Written by: Sarah Koester

The University of Akron will host the second official TEDxEvent in Akron this Friday.

TEDxAkron is an expansion of the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference held in California and Scotland. The conference brings together speakers and doers to share “ideas worth spreading.” Unlike the TED convention, TEDx is a self-organized event created to bring people together for a TED-like experience.

“TEDxAkron was started to bring members of the Akron community together to share ideas,” said Sam Falletta, founder of TEDxAkron. “This year’s event is based on the theme of  ‘uneXpected,’ so we have speakers who will share personal stories about how things are not always what they seem.”

Among the featured speakers this year are Ted Senf, a global trainer at Allstate; Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu; musician Hal Walker; and Lynn Budnick, executive director of ACCESS, a women’s and children’s shelter in Akron.

“TEDxAkron is just as much about the people that attend the event as the speakers,” Falletta said. “Some of the most interesting people in the community will be in attendance, and could potentially make great future contacts for students.”

According to their website, TEDxAkron is offering not only regular tickets to the event for $50, but also scholarship sponsorship tickets. These tickets, which are sold for $110, go to support either two students, non-profit employees, or those in transition jobs to lower their cost of attending. For students to take advantage of this opportunity, enter the promotional code “feartheroo” when buying the ticket. By taking advantage of this offer, students can drop their ticket price from $50 to $20.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Union Theater. The full list of speakers and their time slots is also available on TEDxAkron.com.