C

onductor Benjamin Zander played a piece by Chopin. He stopped at times to explain why Chopin used certain notes in the arrangement. His mission: to make the audience fall in love with classical music.

On Friday night, dozens of people flocked to an auditorium in Central Jakarta to watch Zander perform his magic, or rather, a video of him.

The event brought together enthusiasts of Ted.com, a website where videos of lectures from the world's leading thinkers and doers on mind-altering topics are made available online.

"At first we thought the three of us were the only ones who watched and loved Ted.com, but when we posted an invitation to the event on Facebook, and more than a hundred RSVPed," Arief Aziz, one of the three pioneers of TEDx Jakarta, said.

The event, he said, facilitated discussions about the lecture videos available on the website.

"We are also planning to stage mini-conferences, invite inspiring local speakers with great ideas to share," he said, adding he was planning to hold the event monthly from July.

The urge to share the feeling that overwhelmed him and his friends every time they watched a video from the website spawned the idea to bring TED to Jakarta, Arief said.

Anantya, one of the event's attendees, said she had been a fan of the website since about a year ago.

"So I was thrilled they brought this event to Jakarta, as it surely enriches my knowledge," she said.

At the first TEDx Jakarta, Arief said he found people who are also passionate about TED. Therefore, he hopes the event will spread to other cities and communities.

"I hope to see a TEDx Bandung or Bali or Depok, or even a TEDx Utan Kayu," he said, referring to a Jakarta-based literature community.

Jakarta is home to other similar events like the Pecha Kucha Night and FreSh, events staged by local thinkers and practitioners. At Pecha Kucha, which means chit chat in Japanese, local designers, artists and architects share their work, creative processes and ideas in a 20-slide presentation.

FreSh (Freedom of Sharing) is held monthly and offers thematic presentations on a broad set of issues in the online industry.

"TEDx Jakarta is different in the way we screen presentations of speakers from all over the world. Therefore we get to discuss great ideas not only from local minds, but also from those abroad," Arief said.

However, he is also planning to collaborate with other similar event organizers.

"I think it will be great if we can screen videos from Pecha Kucha and vice versa. I would definitely seek such cooperation, as it would mean more inspiration to share, right?"

TEDx Jakarta, he said, aims to inspire as many people as possible.