It had been a while since my last visit to Thessaloniki. Almost 7 years. I was there last weekend with very dear friends for TedxThess. We all arrived in Thessaloniki in different times but we were all excited as hell. Not just because we look forward to one of the most intriguing events taking place all over the world but because for most of us the weekend would be a reason to catch up with each other, relax and forget about the things that we have to do while in Athens. I have been to 3 Tedx events so far with my favorite being the TedxAthens 2011 that you can read about it here.
This year TedxThess had as a subject “The courage to create”. A very promising and inspiring title I would say. The theme was borrowed by the tittle of a book that phychologist Rollo May wrote in 1975. The courage to create is the courage to keep dreaming, believeing and perseving. Creation can be perceived and found in many forms. May writes: “courage is not the absence of despair, but rather the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair”. I am not going to write about all the speakers because that would be almost impossible. Or I am not going to try and describe to you the atmosphere of a Tedx event because that is definetely impossible. What I am going to do is briefly present to you what made me smile, what got my attenntion, what made me want to create.
Gazmend Kapplani
Kapplani is a story teller and what I would call a citizen of the world. He was born in Albania and after the collapse of the totalitarian regime he crossed the border in to Greece by foot. He has been living in Greece the last 20 years and he has worked different jobs so as to manage to study in the University of Athens. He is an author, a journalist and and advocate for human rights. His life story, his will to survive and create should be an inspiration for all of us.
Eric Parks
I have the pleasure to know Eric through mutual friends. His is one of the most kind and brilliant people that I ve met in the Greek advertising industry. He studied Criminology and Law in the US and UK before focusing in Telecommunications and Advertising. What I loved about his talk was the fact that he presented the story of gipht.me and the “journey” that him and his team had in order to create that application without mentioning once the word entrepreneurship. Instead he compared his journey with moments from Ancient Greek history and that is a creative talent.
Angelos Patsias
Imagine a young person that abandons urban life to live in a small village named Fourfoura in Crete. Why? Because he chose to become a teacher and director of a primary school located in Fourfoura with only 4 teachers to cover the needs of six classes. What impressed me about Angelos was his modesty and his determination. It takes a lot of courage to persuade a small community that children can actually learn through different activities and interactions and not just through books. Children are learing via singing, dancing as well as by doing the garden or cooking. This to me is an example of how the educational system should be. Learn not only through books but through experience. You can follow Angelos and the “School of Nature and Colors” here.
Marcie Mayer
At the beginning of her talk I was bored and I wasn’t quite sure of what she was talking about. That lasted just a couple of minutes. Marcie came to Greece for a break from her studies and she stayed in the island of Kea. launching the Hamada Icon Initiative. A project that aims at restoring acorn as an important product for the local economy. She presented to us the whole story behind and we got to taste some lovely cookies made by…acorn flower!
Edi Rama
He is an urban renovator that changed the political as well as the cultural environment in Albania. He served as a Mayor of Tirana from 2000 till 2011 and he promoted culture and arts in Albania. His belief is that if citizens are surrounde by beautiful things then they will also create beautiful things. A very simple idea but one that so far it is not applied in Greece. Color is very important in an urban landscape. A landscape that is surrounded by ugly buildings and a hectic life. Coloring that lansdcape (literally and metaphorically) will also “color” people’s lives. Think about it.
Tomas Sedlacek
I am not an expert on economics and most of the times I am not focused enough to understand values and ideas related to economy. When Sedlacek’s speach started he had my attention. He talked about the economy and how is related and influenced by history, myth, religion and ethics. A great speaker and a great mind proving at least to me that economics are basically formed by our every day decisions.
I would also like to talk about Areti Markopoulou & Tomas Diez, an architect and an urbanist and Maria Konti-Galinou, a social worker but I am afraid this is going to be such a long post and it will tire you. I could talk for hours about inspirational people, talks and way of thinking. But as the conversation that I had on the plane back to Athens may be is time to stop thinking and discussing. May be is time to start acting.
If there was one thing to keep from this weekend would be that: I should stop discussing things. I should stop discussing ideas. I should start listening more. I should start looking more. I should act. Dreams and ideas do not come true by sitting back and talking about them.
This is your life. Do what you love. And do it often.
Getting lost will help you find your way.
Take risks. Listen. Learn. Open your eyes. Create. In other words…Wake up!
site: http://www.tedxthessaloniki.com/
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twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TEDxThess
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