Do you or someone you know have a creative, innovative or inspiring idea about the education system? How would you feel about sharing this idea with about 100 people, while also listening to the proposals of some of the best and the brightest? If this scenario sounds appealing to you, you may be in luck.

The Furman Creative Collaborative (FCC), an up and coming organization created on campus last May, is hosting Furman’s first ever TEDx conference.

This conference represents FCC’s vision to “bring big ideas to Furman so people can think on them,” said the club’s president AJ Calhoun.

So what exactly is a TEDx conference? TEDx is a ‘think child’ of the national, non-profit organization TED, which sponsors national conferences for people who have big ideas worth sharing.

TED began as a four-day conference out of Long Beach, CA, featuring various speeches of no more than twenty minutes proposing revolutionary ideas to get people thinking.

Twenty-five years later, TED has grown into an extremely well-respected organization, spreading to many cities and universities through the TEDx program. TED has hosted a variety of influential speakers including Bill Gates, Al Gore, and Jane Goodall.

Although Furman’s TEDx conference will boast many of these same qualities, there is one key difference. While faculty plan TEDx events at most other universities, Furman’s conference will emphasize the students.

This event is entirely student-planned. Students chose the theme of Education by Design, and Furman students can nominate speakers online.

Through these measures, FCC is “putting the power in the students’ hands to do something,” said Calhoun.

Furman Creative Collaborative will be offering a variety of CLPs this fall, starting with an event called “On Cities” on Oct. 22. This event will explore the future of cities, delving into the question of whether they are the future or downfall of civilization.

The TEDx conference and the upcoming CLPs are just the beginning of FCC mission to “create a culture of creativity of Furman’s campus.” Furman students should keep their eyes peeled for big things to come from this inventive new group.

Any and all Furman students can get involved with this event by visiting FCC’s website, www.furmanmedia.com. For anyone who is interested in nominating a speaker or applying for a seat at the conference, the application process will begin in the spring.