Ted Talks
Development & Initiatives
To address the problem of counterfeit goods, African entrepreneurs like Bright Simons have come up with innovative and effective ways to confirm products are genuine. Now he asks: Why aren't these solutions everywhere? From password-protected medicines to digitally certified crops, Simons demonstrates the power of local ideas -- and calls on the rest of the world to listen up.
Each year, one billion children experience violence at home, at school, online or in their communities, says child safety advocate Howard Taylor. The problem is social, economic, political -- and urgent. In an eye-opening talk, Taylor shows why we have an unprecedented opportunity right now to end violence against children and create a better future for every child.
Haaziq Kazi was 11-years-old when he first prototyped ERVIS, his invention to clean plastic from the surface of the ocean. In this talk, he shares how ERVIS has progressed in the years since and the lessons he learned about tenacity and adaptability along the way.
As Asian economies and governments continue to gain power, the West needs to find ways to adapt to the new global order, says author and diplomat Kishore Mahbubani. In an insightful look at international politics, Mahbubani shares a three-part strategy that Western governments can use to recover power and improve relations with the rest of the world.
The world's top 20 internet companies come from just two countries -- the US and China -- and they show no signs of slowing down (think Amazon and Alibaba, respectively). We need a more equitable digital revolution to spread the wealth or else face massive global inequality, says digital strategist François Candelon. His solution? To urge governments and tech titans to invest their brainpower for win-win strategic partnerships on a micro and macro level. Our brave new digital world depends on it.
"We are living in a world that is tantalizingly close to ensuring that no one need die of hunger or malaria or diarrhea," says economist Michael Green. To help spur progress, back in 2015 the United Nations drew up a set of 17 goals around important factors like health, education and equality. In this data-packed talk, Green shares his analysis on the steps each country has (or hasn't) made toward these Sustainable Development Goals -- and offers new ideas on what needs to change so we can achieve them.
By 2050, an estimated 10 billion people will live on earth. How are we going to provide everybody with basic needs while also avoiding the worst impacts of climate change? In a talk packed with wit and wisdom, science journalist Charles C. Mann breaks down the proposed solutions and finds that the answers fall into two camps -- wizards and prophets -- while offering his own take on the best path to survival.
Why do we have to choose between nationalism and globalism, between loving our countries and caring for the world? In a talk with lessons for avowed nationalists and globalists alike, Wanis Kabbaj explains how we can challenge this polarizing, binary thinking -- and simultaneously be proud citizens of both our countries and the world.
This talk will answer the question of why medicine and international development, despite having similar pursuits, are met with disproportionate levels of public criticism. She will draw on her international experience in Ghana, epistemology, and research to make comparisons regarding the goals, professional standards, and self-consciousness of each discipline, ultimately providing insight into how the two fields of study can learn from each other. Sauliha’s talk embodies the importance of self-reflection in an interdisciplinary mirror, serving this year’s theme of “Vision 2020”.
Our generation is the last one that has the opportunity to take action to mitigate climate change and stop this environmental degradation before it is too late. It's our future that's being decided but by others – by adults who would not live through that future. We, children and youth must have opportunities to decide our own destiny.
Pakistan contributes less than one percent to the global greenhouse gas emissions perpetrating climate change, yet one-third of the country was recently inundated with "biblical" floods that killed hundreds and displaced millions. If we're to move towards a sustainable future in the wake of such tragedies, the response will require more than just infrastructure repairs and a return to the status quo, says columnist Huma Yusuf. She shares a vision for global climate diplomacy where the countries responsible for pollution pay reparations for the damage they've caused, while developing countries bring forward a clean, green future.
Communication & Cultures
Is it possible, in these divisive times, to converse with someone you share few similarities with? In this optimistic and practical talk, US Representative Abigail Spanberger describes how running for office compelled her to interact with people from all walks of life and ask questions that could help transcend differences and foster collaboration.
Our lives, and our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language -- from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian -- that suggest the answer is a resounding yes. "The beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is," Boroditsky says. "Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000."
While the idea of a global language is appealing – especially in the age of globalization – it often creates “invisible misunderstandings”. This can lead to harmless awkwardness in the best case or have dire political, economic, and social impacts in the worst case. In this talk, Helena explores where these misunderstandings come from, and how can we work to avoid them.
We all see the world through cultural glasses, by changing glasses you can change the way you perceive the behaviours of others. Julien S. Bourrelle believes that we have the opportunity to increase the competitiveness of businesses and to create a better functioning multicultural society by helping people to communicate better across cultures. Julien is a Canadian rocket scientist who lived within various cultures these last 15 years. It has shaped his perception and expectations. His “Mondå” project provides tools to communicate better across cultures, helping us to be more aware of how our behaviours can be interpreted differently than intended by people of other cultures.
Sukham and her family have seen much of the continent since her parents moved to America in 2000. They have lived in four different states, and even Canada, not to mention the countless weeks of road trip adventures. Her parents are from Punjab, a state in northern India, and growing up they put effort into connecting their children to this heritage. As a result, Sukham has as passion for learning as much as possible about her language and traditions. She is fluent in not only Punjabi, but also French as her interest in culture has spread to other areas of her life. This talk includes her experience in embracing her culture.
Awareness & Perspectives
Some of the world's most significant archaeological sites are located in disputed or dangerous regions. Deriving lessons from her own scientific expeditions to Yemen, palaeoanthropologist and standup comic Ella Al-Shamahi explains what the world loses when researchers are unable (or unwilling) to work in areas deemed unstable.
When Chika Okoro read the casting call for one of her favorite films, she noticed that actresses with darker skin were assigned lesser roles —prompting her to address a phenomenon she'd experienced all her life: colorism. In this eye-opening talk, Okoro shares coping strategies along with steps that could help eliminate this insidious and destructive mindset of discrimination.
Around the world, indigenous food cultures disappear because of industrialized agriculture and a shifting, often Western-influenced concept of the ideal diet. Journalist and food researcher Aparna Pallavi makes an urgent case for preserving these cultures and shedding the stigma-laden attitudes that are driving them into extinction.
The world's dietary habits threaten to collapse our ecosystem. Environmentalist and entrepreneur Pat Crowley believes we need to find alternative sources of nutrients, making the case for insects as our next culinary frontier.
As the former parliamentary leader of the opposition party, Lindiwe Mazibuko put her fair share of time and effort into South African politics. In this rousing talk, she turns to the African diaspora and makes a case for its members to return to their home countries and devote themselves to public service. "There's nobody waiting in the wings to save us from ourselves," she says. "There's just us."
How is an 11 year old is more concerned about the world and why, than the real adults. Oviya Singh is 11 years old and her prowess in public speaking cannot remain unnoticed when the plethora of awards she has won points to it as a fact.
“Dissent can benefit organizations and those who express it as well,” says Jeffrey Kassing, a researcher who studies organizational dissent. Dr. Kassing shares why dissent is not only an inherent component of hierarchy, but an essential factor in creating a better workplace environment.
