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Around Campus

Home the theme of this year’s TEDxUNC

More than 500 people gathered at a student-run conference to discuss ideas regarding fundamental human concerns revolving around the theme "home."

Cecilia Polanco stands on stage.
Cecilia Polanco, a 2016 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, was one of the speakers at the sixth-annual TEDxUNC held this weekend at Memorial Hall. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

During a busy weekend of musical performances and athletic events, over 500 members of the Carolina community also attended the sixth-annual TEDxUNC on Sunday in Memorial Hall.

TEDxUNC is a student-run conference held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that brings together innovative thinkers from across Carolina and the larger community to discuss some of humanity’s fundamental concerns. TEDxUNC is an affiliate of TED, a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short talks.

Originally scheduled for Feb. 4, student organizers were forced to postpone the conference due to a water shortage in Orange County, which closed the University. The TEDxUNC organizers, however, were still determined to host the conference in order to create a forum for thought and inquiry.

“I think it is an important life skill to be able to have tough conversations and challenge your own personal status quo,” said Saad Khan, co-curator of TEDxUNC. “We are in a unique situation in college where you are grouped with people from all different walks of life, and TEDxUNC is a cool and unique way to share these experiences with one another and learn from one another.”

This year’s conference theme was Home, and consisted of four topics: roots, boroughs, society and humanity.

“One of the reasons we chose the topic of Home is because everyone’s idea of home is different,” said Kevin Parham, co-curator of TEDxUNC. “The theme creates an atmosphere where the community can talk about things they have in common and share experiences that other people might not have.”

Cecilia Polanco, a 2016 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate and owner of So Good Pupusas food truck, spoke about the significance of hogar, which is the Spanish word for home, and how it represents her family’s journey from El Salvador to North Carolina.

“Home means where you live, somewhere where you feel secure, safe or comfortable, somewhere where you belong and where you feel calm,” said Polanco in both English and Spanish.

Lina Sergie Attar, a Syrian American writer and architect from Aleppo, also spoke about the effects of homelessness on Syrian refugee children and her efforts to create a space where refugee children could gain skills and confidence with cutting-edge technology and resources. This space is called the Giving House.

Throughout the event, the 11 student, faculty and community speakers addressed other issues like community empowerment, immigration, digital culture, gender identity and globalization.

“TEDxUNC is all about starting conversations, spreading ideas and engaging in interesting dialogue, and that certainly happened this year,” said Parham.