News Release: SCF Hosts Second Annual TEDxBradenton Event

September 25, 2023 – Sarasota

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) will host the second annual TEDxBradenton event from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Studio for the Performing Arts, Building 11A, SCF Bradenton, 5840 26th St. W. This year’s theme, “Writing the Future,” was prompted by questions, such as: How are we called to be authors of change in our world? When have we come together in our community to write our future? Serving as master of ceremonies is Robyn Faucy, who will welcome 15 local speakers to deliver a 15-minute TED Talk about their interpretation of this year’s theme.

“SCF is happy to welcome TEDxBradenton to our campus – we believe the synergy between our two organizations is our mutual desire to champion innovation and embrace new ideas,” said SCF President Dr. Carol F. Probstfeld. “Nothing makes me more proud than to see our alum as speakers, and I look forward to seeing more and more of the SCF students, faculty and staff participate in this collaborative and inspiring experience.”

Attendees will also be able to share their vision of the future as part of an AI-powered lunchtime brain break experience from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at SCF’s 26 West Center, Building 8. Participants will “write the future” with handwritten messages that will be preserved in a time capsule displayed in the 26 West Center and opened on Sept. 29, 2049. They will also “see the future” as their descriptions of the future are translated into images via AI in real-time. They will “hear the future” as they share their thoughts of the future, and AI generates a song segment based on the descriptions, which will be archived on a landing page at 26West.SCF.edu/TED-x-Bradenton-2023 as they are generated.

“We wanted this year’s TEDxBradenton event to highlight how our speakers interpret the future. State College of Florida is the perfect venue to showcase these collective visions. The team at the 26 West Center creatively took our theme of ‘Writing the Future’ to another level by integrating the AI experience for the event’s lunchtime brain break. It’s the perfect blend of tradition and technology in that attendees’ messages to the next generation will be preserved digitally and physically,” said Evelyn Almodovar, TEDxBradenton organizer.

For more information or to purchase TEDxBradenton tickets, visit TEDxBradenton.com.