The Hack:
Haggle, haggle, haggle
TEDxLeicester, located in the United Kingdom, is organized by Siddhi Trivedi, who has a unique story; she was born in Tanzania, educated in the UK and the United States and has lived and worked across three continents. Truly a global citizen.
She started as the TEDxLeicester project manager in 2015 and is most proud of the work she and her team did in 2017, hosting the very first TEDx event inside a UK prison. The aim was to build collaborative partnerships to break the cycle of re-offending. She spends a good part of the conversation detailing the challenges of producing an event inside prison walls.
I loved how she phrased what it means to be an organizer, and she said that through conversations she could build partnerships, and through them, she builds opportunities. She has a unique point of view about partners and finding connections for them as a result of being involved with the event.
As a TEDx organizer, we open doors for so many people around the world." TEDxLeicester, Siddhi Trivedi, Organizer
The Lightning Round
Tell us a bit about your background and your TEDx origin story.
She started as a project manager at TEDxLeicester in 2015. She was invited by the oldest TEDx licensee at the time, Allan Hayes.
How many TEDx events have you worked with or produced?
She's attended the Summit, and produced main events and Salons locally, including the event in prison.
What makes your TEDx unique?
Leicester is the first city in the UK where there is an ethnic majority. However, each of the minorities lives in silos as immigrants. She seeks to create collaborative spaces to build community.
What’s your Superpower?
Organizing, Collaborating, Partnering
What was the biggest surprise while working on your event?
How amazing the global TEDx tribe is, especially when you need help.
Every event has its challenges, what was the biggest dragon you had to overcome?
Sustainability. Building a resilient team that is motivated to tackle the event year after year.
What’s one piece of advice you have for veteran organizers? For first-timers?
Send a team member to other TEDx events in the region.
Looking forward to your next event, what excites you the most?
Creating a vision for the city. It's been in the bottom three communities in the UK according to living standards, and she'd like to see TEDx be a part of changing that.
What’s a TEDx event that you’d like to attend?
Any one located in Latin America
The show is called Hacking the Red Circle, so what's your best hack?
Haggle, haggle, haggle. Barter. Think about what people want. It's not always money.