University of Niagara Falls Canada faculty and community leaders share transformative ideas at sold-out debut event
University of Niagara Falls Canada marked a major milestone on April 17 with the successful launch of its first-ever TEDx event, drawing a sold-out audience to The Exchange for a day of big ideas, thoughtful reflection, and forward-looking conversations.
Held as an independent TEDx event under official license from TED, TEDxUNF - Digital Mosaics: Narratives That Transform Tomorrow featured 10 compelling speakers from academia, government, and the business community. Together, they explored how ideas, data, education, and human experience intersect to shape the future.
“The goal of TEDxUNF was to create space for meaningful conversations that challenge assumptions and spark new ways of thinking,” said Raquel Benitez Rojas, event co-organizer and Associate Dean of the Master of Arts in Digital Media and Global Communications (MA DMGC) program. “Seeing a full house engage so deeply with these ideas confirms that our community is hungry for thoughtful, future-focused dialogue.”
Speakers tackled a wide range of topics from entrepreneurship, workplace, dynamics, and higher education reform to artificial intelligence, ethics, design, and the lessons embedded in failure.
Highlights included Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, who reflected on resilience and downtown revitalization in Mist Opportunities, and UNF President and Vice-Chancellor David Gray, who called for a reimagined approach to higher education Learning at the Speed of Life, one that evolves alongside student needs.
Several University of Niagara Falls Canada faculty members took the stage to showcase research and insights spanning data analytics, corruption measurement, generational communication, artificial intelligence, ethics, and algorithmic design.
Led by event co-organizer and graduating MA DMGC student Astrid Chiri, a team of nearly 30 student volunteers worked together to make the day a success, alongside the event organizing committee who spent months planning TEDxUNF.
The event reinforced the university’s growing role as a hub for ideas, innovation, and interdisciplinary conversation, locally and beyond.
Felicia Werner, Executive Director of Alumni and Community Engagement at UNF, acted as the emcee for the event. Following the talks, she hosted a post-event panel discussion where Diodati and Gray were joined by fellow speakers Cyndi McLeod, CEO of GUS North America and Dan Bordenave, CEO of Niagara Falls Innovation Hub.
Full speaker talks will soon be available for viewing on the TEDxUNF website, along with event updates and future programming details.
