Sparking Ideas for TEDxGurugram
Okay, so we have approximate 188 days until TEDxGurugram — an event reviving the TEDx chapter in Delhi NCR and putting the city on the world’s map of creativity and innovation.
Before you ask, no the final date is not fixed yet (end of October / beginning of November).
So as I’m organizing TEDxGurugram by the end of the year, I invited my tribe of the Delhi Wednesdays community to share their perspectives, experiences and wisdom about the topics that can be addressed in such an event. Gurugram aka Gurgaon as part of Delhi NCR is a place most of us call home. It was fascinating to see the different thoughts coming up that we have for the place where we live, how each of us sees the city and what we want to get out of it while we’re living there.
First, the most important thing, what is TEDx:
Imagine a day filled with brilliant speakers, thought-provoking videos, talks and mind-blowing conversation.
That’s TEDx — a unique community gathering that unleashes new ideas, inspires, fosters learning, informs and provokes conversations and in the best cases sparks action.
TEDxGurugram
TEDxGurugram is part of the global platform TED — the world’s biggest grassroots network for discovering and spreading ideas. The event will bring the focus to this rising part of India that’s so closely connected to its capital, New Delhi.
In addition of being the official licensee for TEDxGurugram, I’m also selected to be a part of the TEDx Anchor Program in India. The program is designed to celebrate the cultural exchange of ideas and TEDx events around the globe. It is the first of its kind partnership that TED has for a country in strategic partnership with Infosys with the goal to build stronger, more connected communities.
From farmland to tech hub
Gurugram is called the ‘Millennial City’ where more than a million people live in thousands of acres of glass high-rises, gated communities, and unauthorised settlements. Its growth has been steroidal — not only increased the population at an extraordinary rate but also the property market and the national and international companies which settled here. Twenty years ago Gurugram was only farmland. Today it’s a global tech hub with its own benefits and challenges. Challenges that are obvious to most of us like air pollution and traffic. And challenges that don’t show much in the daily live, but get uncovered through discussions like ours.
Concrete islands
Corporate and apartment complexes get build and seem to be islands within states. All of them have their own backup system. Companies like DLF take over the government’s role by providing essential services to neighbourhoods. These islands are disconnected from each other — kind of ‘ghost cities’. Is this the right way to build a city? Where does Gurugram go from here in ten years? How new is the concept of a tech hub anyways? Will India become great in pockets and silos? What will neighbourhoods and communities in this environment look like in the 21st century? If we design in silos what does that mean for the environment? It seems that the environment doesn’t seem to be taken into account when designing or building the city nor the people, who inhabit the space.
Responsibility
Gurugram lies in the state of Haryana where conflicts in gender, religion exist as well as corruption. Building houses and buying land is a popular way to invest black money. The government doesn’t do enough. When will this topic get addressed and from whom? People continue to criticize, but they don’t take action. They want improvements, but don’t want to do something for it. There is a general lack from inhabitants to take responsibility for the occurring challenges.
Which brings up the question — can people change as fast as their country does?
And how likely are you willing to change yourself? There’s a pre-conditioning in India that doesn’t even let you say ‘I’m wrong’. How can we break away from such conditioning? Exposure and awareness won’t help when you have to make your ends meet. Are more resources needed in such a case?
Welcoming the world
Becoming a global hub and attracting talent and corporates doesn’t help much to attract an audience beyond the office spaces. Malls and a golf course are not enough to welcome the world. Can bird sanctuaries and a biodiversity park be part of the answer? What has the city to offer beyond making our lives busier and more complex? Where is the heritage of Gurugram? What is its culture? Does it have a culture? Are we getting lost in the cracks? How can we break away from it?
A big thanks to everyone for the variety of views that are setting the spark for TEDxGurugram! I’ll try to weave them in the event where ideas get shared and humans connected. Let’s make it happen!
Tell me what you think! Share your thoughts and ideas that you have!
Have a fantastic week,
Antje
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Antje is a communications strategist running The Create Labs, a digital design studio. She’s also the organizer of TEDxGurugram. Living and working in an emerging market is an extremely mind- and heart-expanding experience for her. With TEDxGurugram she likes to give back to a country that has given her so much growth.
