This year's TEDxCatólicaLisbonSBE event on May 6th was a great success.
The TEDx team which consists of 23 students had just three months’ time to plan and execute the event with a lot of joy, enthusiasm and team spirit to make it unforgettable and unique. For the first time since TEDxCatólicaLisbonSBE was founded, the event was not held at the university. The students of the TEDx team chose Arroz Studios as the event location. Arroz Studios was a fitting choice. It is a culture and art hub where different events take place and young artists are provided with a space to work and express themselves. The location offers a relaxed vibe where creativity can be unleashed. A live musician contributed to a great atmosphere during the breaks. Delicious Burgers, Pizzas and drinks were offered by Vegan Junkies and Arroz Studios.
The theme of this year’s TEDxCatólicaLisbonSBE event was Finding Purpose.
Finding Purpose sets the context of our lives. Without knowing why we do things, we are just ticking off tasks, creating goals and actions for the sake of it. A purpose gives us meaning and direction. It's bigger than a goal you write down and aim for - it's the theme of your life. Finding purpose in life is both beautifully simple and as complex as every individual.
We were given the honor to listen to eight great and inspiring speakers who shared their individual perspectives on Finding Purpose. The first speaker, Nuno Moreira da Cruz, talked about the corporate perspective of purpose. He explained how purpose should be at the core of business strategies, leaving the audience with the statement “To get to the land of profit, follow the path of purpose”.
Jennifer Rosenberg had quite the opposite view on purpose. Her message was that “purpose is dead”, and that it is not the purpose of companies but brands that can save the world. Mariana Kobayashi gave advice how to live a more fulfilled life - take small steps and find purpose in the little things in life. Desiree Jonek-Lustyk was playing with the audience. She played a Purpose Game that is a helping tool to find one’s individual purpose. If you play it, “the price is a self-determined and meaningful live”.
“Treat your purpose like a treasure”, was the very personnel message of Karolin Gärtner alias Cage. In her personal talk she explained that although she found her purpose very early on in life, she did not chase after it for a long time, because she felt not strong enough to resist other people’s opinion. Cage, who is a singer and musician also surprised us with a breathtaking performance at the end of the event. The next speaker, Joe Santos, touched the listeners with an emotional message. He explained how we people feel pressured to know what our purpose is, how many external forces influence us, and how hard it is to listen to yourself sometimes. But “you all have this warm glow inside of you”, Joe said, “you just need to listen to your inner voice to feel it”. One could literally feel how each person in the audience felt addressed in his or her own way and empathized with the situations described.
After the second break, Mara Santos told us her story. A story that many young black women can relate to, and explained how her history, her roots and experiences have led towards finding her purpose. The last speaker of the night was Meg Pagani, who had the mission to wake us up to get active and save the planet. She said that neither purpose nor impact can save the planet because those are just words. But they can save the world, if we give these words the right meaning and act accordingly.
Every single one of the eight speakers did an incredible job. Their stories were inspiring, eye-opening, encouraging and motivating as well as personal and relatable – a few stories even made us emotional. The audience was released into the night with perspectives on the topic of purpose that generated lasting stimulation for reflection.
The TEDx event ended with a legendary afterparty at the same location. DJs Noah Wolff, Nico Hessing and Bill On Air created great vibes with melodic and progressive sounds and made the crowd groove into the night.
Have a great and impactful week!
Katharina Hagemann
Master Student & Head of TEDxCatólica Team
This article refers to edition #140 of the "Have a Great and Impactful Week" Newsletter and covers SDG 8 and 10.
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