What does TEDx mean to me?
Justyna Cyrankiewicz
Why have you joined?
Iʼve got this thing that I really like to observe the actions of people who have achieved some kind of (in my opinion impressive) success. I try to incorporate their different habits that help me improve myself and my productivity. Many people I observe and admire, mentioned that they try to watch as many TED talks as possible — sometimes even one a day. I started to do the same, wanting to see how it will affect my productivity and perception of the world. I delved more and more into the story of TED and its ideas. I quickly found out that this is exactly what I love and highly value: the best quality knowledge spread to everyone for free and without any restrictions. I felt that I want to create this system. At that time I didnʼt know about the existence of TEDx yet, but my search led me to TEDxKazimierz. I came to a volunteersʼ meeting, and coming to the next one I was already a member of the “core team” :).
Why do you love TED and TEDx?
I think that I have already answered this question in part above. I love TED and TEDx for giving everyone unlimited access to high quality knowledge, I love that this project is open to everyone, it doesnʼt discriminate, doesnʼt divide, but connects all people in the world into an incredibly talented, intelligent team that has a constant hunger for knowledge and action – and TED allows it to be satisfied.
What impact would you like to make as TEDx member?
I never thought that I would like to influence people in any way. Being in TED, I simply do what I love, with people I love. It makes me happy in the purest form. All of our events, of course, are created in the spirit of TED, that is, “to spread ideas worth spreading.” I think, however, that this “spreading” takes place in a very natural way – we reach people who have a similar approach to live as we do, they reach further, to their friends and acquaintances. In this way, we create a community with which we can share our passion.
Why did you decide to organize your own TEDxKazimierz Salon?
For a long time I have been trying to minimize the amount of rubbish that I produce and encourage my friends to do the same. I have read a lot about the “Zero Waste” lifestyle idea, I try to constantly analyze every segment of my everyday life and see where else I can give up plastic and rubbish. Often, friends asked me why I use a variety of reusable items, sometimes I also uploaded some photos on Instagram, because such lifestyle makes me simply happy, so I wanted to share it with others. I was very surprised when I started getting messages with photos from different people saying that I inspired them to take the first steps towards Zero Waste. That made me think it would be really cool to reach even more people and maybe help those who would like to start living more consciously, but donʼt really know how. A natural way to achieve this goal was to organize an event that would bring together a group of like-minded people interested in the topic. Here it is! 🙂
What would you like to achieve for other people, but also for yourself after this event?
I simply want more and more people to start questioning their actions, but not only to analyze them, rather, above all, to take specific steps that, hopefully, will minimize our enormous negative impact on the natural environment. I strongly believe that one person can truly change a lot. The upcoming event will gather quite a lot, because more than 150 people, for whom the fate of our Planet is not indifferent. 150 individuals who can really change SOMETHING 🙂 If everyone took even small steps towards cutting the amount of produced garbage, we would have a really solid change in the global dimension. I do not consider myself as an expert in this matter either, I do make mistakes myself. I am sure that by organizing this event, discussing with the guests, listening to the experts whom I invited to participate in the Q&A panel, I am able to learn a lot and improve my actions too 🙂
