Pacific Tongues: Pacific Tongues at TEDxHonolulu

Jamaica Osorio, Ittai Wong, Alaka'i Kotrys, William Giles, Harrison, Ines, Serena Simmons, and Joanna Gordon. Pacific Tongues is a non-profit organization that cultivates an active artistic Oceanic community of writers, spoken word performers, leaders, educators and students of all ages. Their commitment is to honor the practice of kuleana through creative workshops, public events and pedagogical development. Youth Speaks Hawai'i, a program of Pacific Tongues which is supported by the Hawai`i Arts Alliance, promotes teen literacy and civic engagement through slam poetry by offering weekly writing workshops, hosting monthly poetry slams and open mics, organizing interscholastic poetry slams, and sending a youth team to a national competition every summer. Their writing workshops reach over 1,000 students every year, and their monthly poetry slams and open mics attract more than 600 guests a year. Every year since 2007, their national team has made semi-finals at the Brave New Voices International Youth Slam Poetry Festival, winning back-to-back international titles in 2008 and 2009. While education and arts funding are slashed from school budgets, they help youth develop the critical literacy, writing skills, and public speaking skills they will need to succeed. In addition, they challenge disenfranchised youth to become socially aware and engaged in their communities by providing them with a positive outlet to confront the issues they face with constructive dialogue.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)