USI Master of Arts in Communications student to present at Georgian TEDx event

One student from the University of Southern Indiana College of Liberal Arts will present at the Georgian TEDxTbilisi event on December 1. Salome Apkhazishvili is a first-year Master of Arts in Communication student attending USI on a Fulbright Scholarship. Tbilisi, Apkhazishvili’s hometown, is the capital and largest city of Georgia. Georgia lies at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, located between the Black and Caspian Seas. Apkhazishvili is one of the TEDx Youth participants, among eight total presenters at the conference.

Apkhazishvili will talk about Georgian political cartoons from vintage satirical Georgian newspapers and magazines. Her research began three years ago during while working on a journalism degree. She spent three months pulling cartoons from local archives and studying the history behind them. Her goal with this presentation is to show how illustration can be a powerful tool, even more powerful than words, because of its “universal value” in tackling social and economic problems. Apkhazishvili hopes that her presentation will inspire a new generation of artists and that she can help in some way restore the important tradition of creating satirical cartoons.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.

The Master of Arts in Communication at the University of Southern Indiana is a comprehensive and integrated curriculum that bridges communication studies and mass communication areas and focuses on a strategic approach to the discipline. You can find out more about the program here.