TEDxFSU - Liz Joyner - Mixing it up at the Village Square

About the Talker:
Executive Director, The Village Square
Tallahassee, Florida

Liz Joyner is the Executive Director of The Village Square (www.tothevillagesquare.org), a nonprofit dedicated to reviving civil and factual discourse in the public square. She holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from FSU, with professional experience in inpatient psychiatry, a job with a lot in common with trying to heal something as intractably broken as the political dialogue. Liz came out of semi-retirement as a stay-at-home mom because her experience working for numerous political campaigns convinced her that the way we work out our disagreements in today's public square is fundamentally flawed. She founded The Village Square with Democratic City Commissioner Allan Katz and Republican Tallahassee Community College President Bill Law, based on their strong across-the-aisle friendship. Liz is a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation fellow. She has one very patient husband and two wonderful girls, in addition to a dog and a cat who are best friends.

About the Talk:
Evidence shows we're living in a society that's increasingly polarized along partisan lines, partly because our geographical communities are being replaced by ideological communities where we seek out people who think just like we do. More often we're choosing the relative comfort of agreement over the challenge of engaging in a struggle of ideas, a fundamental American concept which our founders believed would protect the citizens of their fledgling democracy. The solution is both nearly impossible and completely simple.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• TEDx
• TEDxFSU
• English
• United States
• Tallahassee
• civility
• conversations
• democrat
• republican
• the village square