Hope, Ark. – TEDxUAHT will take place on April 4, 2020, at Hempstead Hall on the University of Arkansas Hope campus from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The independently organized event, licensed by TED, will feature local voices and TED Talks videos under the theme of “Hope Lives Here.”

Launched in 2009, TEDx is a program of locally organized events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience.  Some of the best talks from the TEDx events have gone on to be featured on TED.com and garnered millions of views from audiences across the globe.

TEDxUAHT will offer attendees an opportunity to focus in-depth on the challenges facing the southwest Arkansas region and all of the positive possibilities that can come by overcoming those challenges. “Hope Lives Here” will strive to showcase the encouraging work happening throughout Hope, Hempstead County and all of the southwest corner of our state to better our communities.

 “There is just so much good here in southwest Arkansas and we’re excited to celebrate that through TEDxUAHT,” said Amanda Lance, TEDxUAHT Executive Producer and Director of Hempstead Hall & Workforce Development for the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. “The speakers and performers we have assembled will help spark a unique discussion of improvement for our area.”

Speakers who are confirmed for the April 4thevent are:

Meisha Robinson - I Am Hope because We Are Hope

Anthony Henderson - The Interdependence of Hope, Faith, and Forgiveness

Rhoda Deon - The Musical Mathematics of Hope

Jennifer Wright - Improv to Improve: A Comedic Approach to Soft Skills

Jack Daniels - Hope for Hope

Steven Walden - The Art of Hope

Misti Coker - Just Show Up

Jeffery Ladd - The Art of Teaching Still Lives!

Lorena Jenkins - La fortaleza de la incomodidad (The Strenght of an Awkward Moment/Discomfort)

Mekicia Henry - Hope for the Future

Lee Smith – The Hope for Artificial Intelligence in Education

More speakers will be announced closer to the event date.  To view each speakers’ bio, please visit https://www.tedxuaht.com/speakers-1

There is also a chance for area residents and business owners to become a TEDxUAHT Partner. “This is an exciting way to support the event and help nurture the positive changes already happening in our region,” said Lance.

For questions about the upcoming TEDxUAHT or to become a Partner, please contact Amanda Lance or Chloe Russell, TEDxUAHT Co-producer, at [email protected] or (870) 722-8565; or visit www.tedxuaht.com and www.facebook.com/TEDxUAHT/.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

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, TED Talks 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.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, including our annual gathering in Vancouver, as well as TEDWomen, intimate TED 

Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and  other platforms. Audio versions of the talks from TED2019 will also be published to TED's podcast TED Talks Daily, available on Apple Podcasts and all other podcast platforms.

TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; the Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TEDSummit, which gathers the most engaged members of the global TED community for brainstorms, discussions, performances, workshops and an eclectic program of mainstage talks; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also has a library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, Sincerely, X, and one of Apple Podcasts’ most downloaded new shows of 2018, WorkLife with Adam Grant.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED, on Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted and  on Snapchat at tedtalkshq.