March 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 48

AN EQUAL FUTURE

These phrases are how I would
describe an innate yearning to make
a dent in the universe. It's that desire
that has brought together a group of
park and recreation professionals to
harness the power of ideas and start
TEDxCollegePark.
By now, most people have seen
TED Talks, which started off as
a conference where people with
knowledge on technology, entertainment and design converged to give
short, powerful talks. These presentations, in more than 100 languages,
have become the gold standard for
storytelling and established TED as
a community of people from every
discipline and culture who seek a
deeper understanding of the world.
TEDx (independently organized
TED events) is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED's
overall mission, by passionate individuals who seek to uncover new
ideas that spark conversations in
their communities.
TEDxCollegePark was first organized in 2018 with the theme of " Get
OUTside " at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts
Center and was a resounding success.
Roslyn Johnson, director of Baltimore
County Recreation and Parks and the
co-organizer of TEDxCollegePark,
shared her reasons for being involved
with TEDx: " It is innovative and
futuristic, not to mention it has the
ability to address trends, issues and
next practices affecting our profession
and industry in real time. It resonates
across generations in a way unlike any
other educational medium. I learned
so much that I still use today, from the
inherent inequities present in artificial
intelligence to the future of autonomous vehicles and how teenage girls
built a [solar-powered] tent to help
the homeless. The energy was electric
and the talks [were] mind blowing! "
While
the
talks
from
48	 Parks & Recreation

TEDxCollegePark
have
been
viewed thousands of times and
continue to impact communities
globally, hosting this again was not
planned for the immediate future.

TEDxCollegePark 2021:
An Equal Future
The occurrences of 2020 changed the
plans: the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic and its disparate impact
on underinvested, Black and brown
communities, and the social justice
movements laid bare the inequities
that exist all around us. Inspired by
our fellow park and recreation professionals who stepped up around
the country to help their communities, our TEDxCollegePark team
determined it was time for another
event - and this time it's virtual!
The theme for our event is " An
Equal Future. " We want a future
where one's zip code does not determine their lifespan; where one's gender or gender identity does not limit
professional growth; where the color
of one's skin does not determine how
they are treated; and where access to
opportunities is open to ALL.  
The presenting partner from the inaugural TEDxCollegePark is a national sports tourism leader - Maryland's
Sports Commission. According to its
executive director, Terry Hasseltine,
" Our goal is to be at the forefront of
thought-provoking subjects and conversations that provide experiences,
education and leadership opportunities for our Team Maryland partners
and our other constituents across
Maryland. TEDxCollegePark provides us such a platform, and we look
forward to engaging in the conversation on An Equal Future. "

Why It Matters for
Parks and Recreation
Peter Harnik, founder of the Center
for City Park Excellence at The Trust

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for Public Land, says in his book, Urban Green: " Now I'm not so sure that
rocket science is that simple, but I am
sure that parks are far more complicated than people imagine. It is this
intersectionality of ideas that makes
TED and TEDx events relevant to
every imaginable interest, especially something as multifaced as parks
and recreation. "
Kristine Stratton, president and
CEO of NRPA, has been a big fan of
TED and TEDx for years. She loves
the short format and its focus on
new ideas and narrative storytelling.
In speaking to NRPA's decision to
partner with TEDxCollegePark, she
says, " At NRPA, we have focused on
the core pillar of equity for several
years - which, for us, means doing
all we can to create a future where
everyone has access to the health,
social and environmental benefits
of quality parks and recreation. Not
only that, [but also] NRPA is an organization that is rooted in learning
and professional growth to fuel ideas
and excellence in the field, so this
virtual TEDxCollegePark convening
is a perfect way for us to honor our
commitment to our members and
the park and recreation field overall. "

Why Should You (and Your
Agency) Attend?
To prepare the park and recreation professional of the future.
As the pandemic and its subsequent
events have shown, park and recreation professionals are expected
to be everything from virtual program providers to grief counselors,
planners and engineers to arts instructors and athletic coaches, and
even COVID-19 test-site operators!
With this diversity of backgrounds
and needs, how can any one type
of learning opportunity suffice to
train the park and recreation professionals of the future?
March 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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