Our School-Occupy Education to our stage. Together they'll discuss Occupy's past, present, and future. They'll speak about phase two of the movement, which involves discussion with the community, community improvement projects, and free education through the "Our School" program. By no means do their views reflect the entire Occupy Portland movement. They're all individuals who believe in unique ideas—One believes that people should talk to their neighbors face-to-face and engage in compassionate communication. Another believes in bringing oneself closer to truth to find the distinctions between arbitrary cultural programming and genuine reflection. Another believes in what Frank Zappa says: "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible." And another believes that wherever awareness takes hold, ideas form and actions are taken to bring forth something extraordinary—yet they've come together in support of a common cause. In 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)