Meet Vass Bednar: TEDx speaker
Published: November 27, 2012
Vass Bednar is serious about making public policy fun.
A staff member at the School of Public Policy & Governance and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) graduate, Bednar believes policy-makers should be more “inclusive, experimental, and daring.”
Canadian decision-makers are missing out, says Bednar, by “ignoring the benefits of crowd-sourcing, gamification, and mass collaboration” and she shared that theory recently with the crowd at TEDxToronto –
Canada’s largest TEDx (independently organized) event, a platform for exceptional ideas, and a catalyst for change.
How did you come to deliver this TEDx talk?
Back in June, I read an article, “Women Need Apply” in The GridTO, a weekly city magazine, that described a problem common to both the TED (the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading) and TEDx events; namely, that they are overwhelmingly male. The article further stated that women were more likely to turn down an invitation to speak, believing that they weren’t as authoritative as someone else.
A few days later, I noted on Twitter that “Community Nominations” for TEDxToronto were extended. I clicked the link, curious as to what such a nomination entailed and saw a button on the website that said, “Click Here to Nominate Yourself.” And that’s how I went from being in the audience in the fall of 2011 and the opener in 2012.
Tell us about your work at U of T.
Two years after graduating and after a stint as a Research Associate at the Martin Prosperity Institute, I returned to the School of Public Policy & Governance as the EA to the Director. The role is modeled after EAs in the public service and the role is akin to an aide & advisor. I also manage the School’s engagement portfolio, helping design and animate policy-relevant conversations on campus.
I’m still studying the characteristics of great leaders and adventure of collaborative decision-making. In addition to my professional role at the School, I'm also an Action Canada Fellow, a distinction given to the country’s emerging leaders.
And off the clock?
The most fun of all is designing my public policy board game, “Wonx.” It’s an abstraction of federalism that simulates policy-making in a way that is both competitive and collaborative. I believe we can use a game to connect Canadians and better appreciate the mechanics of the federation.
Whether or not public policy is fun or should be more fun, I’m serious about playing around with it.
