Elliot Blade of TEDxAuckland - People of Asuwere

People of Asuwere - Elliot Blade

TEDxAuckland
We caught up with long-time member and TEDx producer Elliot Blade to hear more about what to expect for the upcoming TEDxAuckland on May 22nd. Elliot has produced over 17 shows with TEDx since 2010. 

What are some of the most memorable events to date?
Definitely one of the highlights would have been hosting an event in complete darkness. The hosts were all blind and were the only ones who could show patrons to their seats and guide them for the whole night. With a three course dinner and two speakers, no one could tell where anyone was seated. 


What is the best part about the events?
Everyone meets a lot of new people which can be quite life changing. Following the events, people will email and say “I've left my job, I am finally doing this thing I have always wanted to do and have the right people around me to go do that”, be it a not for profit or social enterprise. People have even met their partners. There are even a few TEDx babies out there!

We don’t have one particular type of person attending the event which is cool. The age range is from 16 - 96 and quite evenly distributed across that, from every different background, all coming together at TEDx looking for new ideas. There's a very similar story after every event, where people came to see one or two speakers and walked away being blown away by others. So it’s really about coming for the breadth of the experience rather than a single speaker.


What’s kept you doing it for so long?
The attendees have really kept us doing it, seeing how much they get out of it. Also the cohorts of speakers each year that all become friends through the rehearsal process and we become friends with them, which grows bigger with every event. That speaker community is something really special.

But honestly something we have learnt is everyone in the audience is just as impressive as the speakers themselves. They might not have a talk yet, but are just as impressive people.

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Elliot wears our Cotton Silk Crew available for $230 as a one-off or $100 via membership.

Head to TEDx Auckland to purchase tickets and use the code ASUWEREM2021 for an exclusive discount to Asuwere members.