Vancouver, USA has its own version of the TED Talks, and they’re returning to the Kiggins Theatre at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 30. This year’s event features seven speakers.

John Furniss lost his sight when he attempted suicide at age 16. Afterward, he learned how to navigate the world using humor and his other four senses. He shares his story in “Becoming a Professional Blind Man by Learning to Look at the World in a Different Way.”

Reporter, writer, and storyteller Jim Becker has interviewed many people over the years who have survived traumatic events. Two of these stories forced him to reexamine his own life. He talks about this experience in “The Worst Thing Imaginable: The Secret to life after survival”.

One year ago, Jim West awoke in a hospital room after suffering an almost fatal stroke that destroyed nearly 400 million of brain cells. He talks about his experience and how nueroplasticity and nuerogenesis helped in his recovery during “Yes, there is Life after Stroke!”

What is the single question that can stop rejection, self-doubt, and comparing ourselves to others? Rachel O’Rourke will reveal it at “How being an underdog is your secret superpower to success”. She also talks about her own journey as an underdog.

Brad Richardson examines how a popular gathering place can shape a community in “Our Park: Esther Short Park and the Relationship between Place, Story, and Self”. Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver has a rich history as a gathering place during the past 150 years.

The clock tower at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver (left) and the Kiggins Theatre (right) (photos by Cheryl Landes)

In “Daring Daily: Affirming Self Through the Use of Counternarratives”, Debra Jenkins explains how we can use counternarratives to reject different types of rejection. Eliminating this distraction gives us the confidence to succeed at our life’s purpose.

Building self-confidence requires help from others and ourselves. How we respond to good and challenging moments in our lives can also affect our confidence. In “The Journey from Fear of Failure to Self-Confidence: It Takes a Village”, Alison Magyar explains the effects on our confidence and how we can empower ourselves to be our best and find fulfillment.

Advanced tickets are sold out, but a limited number is available for $18 each at the Kiggins Theatre Box Office starting an hour before Vantalks starts.

The Kiggins Theatre is located at 1011 Main Street in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Metered street parking is available. The metered spots are free after 6 p.m.

For more information information about Vantalks, visit vantalks.org.