{"id":17849,"date":"2013-03-10T20:25:39","date_gmt":"2013-03-10T18:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/?p=17849"},"modified":"2016-02-16T06:46:02","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T04:46:02","slug":"tedxnicosia-2013-the-power-of-re","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/2013\/03\/10\/tedxnicosia-2013-the-power-of-re\/","title":{"rendered":"TEDxNicosia 2013 – The power of RE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The<\/p>\n

As most of you know, I spent most of the yesterday in Nicosia, attending the second ever TEDxNicosia<\/a> event. \u00a0I know quite a few people who wanted t go, but the event was sold out in 72 hours, and even yours truly missed getting the ticket. \u00a0If it wasn’t for the kind invite of Marina Theodotou, I would have missed it too. \u00a0So, here are my experiences, notes, and thoughts on the conference.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First of all, the venue. \u00a0The even was hosted at Pallas Theater in Old Nicosia. \u00a0It was easy to find even for, a Limassolian, who doesn’t know much of Nicosia (thanks to the GPS technology and Google Maps<\/a>, of course). \u00a0The auditorium is nice, with good acoustics and easy access to seats. \u00a0The areas outside of the auditorium were a bit smallish for 500 or so people that gathered for the event. \u00a0At times, it was difficult to navigate around, but, on the other side, it brought people closer together. \u00a0Those few who wanted more personal space were spilling out of the building and enjoying some fresh air and a quick smoke outside.<\/p>\n

\"Registration<\/p>\n

If there I had to name one thing that I wanted improved for the next event, that would access to power sockets. \u00a0With all the constant heavy use, the battery on my phone went really low in the middle of the day. \u00a0I brought the charger with me, but couldn’t find any sockets at all. \u00a0Gladly, a very helpful TEDxNicosia crew (thank you guys!) sorted me out. \u00a0They found the socket, the converter, and were even kind enough to watch my phone while I was going around, talking to people.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the catering. \u00a0I know, you can’t wait to hear about the actual talks, but we’ll get to that. \u00a0I just have to say that catering was awesome. \u00a0The Get Fresh<\/a> team were like food ninjas. \u00a0You could barely see them moving around, but everybody had quick access to snacks, sandwiches, and drinks. \u00a0The coffee was really nice. \u00a0And the selection of teas and soft drinks was available. \u00a0In the morning, just the pastries, but for lunch – a selection of sandwiches, dips, fruits, and even some brownies. \u00a0Trays and trays of food were strategically places all around the area, and I haven’t heard any single complain on the selection or quality. \u00a0In fact, quite the opposite – many people loved how you didn’t have to choose one kind of a sandwich, but could have bits and pieces of different ones – all fresh and delicious.<\/p>\n

\"At<\/p>\n

Thirdly, the Internet. \u00a0That’s the last bit of infrastructure I have to touch upon, before moving to the actual content of the conference. \u00a0Free WiFi was provided by CytaNet<\/a>. \u00a0The coverage was good – solid connection on both the first and second floor, and no pin codes or passwords required. \u00a0All you need after connecting to the hot spot was to agree to terms and conditions on the website, and you were good to go. \u00a0The network hold up rather good, with a couple of\u00a0downtime episodes (thanks to Cyta Support<\/a> for sorting those out quickly).\u00a0 \u00a0If you read through the tweets, you might think those were\u00a0disastrous, but I disagree. \u00a0 I’ve been to all kinds of events, big and small, both in Cyprus and outside, and keeping the wireless \u00a0network up and operational is always a challenge. \u00a0It’s just the nature of the tech-savvy crowd these days – if they are offline even for a second, they scream and shout in pain and horror. \u00a0Personally, I come from the previous generation and don’t mind it that much. \u00a0Especially, when 3G is working fine even inside the building.<\/p>\n

OK, now with all the infrastructure covered, let’s get to the content.<\/p>\n

\"#TEDxNicosia<\/p>\n

The conference kicked in with the welcoming remarks of the curator and founder of the event – Marina Theodotou<\/strong>. \u00a0She also introduced her co-host\u00a0Rania Traiforos Makriyiannis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Then, we watched a couple of videos on the large over stage screen. \u00a0One was an introduction to TED and another was the TEDxNicosia 2013 trailer. \u00a0If I understood correctly, it’s sort of a tradition between all TED\/TEDx events.<\/p>\n