“Beyond Boundaries” will be the theme for the TEDxVirginiaTech 2013 event to be held on Nov. 9, 2013, on the Virginia Tech campus. Faculty, students and alumni of Virginia Tech are invited to “give the talk of a lifetime” at the second annual event.

Intentionally broad, the theme is meant to inspire multidisciplinary and transformative ideas in line with the principles of TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to ideas worth spreading. The theme evokes a broad range of interpretations and proposes thoughtful questions, such as:

  • What happens when we think beyond boundaries?
  • What types of boundaries exist? Geographic, spatial, cultural, art, social, gender, economic, perceptual, self-imposed, ethical, political, emotional, etc.
  • What happens when we cross a boundary?
  • How are boundaries represented?
  • Why do we share and reinforce boundaries?
  • Who challenges boundaries?
  • How do boundaries hinder us, or help us?

These questions and more are among those that will be addressed by speakers at the TEDxVirginiaTech 2013. The call for speakers will be announced in April. A location for the event also will be announced in the coming weeks.

Design Competition

TEDxVirginiaTech also is pleased to announce a design competition for Virginia Tech students, faculty, staff, and alumni to visually represent the “Beyond Boundaries” theme. The design may be used on banners, posters, websites, social media, and other promotional items. It will be used with the TEDxVirginiaTech logo and is not meant to replace it. The winner will be selected by the TEDxVirginiaTech Steering Committee and announced in May. The winning designer will receive two VIP tickets to the event, exclusive access to speakers at pre-event networking events, a photo shoot with the red “X,” and a TEDxVirginiaTech T-shirt.

Rules and Guidelines for the design competition:

  • Deadline for submission is April 29, 2013, at 11 p.m. No late entries will be considered.
  • Designs should visually communicate and include this exact wording of the theme, “Beyond Boundaries.”
  • By entering this competition, the designer certifies that the entry is original, created solely by the entrant, and no other person or entity hold rights to the entry and its components. No group entries will be accepted.
  • Designs must not violate any intellectual property (patents, copyrights, or trademarks) including, but not limited to, the TED, TEDx, TEDxVirginiaTech, or Virginia Tech logos or any mark registered by Virginia Tech. They should be suitable for systematic use together with the TEDxVirginiaTech logo.
  • By entering this competition, the winner agrees to grant TEDxVirginiaTech all rights to ownership and use of the design and not attempt to re-use or register it as a trademark. The TEDxVirginiaTech Executive Committee reserves the right to choose and approve all uses of the design for TEDxVirginiaTech 2013.
  • Artwork should be designed using a vector program and submitted electronically as a .jpg, .gif, or .png image (72 dpi) or PDF file to TEDx@vt.edu. The winner will be required to submit the original vector design file (300 dpi).
  • Designs should be suitable for use as black-and-white or four-color images and be adaptable for various sizes and applications. If the design incorporates Virginia Tech’s Chicago maroon and burnt orange, it should use the official Pantone 208 and Pantone158 according to the university’s Identity Standards. The official TED red is Pantone 485.
  • Entries must include: name of designer, association with the university (student, faculty, staff, or alumni), email, telephone, and description of the design’s symbolism or designer’s intent.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” It started out as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design (thus, TED). Since then, its scope has broadened significantly. TED also collaborates with communities to bring TED-like experiences to those contexts; they are called “TEDx events.”

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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