Better off TED: A day of demonstrating democratic principles comes to Philadelphia

Two hundred and fifty years after the Founding Fathers gathered in Philadelphia to wrangle a nascent democracy, the nation’s first capital will again host a major convening of civic thinkers – this time, contemplating democracy at a figurative and symbolic turning point.

TED Democracy, taking place this Saturday at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, brings diverse perspectives to the city’s semiquincentennial observation. The daylong event will feature 13 full-length talks and another half-dozen speakers on topics as varied as literacy, immigration, economics and the American workforce.

“What makes it so special is that it’s happening here in America’s birthplace – the place where America’s thought leaders are still talking,” said Angela Val, the president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, which is co-hosting along with TED. “We’re continuing that conversation, and we’re broadening what we’re talking about: what democracy means in our daily lives, not only in America, but around the world – and what it means for us to keep it.”

An expected 1,700 attendees will find salon-style discussion groups and nourishment with distinctly Philadelphian flavors – from water ice to cheesesteaks and pretzels – “so people really understand that they’re here in Philadelphia,” noted Val. In the spirit of democracy, those unable to walk in Benjamin Franklin’s footsteps can still participate through another Franklin legacy – public libraries, many of which are partnering to broadcast TED Democracy at locations nationwide.

Speakers include “library champion” Shamichael Hallman, a senior director at the Urban Libraries Council; AI ethicist Jen Golbeck, a University of Maryland professor; the “recovering politician” and political theorist Terrell Bouricius, late of the Vermont legislature; the “reparations architect” Aria Florant, who teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School of government; and Tami Pyfer, a longtime Utah-based public servant who co-created the Dignity Index to measure civility in speech.

The event will also feature written reflections from Americans without such lofty platforms. Last year, Visit Philadelphia’s “Dear Democracy” initiative launched a traveling van from the National Constitution Center for a year-long road trip to collect ordinary Americans’ thoughts on government and society. The vehicle made stops in such locations as Lancaster, New York’s Stonewall National Monument, Atlanta’s civil rights landmarks and Chicago’s Navy Pier, “bringing the voices of the country into the conversation,” said Val.

This weekend marks the culmination of a two-year partnership with the TED organization, timed to the semiquincentennial, that brought the TED Democracy Speaker Series to Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts for periodic examinations of our civic moment. That moment has, for many, felt increasingly fraught, as a polarized and increasingly violent political climate, war and rising economic insecurity have complicated the conversation.

“The 250th anniversary of our country in Philadelphia is weighty,” observed the Bucks County-based media consultant and commentator Sally Kohn, another speaker. “The bar is higher; the meaning of the moment is higher.”

According to Val, the pessimism that many feel about the current state of American democracy has only made the long-planned convening more critical. “America is a work in progress,” she opined. “Democracy has been the foundation of allowing us to take those leaps forward, but also back – to examine ourselves and make changes.”

One participant with historical perspective is Donna Frisby-Greenwood, a senior vice president at the Pew Charitable Trusts, which is a lead supporter of the event. Thirty-some years ago, during the peak of the MTV era, Frisby-Greenwood led the youth democracy organization Rock the Vote; on Saturday, she’ll join Rock the Vote’s current president, Carolyn DeWitt, to reflect on that groundbreaking get-out-the-vote effort, its legacy “and how it continues to engage young people in the political process today, but in a different way,” she said.

Pew Research Center President Michael Dimock will be among TED Democracy’s featured speakers, and experts from Pew’s Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative will be on hand to share local insights on how democracy has played out in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, looking at trends around such data as median incomes, demographics and housing.

“We’re nonpartisan, TED is nonpartisan, and Visit Philly is nonpartisan,” said Frisby-Greenwood. TED Democracy “is an opportunity to bring these three nonpartisan institutions together to really talk about where we’re headed as a country … to hear different perspectives. And, hopefully, for all of us to find common ground.”