PACE... | Our Annual Theme

A journey of X = Exploration

We're often asked what the "X" in TEDx is supposed to stand for. To TEDx, it means "an independently organized event". To us, it has always marked the treasured spot where idea explorers gather.

When we were granted our first licence in 2009, and planned our first event for April 2010, the number of global TEDx licencees was in the hundreds and collectively we were very much an experiment for the TED organization. Along with others in our city and across the globe, we were given the amazing latitude by TEDx to explore and multiply, and we now number in the thousands of organizing teams internationally. Big or small, new or old, every one of those teams is doing an inspiring job of finding voices that matter to our time and place in history, and being creative in how they engage their participants.

We feel very honoured to be part of how the TEDx program is helping organizers like us to bring the energy of amazing ideas to our local cities, and allowing us to showcase the many ideas that are hidden in our own back yard.


In our current 2025 programming year, the "PACE: Impact Beyond Speed" theme takes us on a deep journey about this time and place in our human story. We're in a time of great flux, where the pace of life, the speed of decisions, environmental and political volatility and the rate of technological change conspire to... exhaust? inspire? terrify? Take your pick!

Our event is currently scheduled for Saturday, October 25th, 2025 and will take place in downtown Calgary at The Ampersand (140 - 4 Avenue SW).. Tickets will be on sale in July.

To keep up to date on developments for the event, subscribe to our social channels or join our "8 Seconds" e-news update.

 


  

" ... the truth of our interrelationship with each other, our connectedness, our family tie, is that story is our most powerful commonality... "...Richard Wagamese, One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet

 

Cultivating a Garden of Ideas. Nurturing a Culture of Conversation.

We continuously seek to cultivate a rich and diverse garden of ideas, and help that grow by nuturing a culture of conversation based on the principles of pluralism and active community engagement as members of civil society. You can read more about our vision and purpose as a team, and we always welcome you to join us as a volunteer in whatever capacity fits.

As a team, we have long embraced and used the metaphor of "campfire conversations": those delightful, relaxed moments that let our minds shift gears and go to new places of insight and understanding as we watch the flames dance and sparks fly.

That view has always informed our programming. On an ongoing basis throughout the year, we'll be experimenting with campfire-inspired conversations across the city, both organized by us and in collaboration with others who share the perspective that campfires and the conversations that take place around them are an essential part of our deepest human connections. They allow us to exchange meaningful stories and play even more nimbly and creatively with ideas that we desperately need to share with one another in a society that is simultaneously the most and the least connected in our human history.

As always, none of the past decade would have been possible without the energy and intellect of our tremendous team of volunteers, our speakers, and our community partners. We owe all of them a profound debt of gratitude for having believed in our efforts, and supported us at every turn.

Join us on our journey to PACE... Stay tuned to our events pages and social media channels, and be part of the conversation. 

 

– Jonathan Perkins, co-founder and 2025 curator

 

 

Highlights and Thanks from FLOW: Connecting the Dots

Our 2024 main event, FLOW: Connecting the Dots, brought together more than 400 participants, speakers, interactions partners and volunteers for an incredible day of sharing ideas. Watch a short highlights video of the event!

We were incredibly priviledged to have Her Honour, the Honourable Dr. Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, and His Honour Dr. Zaheer Lakhani at the event to provide greetings and opening remarks on the value of ideas and volunteering in our communities.

Introducing our PACE: Impact Beyond Speed speakers...


PACE2025speakers

 

Announcing the full list of speakers for PACE: Impact Beyond Speed on October 25th! 

Individual speaker profiles will continue to appear over the next couple of weeks, but here's the overview of our speaker line-up.


Top Row, Left to Right

Chad Lefevre

Transformational Changemaker

Julien LePage

Registered Social Worker (BSW, MSW Leadership), trauma specialist, and lifelong drummer

Dr. Kerry Black, PhD, PEng

Associate Professor, University of Calgary and Canada Research Chair in (Re)Engineering Sustainable Communities

Kate Thompson, Architect, AAA, FRAIC

President & CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC)


Middle Row, Left to Right

Dr. Chelsea Matisz, PhD, MSc

Gut-Brain Scientist and Science Communicator

Wish Bakshi

Founder & AI Systems Engineer | Specialist in Commodities Trading & Operations (OT) | Power, Nat Gas, Data Centers, LNG, SCADA

Shone Thistle

Calgary Poet Laureate, 2024-26, author, poet and multidisciplinary artist

George Damian

Philanthopist and Tech Investor


Bottom Row, Left to Right

Gayathri Shukla, PEng., MBA

Storyteller and founder of Campfire Kinship

Dr. Laleh Behjat, PhD, PEng (b. 328/423 ppm*)

Professor in Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary and the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering – Prairies

Dr. Lina Kattan, PhD. P. Eng.

Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering, the Urban Alliance Professor in Transportation System Optimization, and program director of CREATE-Integrated Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities

The Honourable Leela Aheer

Former Alberta MLA and Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women (2019 - 2021)

 


*A personal measure of what the Earth's CO2 levels were at birth, compared to now. All of us should know this!

 

 

PACE: Get tickets now!

Tickets are on sale! Join us on October 25th for a day of ideas and interactions at the pace of insight...

 

 

ticket 13