It was a sunny Saturday morning in April, in the middle of a downtown Toronto office – this was the first general meeting of the TEDxYouth@Toronto team. Although we had just met each other, we already had to tackle our first obstacle. Our purpose that day was to discuss the theme for the November conference.

Choosing a TEDx theme is not a simple task. The theme should be broad enough to be relevant to different disciplines, has to be significant to the audience and spark new ideas and discussion.

After careful consideration and lots of deliberation, this year’s theme is “Discover __________”, where it is up to you to fill in the blank.

Discovery can occur unexpectedly or in midst of searching. It can be the beginning or the ending of a journey. Unlike inventing, which is the creation of the new, discovery unravels the existing as if for the first time. It happens when we open our minds, hearts and souls.

This theme was chosen by our team because we felt that this theme is open to a lot of interpretation and is very personal. To each member of our team, this theme has a different significance. Each one of us approaches ‘discovery’ differently. Discovery for Kelvin Lau, from the Web Development team, “is to be alive”, for Andrea Barros, from the Design team, “is an open-mind” and for Dipin Puri, from the Speakers committee, is “making a positive impact”.

What does the word ‘discovery’ mean to you? Share your ideas and fill in the blank!