Want to be part of TEDxParklands? Here’s how!

In 2016, I co-founded Volunteers For Kenya(V4K) — a registered NGO whose vision is to alleviate poverty by promoting local skill-based volunteerism. At V4K I lead all our Business Development, Partnerships and Sustainability initiatives — TEDxParklandsbeing one of them.

As V4K we have many ideas worth spreading. One of them being:

Skill-based volunteering can be a form of public participation in community development! It can be one way of helping to reduce inequalities and promote economic prosperity.

We have seen this idea flourish first-hand in our work organizing TEDxParklands — an independently organized TED-style event in Nairobi. Through the TEDx program, V4K celebrates locally-driven ideas and elevates them to a global stage. Our team currently consists of 31 volunteers (all under the age of 26) who employ their skills in different teams aligned to their career ambition and interests. This approach is the reason we have gained traction in under 2 years growing our event 5x from 2018.

Fun Fact — TEDxParklands is the biggest TEDx Event in East and Central Africa

Running 8 events in 2019 we will estimate to have featured 60 speakers and a total audience reach of 1M+. Our ambition is to position TEDxParklands as the best TEDx event in Africa, growing our community in a way that attracts TED to host TEDGlobal Conference or TEDSummit in Nairobi in 2021!

Fun Fact — TED has only be to Africa once! This was in 2017 when they had their conference TEDGlobal in Arusha, Tanzania.

We remain convicted and extremely passionate about achieving this goal- bringing TED back to Africa and specifically our city — Nairobi. This is why we are looking to build a community of individuals passionate about (1) locally driven ideas that can be adopted globally and (2) Ideas and their potential to change the world.

For us TEDxParklands embodies 2 key things:

1. Under the Nairobi Blue Sky — our running theme which focuses on giving Nairobi a platform to share her ideas, dreams and ambitions.
2. Owning our stories — We want our stage to host authentic African narratives.

We invite you to share in our dream in one or more of the following ways:

1. Partnerships — tell us how and why you would like to work with us. What we value most is a long term view and co-creating unique experiences for our attendees. We accept in-kind and cash sponsorships and partnerships.
2. Speaker Nomination — do you have an idea to share with the world or do you know someone who does? Nominate them!
3. Vendors and Exhibitors — are you interested in showcasing your work at our event? 90% of our attendees are typically youth between the age of 23–34. If this is your target demographic TEDxParklands is glad to host you.
4. Art Galleries — Are you an artist and would like to help us design our stage or venue? Would you like to have your artwork presented at our event? Whatever you have in mind we welcome creatives to engage with us.
5. Performances — Share your Music, Poems, Spoken Word, Dance and everything under the sun
6. Idea Submission — Do you have an idea you would like us to share with the world? Submit your thought leadership article here for a chance to be featured on our Medium publication
7. Volunteer — our team is lean and we appreciate onboarding individuals who can help us deliver a great event based on their skillset. We work in 8 teams i.e.

a. Event Management

b. Website and Technology

c. Finance and Legal

d. Operations and Logistics

e. Design and photography

e. Partnerships and Sponsorships

f. Media Relations (PR, Communications, Editorials, Marketing and Distribution)

g. Video and Production

Now that you know how you can be part of our ambition, you might be asking yourself what’s in it for me?

I’ll start by saying that value is relative! Our platform is what you make it! Consider TEDxParklands a chance to:

1. Join the movement — We will bring TED to Africa! If this excites you, tell us how you can help us through the various engagement options listed above
2. Ignite your curiosity — since I began organising this event in 2017 I have come across the most interesting ideas spearheaded by intelligent and passionate individuals who I believe will change our stories here in Nairobi, Africa and globally. If you love to learn and be part of unique, challenging experiences — TEDx is for you!
3. Build your personal brand — being associated with TED and TEDx comes with many perks! Again, value is relative but I can ascertain that this is a platform that will make you stand out — how that looks for each individual will be different. TEDxParklands is what you make it!
4. Increase your Brand awareness — this specifically relates to companies ( businesses, social enterprises, NGOs etc). We hand pick each and every person who attends our event as part of Audience Curation. Our unique value is that we want our community to share in your story. We don’t view our platform as a place to only have your logo be seen! We co-create experiences with brands always answering two key questions: (1) “From the moment attendees arrive at the venue, how can they experience brand X. “ (2). “When the conference is over, what do we want people to say about brand X?” As a personal goal, I am keen on transforming the marketing and partnerships landscape in this continent. I think it’s currently too basic and I call upon marketing managers to give TEDxParklands a platform to show them how things could be different!
5. Discover Talent — TED and TEDx are platforms designed for thought-leaders, pioneers, trusted voices, convention-breaking mavericks and icons from diverse fields. This is the basis behind our curation process for both our speakers and attendees. Attending our event means being in a room with people who think differently. As an individual, company, recruiter etc this is truly a platform like no other!

Now you know- are you ready for Nairobi’s edition of TEDGlobal or TEDSummit or both?

The ball is in your court!

You can reach TEDxParklands through our social media pages i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.