Check out a photo gallery from the event here
TEDxToronto brought together more than 1,000 people at Evergreen Brick Works on October 26th to explore what it means to ‘Rise’—an event hosted masterfully by the legendary Canadian rapper and producer Kardinal Offishall.
It was a day full of inspiring conversations and incredible insight. Here are some of the highlights from the stage:
Danielle Goldfarb, Head of Global Research at RIWI Corp., shared how data bias not only affects those who are excluded but compromises everyone’s ability to see the truth.
“This is what sex trafficking looks like in Canada: It is the brothel hidden in plain sight, where women are trapped and many enslaved.”—Cassandra Diamond, Founder and Director of BridgeNorth.
Umbereen Inayet — Artistic Producer at Nuit Blanche, City of Toronto — explained how telling your story–through art–can be a way to help yourself, and help others find their truths along the way.
Anthony Morgan, human rights and civil liberties lawyer, talked about what’s been missing in our city is a culturally responsive approach to gun and gang violence.
“Similar to heritage buildings, we need to preserve and protect heritage communities.”—Gulshan Allibhai, owner of Lahore Tikka House, on the importance of supporting our city’s ethnic enclaves.
Mark Cohon, chair of Toronto Global and former CFL Commissioner, on how trust comes from making one-on-one connections—and how even the smallest connections can build trust that endures.
“Shadeism is a global issue—the effects are prevalent in communities of colour all across the world.”—Esie Mensah, dancer and choreographer.
“Buildings are not just shelter, they are key to mitigating and adapting to climate change and connecting to people in the community is the other key. This is the moment to go all in–as an industry and as citizens.”—Michelle Xuereb, Director of Innovation at Quadrangle
Costume and fashion artist Sage Paul explained why what we wear and what we eat are probably the two most political decisions we make every day.
“We have failed, utterly, to connect the spread of Asian carp to the climate crisis”—Andrew Reeves, Author of Overrun: Dispatches from the Asian Carp Crisis
Writer, podcaster and activist Shireen Ahmed talked about why who reports sports matters — athletes reflect the communities they come from, but often our storytellers don’t.
Instead of talking about banning deepfakes, which is impossible, let’s talk about the way deepfakes will affect our democratic process and how we might protect it — Joseph Palermo, Engineer at Dessa.
Our delegates this year was also treated to the melodic tunes by Liza, the classical twist on R&B by futura collective, the eclectic and comedic talents of She’s All That, and the unique musical arrangements of DATU. (A big thanks to our 2019 Performances Sponsor: TD—The Ready Commitment)
And our incredible partners kept everyone in attendance busy whenever there was a break on the main stage:
Art & Science gave delegates a chance to explore the Orpheum, an experimental art installation that combines touch, sound and lights.
The Deep Connection Lounge allowed us all to make truly meaningful connections in a phone-free space.
Dream Maker Inc. showed us how dreams and goals can bring forth new dimensions of consciousness, ideas and productivity.
The Hoame Meditation station guided us through mini-meditation session to help us focus on key takeaways from the talks.
KIND put together a kindness tree to help encourage and inspire everyone around us for a day of thoughtfulness and motivation.
Lighthouse Labs showed us how much fun it can be to learn code.
Mango Peeler, a nomadic art studio, printed marathon rolls in collaboration with delegates.
Maple showed us how technology can instantly help us access doctors 24/7/365, wherever you are.
SHIFT Collab allowed us to share unspoken ideas and thought anonymously to help create a real-time pulse of those in attendance.
And The Landing Group worked their culinary magic for at the after-party.
An equally big thanks to all our other partners, as well. The day wouldn’t have possible without their incredible support: Aloompa, Audible, Inc., Baffin Footwear & Apparel, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Calii Love, Collective Arts, Elite Digital, Evergreen Brick Works, Firedog Collective Inc, foodora, The Garden Agency, Gulabo Teas, LiVECAST, Mark Klassen, O’shane Howard, Oxygenate, Paramount Fine Foods, Pilot Coffee Roasters, Province Apothecary, RISE Kombucha, Sandbox – La boîte à films Inc., Select Wines, Syntegrity, T-Shirt Elephant, tabl’eau Filtered Water, TD, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, TWG, Vitarock.com, The Printing House, Dance Floor Decor.
Learn more about our partners here.
And thanks to our event-day photographers: Andrew Williamson, Hannah Maynes, Jonathan Ball (Westend Studio) Joshua Best, Nyo Mudzingwa.
We can’t wait to do it all again next year!!
