USC launches TEDx

Awe, insight, and wonder – these were what seven individuals left the audience with as yesterday marked the first ever TEDx event in Cebu City.

According to the TED official website, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and is a non-profit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. A TEDx is a TED event organized independently and planned under the free license of TED. Topics of a TED Talk vary and can range from human relationships to solar-powered homes.

TEDx University of San Carlos had the theme “Butterfly Effect”. Butterfly effect occurs when a small change could lead to large-scale effects that could greatly impact a current system.

The TEDx event was held in the College of Architecture and Fine Arts Theatre. A hundred attendees, chosen and screened by the organizers, along with guests were present during the talks. Each speaker was given 18 minutes to express their ideas.

Nestor Archival spoke first about his eco house. He takes pride in his environmentally-friendly ‘sustainable house’ that has waste-recycling systems, natural ventilation and lighting, home garden, and solar panels and a windmill for power source.

“To meet the needs of today without compromising the needs of the future generations is our responsibility.” he said, emphasizing the importance of taking care of the planet.

Buck Sia spoke next about his company, Zubu, aptly named to pay homage to his birthplace, Cebu. He spoke about his love for Modern and Unconventional Architecture.

“Everything you do, you do not copy,” he said. He showed several pictures of his floor plan and his architectural designs which were nothing but modern. He based all his beliefs on the ideals of Alex Medalla, his mentor.

Being the only female among the chosen speakers, Jenny Elmaco spoke next about women empowerment. She started with the question, “What happens when a woman flaps her wings?” in context of the event’s theme “The Butterfly Effect”.

Elmaco strongly adhered to the idea that the only way to make progress in the country is to let the women show their most potential in various fields. “We have strong women. They’re in politics as senators and we’ve been through two female presidents already.” she said.

“Little as it may seem, the small things women can do may lead to something bigger.” she added.

Gordon Joseph of MEGA Cebu started his 18 minutes with a vow to himself after an encounter with beggars in the city.

“I will never ever again in my life spend as around thrice as 5458 pesos just for my own pleasure.” he said, the 4-digit figure being the monthly income of a family living in poverty.

Joseph also briefly discussed the growing population of Cebu City along with a little discussion on urban sprawl. “We are the 475th out of 500 cities in terms of progressiveness,” he said. “We were once the only liveable city in the Philippines way back in the ‘90s but what happened now?”

As part of Mega Cebu, an initiative of the government along with the concerned Cebuano people, Joseph shared his group’s plans to the participants to completely develop Cebu into Mega Cebu that is comparable to the likes of Singapore, Yokohama and Hong Kong.

Miguel Garcia took over right after a short break with a kick-off question, “When was the last time you said to yourself ‘Bahala Na’ and ‘Simba Ko’?” He associated these expressions to feeling of “fear of the unknown”. He then briefly discussed the difference between “the unknown” and “knowing the unknown” and between “confidence” and “certainty”.

Garcia indulged the participants into different scenarios wherein they have to choose among the choices and show them the corresponding reasons behind their choices. He then said, “On one hand, we are fascinated by the unknown. At the same time, we are scared.”

He then concluded his discussion with the phrase, “Our present conditions should not limit us in dealing with life as it is.”

Chad Manzo, a graphic designer and the sixth speaker of the event, discussed about how to progress and encourage growth in a healthy environment.. He strongly disagreed with the idea of being part of what the society considered “normal”.

“Unsa’y naka-cool anang pareha mo tanan? Ngano cool sila nga gihatagan ninyo sila og power mu-alienate ninyo?” Manzo asked.

Manzo mentioned that the current generation tends to seek validation to become real. “Compromise na para nako ang selfie. Unsa ra man ng selfie? Nawong. Nag-seek siya og fulfilment through likes. Wala siya nag-encourage og growth.” he stated. He ended his speech with a question to the participants with the question, “What kind of legacy do you want to leave to future generations? Or do you want to be cool?”.

The last speaker invigorated the participants as he started his discussion with a brief performance of the song “Inday”. Lorenzo “Insoy” Niñal, front man of the band Missing Filemon, briefly discussed his passion in the indie music scene and his partake of the Bisaya music industry. He said that he was astounded knowing that some Cebuano artists found their own language ‘baduy’. “I will prove to these people that Cebuano is a cool language in music,” he said, narrating then after the story of his band begun.

The audience were baffled to hear that it was also Insoy who managed the Twitter account Sinugbang Sugbo.

Following the success of their albums, Niñal mentioned that it was his band who organized Vispop, a song writing campaign. “This time, we were aware of the fact that music is a repository of a generation’s experiences,” he said.

Niñal ended his speech stating that the inspiration for their song “Inday” was not a particular girl but the Cebuano language itself.

The event ended at five in the afternoon with the awarding of certificates to the speakers and a photo opportunity with the participants.

The USC TEDx team looks forward to another TED event soon.