With the hope of bringing TEDx events to the University of Washington community, in 2012 three students, Kathika Appiah, Tim Tan, and Kartik Rishi, came together and began planning the first ever TEDxUofW conference. Since then, the organization at UW has seen exponential growth in its outreach to not only the university, but the greater Seattle area. Today, TEDxUofW prides itself in the diversity, creativity, and passion it brings to each conference through an entirely student-run team.
Every year, the TEDxUofW conference takes a whole year to plan. Preparation begins over the summer with the curators and the executive team, and the rest of the team joins in a full-scale effort in the fall. The next eight months are filled with organizing programming, fundraising, working with speakers, website building, marketing and designing. We pride ourself in our professionalism and the vision we further, of spreading ideas that make a difference in the Seattle community.
This year’s theme, “Two Steps Forward,” is a fragment of the common phrase “two steps forward and one step back.” At its core, “Two Steps Forward” highlights progress, as opposed to lingering on likely negative setbacks. It also emphasizes that while failure may not be necessary for success, it is an implied and natural part of the process.