Organisers axe TEDx Canberra as members of volunteer leadership team call it a day
The founder and creative mastermind behind TEDx Canberra has vowed to return the event to the capital in 2016 after a shortage of volunteers forced organisers to pull the plug on this year’s conference.
Stephen Collins insisted he had no intention of allowing TEDx Canberra to fold as he set his sights on a producing a “reinvigorated” event in spring next year.
“We will be back,” he said. “TEDx Canberra has always received great support and we fully intend to run the event in 2016. We have 18 months to prepare, rather than six.”
It is one of a series of independently organised TED events which take place globally, in which speakers are given 10-15 minutes to deliver their presentations on a range of topics.
While Collins admitted the technology, entertainment and design event struggled to secure sponsorship last year, he stressed it was purely a lack of volunteers that forced the cancellation, rather than a lack of support.
In an email from the “TEDxCanberra Team” to its database, organisers spelt out how the conference, which carries the slogan ‘ideas worth spreading’, relies on the dedication and passion of volunteers who “give up a significant portion of their lives” to produce the conference.
Stephen Collins: “We’ll be back”
“It’s always been the case that we see some turnover of volunteers each year….[but] in 2015 a larger group than normal have decided to reduce their commitment to TEDxCanberra,” event organisers said.
“That group includes a number of our long term core volunteers who have held leadership roles. Through a desire to give more time to family, to extend their own learning and resume study, or changes in career and work focus, they have, quite rightly, chosen to rearrange their priorities.”
The email said organisers would be “taking a break” in 2015 but added the leadership team would be rebuilt and a “reinvigorated” event held in 2016.
Collins told Mumbrella that a third of the 25-strong leadership team had quit, and replacements had been hard to find.
“Staging an event such as TEDxCanberra requires love and volunteer labour and some of the leadership team give 20 to 30 hours of their time each week,” he said. “But people need to make babies, they change jobs and need to give time to their much maligned families. People needed a break, which is only right.”
He described the lack of replacements as “disappointing” but stressed the task of producing a conference can be onerous and requires volunteers to sacrifice significant time.
“I wouldn’t criticise anyone for not doing it,” he said.
Rather than struggle on with insufficient resources and risk producing a “sloppy” conference, the decision was made to scrap this year’s event and focus on creating a top TEDxCanberra in 2016, Collins said.
He admitted sponsorship had been hard to find in 2014 but said sufficient support had eventually been secured. All backers had pledged their support for 2015, he added.
“This decision is purely down to a shortage of personnel,” he said.
Last October’s TEDx was the fifth to be held in Canberra. It has been held at the Playhouse theatre for the past three years, attracting a sell out audience of 600.
Steve Jones
Volunteering, the internet piracy of the real world.
People are downloaded / working for free instead of paying for them.
Any business that aims to make a profit should not be allowed to have volunteers on their books, otherwise they are depriving people of Jobs and the country of tax revenue.
Charity and volunteering has been exploited by corporations and governments for too long.
“would you download a person?”
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@Offal, I agree with you about profit-making businesses (ab)using volunteers. TEDxCanberra’s crew has always been 100 per cent staffed by volunteers. Nobody has ever taken a wage, fees, or other money.
All cash we receive goes back into running the event – hiring things like video crew and paying for catering. Much of the remainder of our costs are offset by in-kind through our sponsors.
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“This decision is purely down to a shortage of personnel,”
I think Mr Collins meant “This decision is purely down to a shortage of people willing to work for free”
I guess Mr Collins is hoping for a downturn in the economy. Plenty of people will be willing to work for free for the ‘opportunity’.
Perhaps Mr Collins should pitch the work out with the hope of winning the business in 2017…..
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@I wonder, as I noted in my previous comment, TEDxCanberra runs non-profit (we always have) and seeks just enough sponsorship to cost recover and no more. No member of the team has ever taken a fee or wage of any sort.
We run on the generosity of volunteers who want to be involved, and the even more amazing generosity of a range of sponsors who provide money, services, or in-kind.
All that said, we do this for the love of putting together the event, and it takes a lot of effort. We need a break and some of our long-term team members who have given up their time want to do new things. Quite rightly so.
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Yeah ok, but is TedxCanberra actually a Not for Profit?
Or isTedxCanberra run by your company Acidlabs Pty Ltd “non-profit” with the assistance of volunteers?
When is a NFP not a NFP?
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@NonBelle, TEDxCanberra runs as a separate entity to acidlabs. I work my day job at acidlabs, with my clients, and put in hours outside client work to manage TEDxCanberra.
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