Andrew Slack '02 gives TEDx talk on culture, activism

Creator of Harry Potter Alliance is pushing the power of stories

Andrew Slack ’02 is creator, co-founder, and executive director of the Harry Potter Alliance, which takes a creative approach to activism by mobilizing thousands of young people to spread love and fight for justice in the spirit of the Harry Potter novels.

At the end of September, Slack gave a TEDx Talk in Rome, speaking to more than 80 broadcasters throughout Europe about the Harry Potter Alliance and what he calls cultural dreamwork, cultural acupuncture and the power of stories to transform the world.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to spreading worthwhile ideas. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from the worlds of technology, entertainment and design. Since then its scope has broadened to include two annual conferences, the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, TED Fellows and TEDx programs.

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events at which TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group setting. These 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.