Photos went across the screen. An artist rapped about evolution. A journalist told her story of coffee.

Speakers spoke to an audience in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre as part of the annual TEDxSMU conference on Saturday.

The Lyle School of Engineering’s  TEDxSMU, an  independently organized conference, mimics the annual TED conferences held in Long Beach and Palm Springs.

TED, short for technology, entertainment and design, is a non-profit organization aiming to bring together those who have ideas worth spreading.

Some past TED speakers have included  Jane Goodall, Bill Gates and Brian Greene.

This year’s TEDxSMU talks were simulcast live on tedxsmu.edu.

Speakers at Saturday’s conference each had 18 minutes to discuss the question, “How are we going to make it as a global community?”

Some of those who answered were scientists, graphic artists and community leaders.

Geneticist Steven Potter discussed the advances of genetic engineering and how close the human race has come to creating the perfect “designer baby.”

Bill Lively, president and CEO of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, spoke to his audience on the importance of the arts to the survival of the race.

“The arts were here long before mathematical equations,” he said, calling them evidence of our species’ consciousness.

Attendee Fernando Mujica, engineer at Texas Instruments, was inspired by the conference.

“The energy  is the main thing—it’s contagious,” he said.