Posted 10:10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8, 2024
The performances from TEDxUWLaCrosse are now available for viewing. The Oct. 10 event attracted a full room in The Bluffs, Student Union, featuring speakers from UWL and the wider La Crosse community.
In the spirit of discovering and spreading ideas, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Learn more about TEDxUWLaCrosse and TEDx.
UWL's 2024 theme, "The Story I Tell Myself," invited attendees to explore the inner narratives that shape our lives. The event featured three powerful speakers, each sharing their personal journeys and insights on overcoming adversity, fostering global solidarity, and transforming individual and collective stories.
Exploring Self-Love by Embracing Interdependence
Andrew Ives, Ed.D., director of the UWL ACCESS Center
In a time of increasing polarization, the need for connection cannot be understated. This talk will discuss the interdependent ways love for self and community can transform our worlds. Using Disability Justice’s concept of interdependence, we will begin to rewrite the stories we tell ourselves about surviving and thriving.
Woman, Life, Freedom: Redefining Social Justice in a Globalized World
Sona Kazemi, Ph.D., assistant professor, Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, UWL
What does it mean to think and act globally in a rapidly globalizing world? What does it mean to build an inclusive future for all, where disability justice, and racial and gender equality are not seen as "threats" but absolute necessities for a democratic and equitable world? What does it mean to care about "Other" people and their struggles, while making connections and building solidarity movements across the world? In order to answer these questions, Sona invites us to focus on the "Woman-Life-Freedom" movement in Iran, which was sparked after the murder in custody of Mahsa Zhina Amini in the hands of the "Morality Police" in September 2022, and think about what we can learn from this unprecedented feminist uprising in the 21st century, and its implications for other social justice movements across the world.
Rewrite Your Broken Story
Carolyn Colleen Bostrack, Ph.D., Author, Entrepreneur, Humanitarian.
Life's toughest moments can be transformed into catalysts for growth. Through personal anecdotes and strategies, Carolyn shows how to reframe adversity and uncover hidden strengths, reversing the effects of ACE scores with resounding resourcefulness. This talk inspires resilience and empowers individuals to see challenges as opportunities for profound transformation, offering hope that smashes statistical disadvantages.