TEDxParkCity will be holding auditions for their annual TEDxYouth event April 13th and 14th at the Eccles Center at Park City High School.
The auditions are open to all area students in grades 8-12.
TEDxParkCity founder Teri Orr told KPCW of the over 3,800 licensed TED organizations, Park City is one of only a handful that offers a youth program alongside their traditional lineup of events.
“Out of that, there probably aren’t 10 of us that do TEDxYouth,” Orr said. “What we do is we produce a day for the students, by the students where they have a chance to give their own talks and where we play some interesting, uplifting, amusing little snippets and videos between them. We used to have a great lunch and all kinds of hands-on activities that this year we feel is probably not prudent, but we’ll do that again when we can.”
There was hope that this year’s event would take place in person, but Orr said with many children still waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine, the 2021 edition of TEDxYouth will be done over Zoom.
The auditions, however, will be held in person in front of a panel of judges at the Park City High School’s George S. and Dolores Eccles Center at 3:30pm on April 13th and 14th.
“Well, I hope we’re not judgy-judges, but you are in front of a couple of folks and people who have been doing this with us for years,” said Orr. “When students come in to audition, they should have an idea of something they want to share. We’re asking for about three minutes of time that they should be able to tell their story in that amount of time and then we help them develop their talk.”
Topics of past youth talks have run the gamut from how dinosaur socks are inspiring every time you put them on to what it’s like growing up as a member of a minority community in Park City.
Bottom line? If you have an idea or story you think needs sharing, TEDxParkCity wants to hear it.
After auditions, Orr hopes to have about a dozen speakers lined up for the main event on May 19th.
Auditions are free. For more information or to sign up for an audition, click here.
