I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural TEDxCanberra last weekend.

Whenever I attend an important event like this, I like to distill it into a series of 1-liners that give any unlucky non-attendees a bite sized synopsis.

So here goes…

Dawn O’Neil kicked off with a jolting exposé of the sorry state of suicide prevention in Australia, a country that does so well in the face of other crises.

Mitchell Whitelaw advocated the show everything model of information discovery, instead of the presumptuous search model. (This was my favourite talk, and I will blog about it in more depth.)

Kevin Bales opened our eyes to modern slavery. (Pre-recorded talk from TED2010)

Miriam Lyons posited that a successful society relies on a mix of self interest and altruism.

Mark Pesce illustrated the allure of hyperconnectivity over maternal instinct, which should scare the bejesus out of all of us.

Kristin Alford called for ideas of the future to be linked to action via integrated stories.

Simon Taylor demonstrated the theory of mind with a simple magic trick (and a Freudian slip).

Temple Grandin explained why the world needs all kinds of minds to work together, especially autistic ones. (Pre-recorded talk from TED2010)

Marco Ostini described how Lunar Numbat is using open source technology to win the Google Lunar X-Prize.

Ash Donaldson advised us to use evidence to reach conclusions, not vice versa.

Francis Owusu claimed our dreams can come true if we overcome the fear of embarrassment and failure.

William Dejean spruiked the success of AVID in turning mediocre students into high achievers.

Melinda Gates crystallised 3 lessons that non-profit organisations can learn from Coca Cola. (Pre-recorded talk from TEDxChange)

Pete Williams recounted how social networking aided the residents of Flowerdale after the Black Saturday bushfires.

Ed Bosworth explained the GFC in an Australian context.

Sunny Forsyth exemplified how passion can solve some of the world’s most serious problems.

And finally, Professor McGorry (yes, the 2010 Australian of the Year) outlined his revolutionary approach to the treatment and prevention of mental illness.

These ideas are well worth spreading!