Greece: TEDxThessaloniki 2012, the Courage to Create · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

Twelve hours long, with more than 20 speakers and performers, over 700 attendees and 5.000 livestream viewers from 57 countries; on Saturday May 12, 2012, TEDx Thessaloniki 2012 provided an inspiring intermission from the agonizing climax of the financial crisis embroiling Greece.
The theme of this year's event was encapsulated in this short but evocative promo video, which “attempts to depict the sense and feeling of suffocation, anguish the crisis has inflicted upon people as well as the ingenuity to transform obstacles into tools of creation”.
Among the speakers that inspired the audience:
The entire event was eminently quotable, with several of the speakers providing insights pertinent to the crisis, avidly tweeted by the audience:
@fayko: Να λεμε εγω και μόνο εγω είμαι υπεύθυνος για τις πράξεις μου. Η θυματοποιηση είναι η εύκολη λύση. @gazikap TEDxThess
@apas: Καταπληκτικός @erictparks – see the long term vision (Ιθάκη) and do fail and do fail fast. TEDxThess
@vickyele: ‘Be present, have access. Listen. Learn. Voice. Have the courage to imagine’ TEDxThess Rouka
@TEDxThess: Compromise in colors is gray and we already have enough of that.@ediramaal, ex-mayor of Tirana at TEDxThess
@DimitrisTzouris: . @atomsedlacek says too much growth is causing the economic crisis, not the lack of it. It is a systemic problem. TEDxThess
@fayko: If we dismantle the euro, this will mean the beginning of the crisis not the end of it. @atomsedlacek TEDxThess
Several attendees blogged their impressions of the event. Athens-based fashionista Thalia Geladaki wrote about her favorite presentations:
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 [Patsias] 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.
Edi Rama on stage at TEDx Thessaloniki. Photo by Duncan Davidson, licensed CC BY-NC
Journalist Michalis Goudis compared Rama's political example to the dismal Greek reality [el]:
Η ομιλία του Edi Rama στο TEDx Thessaloniki κατέδειξε ακόμη περισσότερο τη γύμνια και την ανικανότητα του ελληνικού πολιτικού προσωπικού τόσο σε εθνικό όσο και σε τοπικό επίπεδο. [..] Το παράδειγμα του Rama αποδεικνύει πως η πολιτική είναι καθαρά και μόνο θέμα βούλησης και προθέσεων. Αρκεί να είναι κανείς διατεθειμένος να συγκρουστεί με μικροσυμφέροντα για να διαμορφώσει μία καλύτερη ευρεία εικόνα. Ο Edi Rama με τα μέτρια αγγλικά, αλλά το καθαρό βλέμμα και τις ακόμη πιο καθαρές ιδέες ενέπνευσε τους ακροατές του. Δυστυχώς, έχει ήδη επιστρέψει στην πατρίδα του κι εμείς απομείναμε με τη φαιδρότητα της ακυβερνησίας…
Local entrepreneur Nick Papanotas shared an insight gleaned from spending time with two accomplished speakers:
Geniuses have long ago killed their egos and that’s exactly the way to make breakthroughs. Get over your self and focus on your passion. Sounds like a cool way to make the world a better place, don’t you think?
At TEDx Thessaloniki, looking out on a rainy day. Photo by Maria Mouzakiti on Instagram, used by permission
Journalist Theodoris Georgakopoulos liveblogged TEDx Thessaloniki on Facebook. Charis Tasioulis summarized the event's sessions, and Petros Amiridis shared yet another insight:
My favorite part: We grownups have made mistakes, we do not know all the answers and we are just rebuilding a mistake. It doesn't matter who made the mistake, it doesn't matter why the mistake was made… we are here to fix it
Renowned TED photographer Duncan Davidson gave TEDx Thessaloniki 2012 a ringing endorsement:
Watching the TEDxThessaloniki team pull together their event has been much like watching any of the other talented teams I’ve seen pull together other events. Long hours. Late nights. Much coffee. It all came together magnificently on May 12th at the Olympion Theater into a world class TEDx event that was everything a TED-like event should be: inspiring, motivating, and thought provoking. Attendees were brimming with excitement and passion all the way through the day to the final performance. [..] Exhilarating. Wonderful. Tiring. A great day, no matter how one looks at it. More than anything, it’s wonderful to see people implement the spreading of ideas in their own communities and spheres of influence. It’s something that the world can definitely use more of.
And, with the crisis raging outside the venue, multimedia director Marineta Kritikou expressed the misgivings that many attendees must have been feeling about facing the day after:
@makemanet: Και μετα απο αυτή την ανάταση ψυχής @TEDxThess πρέπει να βγούμε έξω κ να αντιμετωπίσουμε την άλλη πλευρά της χώρας μας.COURAGE to ALL Of Us
More on TEDxThessaloniki: Official site, blog, @TEDxThess on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Photos were also posted by Tom Tziros and Asteris Masouras on Flickr.