Ignite Los Alamos 2018
Los Alamos Makers was the proud host of the very first "Ignite Los Alamos" event.
What is "Ignite Los Alamos"? More appropriately, what are "Ignite talks"?
"Ignite talks first started in Seattle, Wash., 12 years ago and is now a global phenomenon with events around the world from New York City to Paris, France … and now Los Alamos.
Most of us have heard of TED talks. Unlike TED talks, Ignite talks have a very specific format and are designed to be very inclusive: Ignite’s official mission is “Everyone Speaks”.
The only requirement is that ‘speakers must build their presentations with 20 slides, each of which is shown for 15 seconds, giving each speaker five minutes”.
This particular format makes it fun for the audience as well as for the speakers. Anyone from public speaking novices to seasoned toastmasters gets a fair shot.
The “Ignite Talks” team believes that “public speaking builds confidence in individuals and that events like Ignite build community. Our goal is to make it possible for anyone, anywhere, to learn to present their ideas and their stories.”
The community building and sharing of ideas concepts resonate with Los Alamos Makers’ mission.", as described in an article published on the Los Alamos Daily Post.
We are so thankful that the inaugural event was such a success. Many took on the challenge and shared their experience, expertise and ideas.
The videos of the talks are now available on our "Ignite Los Alamos" YouTube channel and soon on the official Ignite website at http://www.ignitetalks.io/
The next "Ignite Los Alamos" event is scheduled for Saturday, June 15th, 2019 at 5.30PM. We are still working on the venue, to make it a pleasant dinner time event. You can express interest in participating or giving a talk now at LosAlamosMakers.org/Ignite
In the meantime, here is below 3 of our favorite talks and a link to the playlist with some of the talks:
Dan Nix took "5 Ignite-minutes" to embark us on his perilous journey up the infamous Devil's Tower. Spoiler alert: getting out of it alive is not the only reason why he was grateful for the journey. Everything we do is a learning opportunity.
The fabulous Akkana Peck is no stranger to "Los Alamos Makers". She has been a wonderful asset to our community from the beginning and is a strong advocate for technology education. She was a mentor for our CoderDojo for teens and now runs the Rapberry Pi club for all ages at Los Alamos Makers on Thursdays 7 to 8PM. She is the author of "Jumpstarting the Raspberry Pi Zero W".
She also took on the Ignite challenge and took "5 Ignite-minutes" to remind us, with great humor, that hardware is not a black box and to encourage all of us to explore technology.
Our youngest speaker, Kaylen Pocaterra, shared her experience as an accomplished student who chose to no longer just go through the motions, but take a risk and live her life with purpose.
