The first TEDx Conference will be held in the Virgin Islands on March 29, 2017. Photo: Internet Source

Abigail O'Neal is the TEDxRoadTown founder and organising team member. Photo: Facebook

TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). Photo: Internet Source

The event will take place at the International Arbitration Centre on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 and will feature an incredible line-up of speakers, which will include a diverse programme of local and international talks. Attendees will also have an opportunity to network at an on-site lunch event and afternoon cocktails.

“The whole idea of TED is about ideas worth spreading and we as a community need to always be looking for new ways of thinking and hopefully we can stimulate thoughts and discourse and maybe move people to take action to uplift their communities,” TEDxRoadTown founder and organising team member, Abigail O'Neal told Virgin Islands News Online.

The independently produced event, operated under a license from TED, is organised by community volunteers and is aimed at creating dialogue as well as giving people a forum to share their passions, ideas and experiences.

"As a BVIslander, it is exciting and humbling to be able to be a part of a team of community minded professionals, to bring something as amazing as the TEDx movement to the British Virgin Islands. In the spirit of TED, 'ideas worth spreading', we have created a diverse programme that will provoke thought and hopefully action in our community," Ms O’Neal had said in a prior press release.

"The wonderful thing is that the event is completely non-profit and voluntary and that just enhances the feeling of doing good and lifting your community and country up," she went on to say.

According to O’Neal more information, including about tickets, will be released in the coming weeks.

The event is sponsored to date by TigerQi Architecture, Green Technology, Navanchor, Guavaberry Marketing, VisionNova, NovaPay, GetMeIn and the BVI Tourist Board.

About TEDx

In the spirit of "ideas worth spreading," TED has created TEDx. TEDx is a programme of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxRoadTown, where x = independently organised TED event. At TEDxRoadTown, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx programme, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organised.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard C.N. Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.