TEDx Jakarta 2011

Have you known TED? not the Mosby one but TED as in Technology, Entertainment and Design. You should click the link on previous sentence if you didnt know what TED im talking about, seriously. Especially if you enjoy watching inspiring people sharing innovative ideas. TED is actually an ideas sharing conference which features people like Bill Gates, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and many other high profile figures giving concise presentation on various topics. It will cost you about 6000 USD for the ticket but afraid not my friend, all the presentation video can be viewed online for free.

Last weekend, i went to TEDx Jakarta 2011 at Jakarta International School (JIS), Pondok Indah. TEDx is a franchise of TED conference which held independently by the local commitee. The event had already generated quite a buzz among Indonesian twitter users since weeks before. The Jakartans enthusiasm for fresh ideas solidly proven when the online registration for TEDx Jakarta opened, only took 30 minutes to fill the participant quota and force TEDx commitee to close the registration form. My decision to register as early as possible turns out to be a good one, a lot of people was as excited as me.

Took transjakarta for about an hour plus to get there from South Jakarta. When i entered the JIS, theres a long queue of people infront of me waiting to enter the Auditorium. 9 am in the morning on weekend, this crowd excitement was a good signs of an awesome day to come. After getting myself a TEDx goodie bag, i entered the venue which nearly full. At 10.30, all lights turned off and full day brainfreshing was about to happened. Did i mention i was sitting near Sherina Munaf ?

TEDx event was divided into three main topic. The first one was The Golden Rule. Taken from golden rule proverbs “Dont do others, what you dont want others to do to you “, this session revolves around the power of compassion. First speaker, Musdah Mulia an activist for Religion and peace which talk about her experience with religion extremism. Right after that, Didik Ninik Thowok awed the audience with his Dwi Muka performance, a cross gender dance. Session ended with a video of Ron Gutman on the Power of Smile, you can watch it here as well.

After the lunch break, next session Progress With Purposed started. John Hardy was on the stage sharing about his fully environmental friendly school in Bali. Made entirely from bamboo, the school not only have great architectural looks but also teach the value of respecting mother nature. Next speaker was in my opinion, the most controversial session of the day. Dhira Narayana on legalizing weeds, yes weeds as in ganja. Although im not really agree with his opinion but he really did well on passing the message. He was approached by crowds after cofee break, a proof that Dhira made such an impact that day. Ewa Wojkowska was next in line with her technology product store Kopernik followed by Ridwan Jamaluddin on Disaster Risk Reduction. Derek Sivers from CDbaby conclude the session with his presentation on Uncommon Sense.

The last session, Forgotten Wisdom kicked off by Mohammad Noer with benefits on reading fast. Followed up by colourful presentation on Indonesia’s underwater beauty by Mulyadi Pinneng, award winning underwater photographer. Zaini Alif comes next with his cause to promote traditional games. One thing stuck in my head after this session was Hom Pim Pah Alaihom Gambreng actually means “anything from God should come back to God”. Jubing Kristianto soon followed, brought his acoustic guitar on stage and performing his version of Lihat Kebunku. He was such a genius when it comes to guitar, you have to see him live.

Last but not least, a secret speaker revealed on stage. Turns out to be a legend whose have place in every Indonesian children growing up from the 90’s, Pak Raden. Shouting off with his distinct loud voice, Pak Raden made me remember how great a childhood was. He performed a storytelling  (Dongeng) while drawing on whiteboard. Seeing Pak Raden enthusiasm in story telling eventhough he clearly looked so much older now was very emotional. Its arguably the best presentation of the day. Everyone gave a standing ovation when Pak Raden finished his story.

A whole day brain spa experience indeed. Not only from the line of good speakers, but the crowd itself is part of the show. During break, i met and greeted with bunch of magnificent people such as Aria Rajasa from GantiBaju,com, Natali Ardianto from StartupLokal, Viking Karwur from id-Mozilla and mas Koen. Great venue, goodie bags, awesome crowd and great hype, TEDx commitee and volunteer really did a great job this year. Big applause for them.

For you guys who missed the show, no worries. Check TEDx Jakarta website and wait patiently as the presentation video will be uploaded there. Looking forward for another event like this, alas ill quote the morale of Pak Raden’s dongeng last week.

” A happiness is not a happiness, unless you share it with others “

Have an innovative day, folks.