By: Andrew Koch ~Editor-in-Chief~

Technology, Entertainment and Design’s (TED) events, speeches and mantra of exploring “ideas worth spreading” have proven themselvespopular across the internet. Students will soon be able to hear about new opportunities and ideas on campus as TEDxXavierUniversity, an independently organized set of lectures licensed by TED, announced its theme for this year’s conference.

The series of talks will focus on “Hope: A Driving Force into the Future” and is scheduled for April 15. While speakers for the event have not yet been finalized, TEDxXavierUniversity is looking for professors, entrepreneurs and other community leaders to share new innovations in professional fields with the Xavier community.

Organizers said that the “millennial” generation feels burdened by negative rhetoric and low generational expectations. By having these TEDx talks focus on the theme of hope, they hope that students will feel more empowered to affect change.

“Cynicism is easy to come by, even as college students,” Xavier Public Relations Student Society of America Vice President Sean O’Brien said. “Our potential is seriously undervalued, and we hope that with this year’s event, we will be able to motivate both students and community members alike to see all that we can accomplish if only we use hope as a motivator.”

“We want students to be able to lose cynicism about the future and realize that they’re what’s going to drive us forward,” TEDxXavierUniversity PR Co-Chair Katerina Rengepes said. “We need their determination, their willpower and their strength to move forward and create a better tomorrow…We possess so much knowledge of the world and need to learn how to harness and use it to do good in the world.”

TED first began as a conference 25 years ago. High-profile speakers, such as Bill Gates, Al Gore and Jane Goodall, speak at an annual conference each year. The organization later created the TEDx program, which allows local organizations to host self-organized TED-like events.

This is the fourth TEDx event on Xavier’s campus. Last year’s was themed “Conflict and Violence,” exploring the causes and effects of violent actions.
Tickets for the event are free for students but limited. TEDxXavierUniversity will release more information about ticket distribution on its Facebook page.