TEDxGuangzhou 2023 will be postponed
Dear TEDxGuangzhou 2023 Attendees,
Hello. We regret to inform you that our event will be postponed due to reasons detailed below. If you have successfully purchased tickets, you do not need to take any action. Refunds will be processed in the coming days. If you have not received a refund by August 4, 2023, please contact us via email at registration@tedxguangzhou.org, or leave a message in our WeChat account.
Although the event is postponed, our commitment to "ideas, conversations, and possibilities" remains unchanged. Therefore, we are still striving to explore other possibilities.
Since WeChat posts are often collapsed, we may share the next steps via email. For those who have successfully registered, we have obtained your email addresses through the registration form. However, if you use QQ Mail or NetEase Mail, we recommend that you provide an alternative email. If you have not yet registered, we also welcome you to leave your email with us.
We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause. See you in the future!
The specifics about the postponement and some thoughts are shared below. We don't want to simply tell everyone "due to technical reasons", so it might seem a bit long. The main points are all above, so you won't miss anything even if you choose not to read the following content.
Reasons for Postponement
The Guangzhou Police's Office for the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations (FNGOs) contacted us. They view the TEDxGuangzhou event as a foreign non-governmental organization carrying out activities within the territory, and thus believe we should establish a domestic representative office or obtain a "temporary activity record" as required by the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Management of Domestic Activities of Overseas Non-governmental Organizations" (hereinafter referred to as "the Management Law").
In reality, we do not fall under the jurisdiction of this law, which pertains to FNGOs registered overseas that wish to conduct business in China. We are a group of local volunteers who occasionally come together to plan some activities. In past activities and promotions, we have made it very clear to everyone: we are not employees of TED, nor do we represent TED. We are not an "organization", and there is no employment or remuneration relationship between us or with TED. We are a group of volunteers, and we autonomously select the content of the talks and invite speakers. TED does not guide who to invite to speak or what topic to speak on in these events.
Although we have the privilege to use the TEDx brand name, the TEDx format is actually a brand authorization that anyone in the world can apply for if they are willing to organize activities in the form of TEDx. This is not a situation specified in the "Management Law" where a foreign non-governmental organization wants to carry out business in China.
We have never encountered such problems before, but they have made this judgement regardless.
Our Efforts
Even though we do not actually fall within the juristiction of the "Management Law", we still actively sought the possibility of obtaining a "temporary activity record" as required by the "Management Law" after receiving this notice. According to the requirements of the "Management Law", to apply for a temporary activity record, the overseas non-governmental organization that wants to carry out activities in China needs to cooperate with one of China's state agencies, people's organizations, institutions, or social organizations, and submit the application for record 15 days before the activity. We received this notice 17 days before the original event date.
In order to apply for the record, the following are required: 1) Proof documents and materials for the lawful establishment of the overseas non-governmental organization; 2) A written agreement between the overseas non-governmental organization and the Chinese partner; 3) Documents approving the Chinese partner, and a series of other materials, which need to be translated and notarized. This is difficult for us because:
As mentioned earlier, we are not a non-governmental organization registered overseas. Even so, we have contacted TED in hopes of obtaining documentary and procedural support. But this involves international communication, signing and sending of documents.
We need to find a partner organization in China. Social organizations are one of the more feasible options. We contacted several social organizations in Guangzhou and nationwide, seeking the possibility of cooperation. But before signing this "cooperation", the social organization needs to obtain approval from its supervisory department for this cooperation, which is another time-consuming process with uncertain results. We would like to express our deepest thanks to the partners in these organizations.
Most importantly, we need to facilitate the cooperation between these two organizations, even though they, in reality, do not have a cooperative relationship.
After many efforts in communication and deliberation, we judged that it is impossible to obtain a "temporary activity record" in the short term. If we choose to continue the activity without a temporary activity record, we may face unfounded accusations.
Doing our bit
As the preparation of this event comes to this point, we believe that you, who have read up to here, are as full of anticipation as we are. The speakers have been fully publicized, so we won't repeat them here. We really like the diversity, variety of topics, and multiple perspectives in this line-up of speakers.
We have also visited the venue multiple times, confirmed details with our partners, and ensured that the event is a good experience for the attendees.
If the event were to happen, there would have been 20 breakout sessions, which we call "A bit more", aimed at providing participants with deeper discussion and experience. These activities are co-designed by more volunteers, who have also put their expertise and time into it without compensation.
Our registration form is known for its "length", but we also garnered many like-minded attendees through it. Many registrants left inspiring or poignant long messages on the form, which we will find a way to share with you.
Apart from these individuals, there are many organizations contributing to this event: some are our partners, providing professional services for free to make the experience better; some are our suppliers, providing what the event needs at a cost lower than market price. After first communicating the changes of the event to them, they all showed understanding and support, even bearing the losses that have already been incurred, for which we are grateful.
Of course, there are also us volunteers, the countless weekends and late nights we worked together.
AC, Angus, Beth, Cindy, Claire, Jacqueline, Jiaxin, Jimmy, Josie, Joyce, Kane, Laraine, Leia, Lynn, Mignon, Purple, Qian, Renee, Suizi, Tian, Victon, Wanwan, Ying, Yuting
And you, all the Attendees, Supporters, and Patrons, thank you for doing your bit.
During the key visual design process, the initial design by the designer was to turn all the small dots into the same color, but the final version we chose was the small dots maintaining different colors even when they become part of the sum. We want to tell everyone: creating change does not necessarily require great achievements or huge sacrifices. As long as you do your bit, or even just hold onto "what's expected of you", it may have a profound impact. At the same time, you don't have to change yourself.
Works in progress
Final poster
TEDxGuangzhou is now licensed to the original TEDxXiguan team. In the past 7 years, TEDxXiguan team has organized over 10 events and gathered more than 5,000 live audiences. It is a Guangzhou based event with a global reach, a platform for creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking.
Since December of 2019, TED has granted the TEDxGuangzhou license to this team. TEDxGuangzhou will continue to create platforms, spread ideas, and initiate discussions, in order to present more possibilities and help people to form a deeper understanding of the world.
TEDxGuangzhou is a non-profit, volunteer-organized event. Not even the speakers get paid for sharing their ideas.
分享新知，引发讨论，展现可能性
Ideas, conversations, possibilities
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www.tedxguangzhou.org
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