TEDxGoldenGateED Bringing Focus on Compassion in Education to the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, Calif.

Prospect Sierra and U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center are teaming to host a TEDx conference on compassion in education (http://tedxgoldengateed.org) on Saturday, June 11 at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, Calif. Tickets are available now via the website.

TEDxGoldenGateED programming is focused on compassion — the sympathetic awareness of another’s distress, coupled with the desire to alleviate their suffering. Compassion is at the heart of the world’s ethical and spiritual traditions. New scientific research suggests there are deep evolutionary roots to compassion, revealing humans to be a fundamentally kind and caring species with brain structures devoted to these emotions. Contrary to popular belief, compassion may be our natural inclination.

“Are we entering into an era of compassion? In today’s schools, the ability to imagine the needs of others, to think compassionately, and to design, innovate and act in ways that benefit others are true 21st century skills,” said Dacher Keltner, co-founder and faculty director of U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. “Encouraging greater compassion through the educational process is an idea worth spreading, in the true TED spirit.”

Featured presenters include: Yale University’s Marc Brackett; Vinicius Cantuaria, Brazilian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; Christine Carter, author of “Raising Happiness”; Pixar’s Pete Docter; Ani Chöying Drolma, a singer, educator and Buddhist nun from Nepal; Bill Frisell, guitarist, composer and bandleader; and Mary Gordon, Roots of Empathy founder, among many others.

“In the past year, Prospect Sierra has studied the skills essential to 21st century success – skills our highly academic program must nurture in our students to prepare them for excellence in high school, college and beyond. This has led us to an integrated social-emotional health curriculum designed to enhance students’ relationships and overall well-being,” said Katherine Dinh, Prospect Sierra’s Head of School. “Our deep involvement in what promises to be an inspiring and thought-provoking TEDx conference is an opportunity to share best practices and move forward the discussion on teaching compassion to our future leaders.”

Educators, education leaders, parents and others who support the important link between compassion and education are encouraged to attend TEDxGoldenGateED. The conference will also feature interactive workshops between speaker presentations. For details, please click here.

New presenters are added to the lineup routinely. Follow TEDxGoldenGateED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDxGoldenGateED or on Facebook at facebook.com/TEDxGoldenGateED. Sponsors include local companies Bath Simple LLC and Morrison & Foerster LLP.

About the Greater Good Science Center

Based at the University of California, Berkeley, the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) studies the psychology, sociology and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient and compassionate society. The GGSC is unique in its commitment to both science and practice: not only does the center sponsor groundbreaking scientific research into social and emotional well-being, it also helps people apply this research to their personal and professional lives. Since 2001, the GGSC has been at the fore of a new scientific movement to explore the roots of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior—the science of a meaningful life – and the center is without peer in its award-winning efforts to translate and disseminate this science to the public.

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.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, Calif., with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to organize local, independent TED-like events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Prospect Sierra is an independent, K - 8 school educating 450 students on two spacious, well-equipped campuses in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of only seven schools worldwide – and the only school in California, Prospect Sierra earned distinction as a “Model School of the Future” from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) for adapting its educational programs to help students develop skills essential to life in the 21st century. With exceptional teachers and staff who inspire a passion for learning, Prospect Sierra blends heart, mind and community to give its students a decided advantage in negotiating our rapidly changing global environment.

2060 Tapscott Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530

This release was published on openPR.