TEDxTokyo 2014 - Connecting the Unconnected

Ahead of TEDxTokyo 2014, over 150 volunteers gathered in the event's host town of Shibuya, Tokyo, to celebrate the potential of 'Connecting the Unconnected' - the theme for this year's event.

Our main character is Yui, a young photographer whose name in Japanese means 'to connect', the same word used to describe this year's TEDxTokyo theme.

Over 1,000 volunteer hours went in to the making of this video, with teams forming to create branded umbrellas, organise the use of the large screen overlooking the crossing, sort out helicopter flight routes and coordinate over 150 volunteers on the big day.

Divided into 4 groups, the volunteers streamed towards the iconic scramble crossing in Shibuya, coming together to form a huge 'X' precisely timed to coincide with the showing of a huge TED logo on the screen overlooking the crossing, and a helicopter hovering overhead with a TEDxTokyo cameraman there to capture the moment of connection.

The core team would like to thank all of those who made this project a success, whether carrying an umbrella, or working hard behind the scenes to ensure all the pieces were in place. This project really demonstrated the power of the TEDx community to do something special - everyone had something to contribute in the spirit of Ideas Worth Spreading.

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)