TedxOneonta to return Friday

By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

TedxOneonta returns for its fourth event in five years, with an evening of presentations beginning at 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24, at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center in Oneonta.

This year’s theme, a holdover from the canceled 2020 event, is “Changing World.”

“We basically have been planning this for two years,” said Dan Buttermann, TedxOneonta co-founder and executive director.

The local version of Ted talks — the x means it is an independent event and not run by the national organization — this year will feature four speakers.

Rosalia Rivera, the host of AboutConsent, a podcast about surviving sexual assault, will give a presentation about changing rape culture, “Ending Rape Culture One Word at a Time.”

Gohar Petrossian, an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, and the director of the International Crime and Justice Masters Program at John Jay College, will speak about environmental issues in a speech, “Why Justice for Wildlife Affects You.”

Rebecca Ahmed, a human resources executive, will speak about technology and workplace prejudices in “Eliminating Work-place Bias in a Zoom Office Culture.”

Rachel Kornhauser, SUNY Oneonta director of the Office of Sustainability, will speak about the environment in a presentation, “Climate Change and Sustainability in the Age of COVID”

Kornhauser is the only local speaker this year, but Buttermann said he is happy with the selections.

“We’re very happy that despite the challenges we are working with, we were able to recruit speakers nationally as well as locally,” he said.

The event sold out in 2019, but was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Ticket sales have been slower this year, Buttermann said, but he expects a late surge in sales.

With the pandemic resurging locally and nationally, COVID rules are in effect, Buttermann said. “It is not a rule but our preference is that you should be vaccinated if you are coming,” Buttermann said.

Although some tickets to some Ted talks cost as much as $100, Buttermann said tickets to the Oneonta presentation are only $30 and include a shirt, a water bottle and a drink coupon.

Go to www.tedxoneonta.com for more information.