Feasting on inspiration
InspireFest18 took place in June and I was reviewing my notes the other day, a little later than anticipated...
Not that the event was gone out of my mind, quite the opposite actually. Just like a delightful slow burning curry, it lingered for a while before sinking in and developing…
Under Day 1 in my notebook, I had written down “Laughter, Dreams, Tears, Humanity”. Oh yes, it is all coming back to me now… Day 2 borrowed one powerful word Liza Donnelly had used in her talk, “poignant”, and “humanity” yet again, this time in uppercase. Also another borrowed line “The best of humanity with the best of technology…”.
I remember the two-day event as a voyage, a long-haul flight during which I sat in the Bord Gais Theatre with my seat belt securely fastened. My head was buzzing and I could have stretched my legs but I didn’t want to miss one beat. One big heart beat.
This was my first InspireFest and definitely not my last…
The diversity of speakers and the quality of the talks, just the right duration, a taster or an “amuse-brain”, were simply perfect.
I marvelled at the organisation and the steady stream of presenters walking in and out. Did they hire actors to come on stage? This was a well rehearsed play and I was caught in the action.
Who else out there heard the InspireFest theme music for days after the event was over? If not the music maybe the elevator’s singular bing? Every time someone entered a room at home I could hear the music playing. I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised if Ann O’Dea had walked in to introduce my visitors… or the cat. “Countess Markievicz, here to talk about her innovative leash design for improved mouse hunting.”
The music is gone now...
I liked the intervention of the smaller humans, the young ones, showing no fear and walking on stage with confidence and resolve, full of STEAM.
And talking about small, at some point, I was frankly feeling very small, outsmarted. But I snapped out of it very quickly, this was not a game of who the heck was smarter than anybody else. These were human beings sharing their stories, sometimes their most intimate stories, in a generous and genuine way.
I came out of InspireFest with my head high and my heart full, fuller. Walking strong and ready to take on the world, wanting for people to “learn me” to borrow from Thaler Pekar.
There are so many speakers I could quote and mention. Speakers who have inspired me to do something new or different. Two concrete projects have already come out of InspireFest. One of them I can already share is that I offered my translation services to SunSaluter, to help them reach out more people in French and Spanish speaking countries. My small contribution to a global effort.
To get an idea of what InspireFest18 had to offer, you can relive the experience here.
