PORTLAND, Ore. — KGW aired the second in a series of collaborations with TEDxPortland on Wednesday night called “Kindness & Community.”
If you’re not familiar with TEDx and TEDxPortland, their events are all about ideas shared, about community, personal stories and celebration. In KGW’s first collaboration with TEDxPortland earlier this year, History & Hope, we explored social justice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
Wednesday night’s “Kindness & Community” special explored how we all have the power to make positive change. Can you run a city, budgets, transportation and social services on a platform of kindness? That was one of the many questions that we delved into.
Watch now: TEDxPortland | Kindness & Community
Among the speakers that were featured during “Kindness & Community” was former Anaheim, California, Mayor Tom Tait, who centered his administration on kindness and saw the community grow and become less divided.
We also heard from Kate Thresher, a local comedian who aimed to create an opportunity for reflection through her humor, openness and honesty.
In addition to those speakers, KGW anchor Brenda Braxton had an intimate conversation with Kary Youman, who announced on stage during his 2019 TEDxPortland talk that he learned the identity of his biological father, a Grammy-nominated songwriter whom he hadn’t met.
Braxton also spoke with developer Kevin Cavenaugh, who gave a talk during 2019 TEDxPortland titled “How much is enough?” Cavenaugh shared what the COVID-19 pandemic has taught him as a businessman and as a family man.
“Kindness & Community” also showcased several parts of past TEDx Portland talks, including from journalist Ann Curry, poet Asia Greene, Multnomah County judge Xiomara Torres and restaurateur Nong Poonsukwattana. The ideas from their talks have always been relevant but seem to ring especially true with the many challenges that have been presented to us this year.
You can find past TEDx presentations exclusively on the KGW/TEDxPortland YouTube playlist.
This article is part of a continuing series presented by KGW in partnership with TEDxPortland.
