Presenter: Emily Foerster

Friday, September 21
9:30pm - 11:30pm
Free - But you must register to compete in the Spleling Be
(Patrick O'Shea's Irish Pub, 123 W. Main)

The IF Spleling Be started in Louisville in 2010, and in its short existence has gained national attention on NPR as a new twist on an old favorite. Adults gather in bars for food, beer and spelling as they compete against each other in what operates much like a traditional spelling bee, with a few alterations: contestants must be at least 21 and can compete in teams of up to three people.  This is the second year of the IdeaFestival Spleling Be.  We will pit previous contestants against all new comers (who can sign-up at the event) for various prizes to be announced at IF. Come learn the newest rule of grammar: “i before e except after beer.”  

Panelists: Shankar Ram, John Reinhart,Therese White

Friday, September 21
8:00 am - 8:45 am
(Kentucky Center)
FOR ALL-ACCESS PASS HOLDERS, SPONSORS AND PRESENTERS ONLY

 Accelerating advances in technology and changing social patterns are leading to a  very different and ubnpredictable future for human health and life spans. A diverse group from the health professions and other fields, including Shankar Ram, John Reinhart and Therese White, will explore the domestic and global trends and implications of this rapidly evolving situation.

Shankar Ram Bio	John Reinhart Bio	Therese White Bio

Friday, September 21

9:00am - 12:00pm
(Kentucky Center)
Separate Registration - Target Audience is Middle Grade Students

Following along the same path as IdeaFestival, IF Origins (formerly IF Kids) provides middle grade students a chance to see how ideas and creative thinking turn into innovation. 

Presenters and facilitators  engage students on multiple levels and provide a unique opportunity to explore novel ideas and innovation across a  range of diverse disciplines…while challenging students to synthesize and apply this knowledge in new, dynamic ways. By doing this we hope students find fertile ground that encourages them to do the same. 

It is our mission that the next generation of innovation begins here.

Friday, September 21

9:00 am - 10:00 am
(Kentucky Center)

Grimanesa Amorós, born in Lima, Peru, and now based in New York,  comes to IF to discuss her fascinating, interdisciplinary art that addresses her diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research, and critical theory. She will explore how she uses sculpture, video, and lighting to create works that illuminate our notions of personal identity and community.

Sponsored by: artwithoutwalls.

 Grimanesa Amorós uses her art as an agent for empowerment to involve viewers from all different backgrounds and communities.Amorós uses her art as an agent for empowerment to involve viewers from all different backgrounds and communities. Amorós is the recipient of several grantsand has exhibited in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Speakers:Liz Cohen, Hasan Elahi, Tahir Hemphill, Sam Van Aken
Moderator: Ruby Lerner

Friday, September 21
10:30 am - 11:30 am
(Kentucky Center)

Four innovative and highly diverse Creative Capital supported artists from across the US take the IF stage to share their latest and often cutting-edge work and ideas.

Liz Cohen Photographer, performance artist Bio

Hasan Elahi Interdisicpinary artist Bio

Tahir Hemphill Creative director and multimedia artist Bio

Sam Van Aken Installation, new media artist. Bio

Speaker: Peter Van Buren

Friday, September 21
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
(Kentucky Center)

Former US Foreign Service Officer and author Peter Van Buren  provides an eyewitness account of  the complex US effort  to rebuild Iraq and his own role in “helping lose the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.”

Peter Van Buren  author of We Meant Well an eyewitness account of the civilian side of the surge—that surreal and bollixed attempt to defeat terrorism and win over Iraqis by reconstructing the world we had just destroyed. Leading a State Department Provincial Reconstruction Team on its quixotic mission, Van Buren details, with laser-like irony, his yearlong encounter with pointless projects, bureaucratic fumbling, overwhelmed soldiers, and oblivious administrators secluded in the world’s largest embassy, who fail to realize that you can’t rebuild a country without first picking up the trash.

Friday, September 21
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
(Kentucky Center)

A technology-loving comedian “from the future” and  former  Director of Digital for The Onion  discusses his new book How to be Black, which offers a poignant  and humorous look at the complexities of contemporary racial politics and personal identity.

Baratunde Thurston is a politically-active, technology-loving comedian from the future. He co-founded the black political blog, Jack and Jill Politics and formerly served as Director of Digital for The Onion.

Speaker: Tony Wagner

Friday, September 21
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
(Kentucky Center)

What’s the deal with Finland? Harvard Innovation Education Fellow Tony Wagner discusses how Finland’s schools, which are consistently ranked among the best in the world, achieve this distinction while operating on a very different set of assumptions about effective learning and teaching than the US and many other countries...including no standardized tests.  He also ties this all together with his latest book Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World.

Tony Wagner recently accepted a position as the first Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. Prior to this, he was the founder and co-director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for more than a decade.  Tony consults widely to schools, districts, and foundations around the country and internationally. His previous work experience includes twelve years as a high school teacher, K-8 principal, university professor in teacher education, and founding executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility.

Friday, September 21
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
(Kentucky Center)

Poet, professor and author Nikky Finney sheds light on the powerful synergy between art, history and life. Her fourth book of poetry, Head Off & Split, was awarded the 2011 National book Award for Poetry.

Nikky Finney was born in South Carolina, within listening distance of the sea. A child of activists, she came of age during the civil rights and Black Arts Movements. At Talladega College, nurtured by Hale Woodruff’s Amistad murals, Finney began to understand the powerful synergy between art and history. Finney has authored four books of poetry: Head Off & Split (2011); The World Is Round (2003); Rice (1995); and On Wings Made of Gauze (1985). Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky, Finney also authored Heartwood (1997), edited The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (2007), and co-founded the Affrilachian Poets.

Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths