TEDxPortofSpain Sponsor Shares a Few Words at the 2016 Conference Launch

Emile Elias, Executive Chairman
NH International (Caribbean) Ltd.

My life has been one of high expectation. I expected that by now our country would have been further ahead.

So in a way, I have been looking for those ideas which would make a lasting difference to how Trinidad and Tobago governs itself. What I have learned along the way is that things happen on two levels: This starts with the intention, and then the action we take is most effective. Change is vital as is growth.We are great talkers, but there is something that makes us get stuck between the thought and the actual doing.

TEDxPortofSpain is one of the very few forums where people can speak truth to power and express their thoughts and ideas without being judged or accused of having a political agenda or towards a commercial pitch or outcome.

It is a rare safe space for ideas to percolate, bubble up and be shared.

5 years ago I did not know how this TED thing would roll out … I did not know that this group of young volunteers had the tenacity to execute a conference about ideas worth spreading, but something about what they promised inspired me to take a chance, so I gave them financial support.

5 years on I am proud to be affiliated with this vibrant, committed young community because they have succeeded in setting the bar high and producing a unique platform nationally. They have done an outstanding job in proving that our country has the potential to achieve anything we set out to.

I use the TEDxPortofSpain Conference as my annual mental health check because the speakers inspire me and make me think.

The speakers give me hope that our country has the thinkers to inspire us to change our expectations and our future, inviting us to dream again if only for a moment. These are vital elements of a thriving business sector, towards innovation, collaboration, and integration with an evolving global economy.

The TEDxPortofSpain conference is a simple activity with a profound impact.

Over these last five years, thousands of attendees leave these talks empowered with take-home tools and a sense that we as citizens of Trinidad and Tobago hold the tools for our own evolution. The TEDxPortofSpain community of volunteers thrive on these ‘ideas worth sharing’ this makes a difference to attendees and their on-line audience as it uplifts the way in which we view our country and our world. As a businessman and social activist, I am not afraid of change so doing things differently is vital for the evolution of a place and its people. Building teams that seek this out has been paramount to our success and reliance too, finding new approaches to problem-solving.

My company’s association with the TEDxPortofSpain community has continued because we believe in the power of ideas.

Looking on for 51 years now, it is clear that things thrive in community and through conversation. Emile Elias and Company began in 1965 and was joined by NH in 1995 -Driven to create and develop an efficient construction company, which was indigenously rooted. 51 years later that dream has taken us beyond Trinidad and Tobago and the region.

Some thought we were dreamers with little chance of success; we have proven them wrong again and again.

That’s how I see TEDxPortofSpain, and I invite all of you to consider partnering with us to safeguard the sustainability of this important independent initiative.

Thank You.

If you are interested in partnering with TEDxPortofSpain please feel free to contact us at this link, using the title: Partnering with Ideas Worth Spreading.