TEDxWilmington’s 2023 event will bring 25 speakers to Theatre N

The latest full-day event will bring 25 speakers from a spectrum of industries and places to Theatre N at The Mill on April 29.

Unlike TEDxWilmington salons, which feature mostly Delaware-based speakers giving talks on a chosen theme, the annual event — called the “standard event” by organizer Dr. Dan Young — features mostly speakers from outside of the state who come to share their insights and make new network connections in Delaware.

“Being fourth generation [Delawarean] and in a lot of the networking groups — Rotary Club, Leadership Delaware and Alpha Phi Alpha — oftentimes, if I go to 50 networking events every year, I’ll probably hear the same 25 to 50 people talk,” Young told Technical.ly. This event is an opportunity to network with people from different regions, as well as to hear fresh voices.

Topics include entrepreneurship, mental health, history, family, quantum physics and SEO.

One of the only Delaware-based speakers is Manuel Godoy, CEO of Black Sands Entertainment, one of the top Black comic publishers in the US.

“For decades, Western media has focused exclusively on the slave trade and American slavery/civil rights when showcasing African history,” Godoy says in his bio. “The few times they mention any ancient or medieval African Kingdom, they are shown as struggling, a servant-like system, or straight whitewashed. Having kids of my own, I understand the importance of having a legacy to look back on, separate from your immediate family.”

“In five years, he’ll be Aaron McGruder,” Young said, referring to the creator of The Boondocks.

Other speakers include retired Pittsburgh Steeler George Jones, author of “The Present Dad” and founder of the Present Dad Foundation, with a talk about fatherhood; Anna Choi, founder of SolJoy, on “How to Shift from Burnout to Brilliance”; and music producer and author Morry David on “Why Some People Can Fly.”

Here’s a full list of speakers and bios.

Why do out-of-town speakers want to be part of the TEDxWilmington event?

“Right now, we have a little bit over 47 million views on YouTube,” Young said. “We’ve probably doubled in number over the last two or three years. So we see this as the year that will definitely break the 50 million barrier. Part of the reason people reach out to us is because they say, ‘Hey, I want to talk on your stage, I could talk somewhere else but I want to talk on your stage because this person I really liked was on your stage.’ So it gives us a really good feeling. And I think that’s a really exciting threshold to be approaching.”

Tickets are likely to sell out for this event. Grab them here.