Dr.John Siburt, President and COO of CitySquare, spoke last month at Abilene Christian University’s first ever TEDx event. The ACU grad returned to his alma mater as one of twelve speakers to participate in the one day conference entitled (re)think, calling attendees to question the status quo and consider how a single individual’s idea might radically alter an entire community.

In his role at CitySquare, the Dallas-based nonprofit that has been dedicated to fighting the causes and effects of poverty for more than 25 years, Dr. Siburt has identified a major empathy gap in contemporary culture. His TEDxACU talk challenged audience members to rethink relationships and community, considering how we might focus on these as tools in the war against poverty that help people “move away from intolerance, beyond tolerance, and into true community.”

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. The TEDx Program is designed to help communities, organizations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences.

You can listen to Dr. Siburt’s talk by going to http://larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/ and to find out more about CitySquare’s work fighting the causes and effects of poverty, go to www.CitySquare.org .