22 July 2007

TED's Emeka Okafor on the conversation after TEDGlobal

As Program Director for TEDGlobal2007, Emeka Okafor worked with TED Curator Chris Anderson and the TED team to assemble a list of speakers that spoke to the heart of the new Africa -- the "cheetah generation" of inventors and investors, policymakers and bloggers, who are bringing new energy to the continent. We spoke to Emeka -- who's an entrepreneur and multiple blogger himself -- about life since TEDGlobal:

First -- have you recovered?

Yes, it's been a blissful recovery to see the continued strength of post-conference conversations.

Have you been reading the coverage of the conference since it ended? What do you think about the difference between the mainstream press coverage and the blog coverage?

The MSM press completely missed the zeitgeist that the conference tapped into. I wonder, did they go to a different conference? My thinking is that they proved to be one of the key reservoirs of preconceived thinking about the continent.

The blogosphere conversely provided everything that one would expect from the MSM and much much more. We tend to forget that not a single TEDTalk from TEDGlobal has been released yet -- it seems as if a good portion have. The blogs have excelled themselves in reportage, analysis, opinions, post-TEDGlobal initiative/project planning, etc.

What are some of the plans you've heard about that are inspired by TEDGlobal?

+ The AfricanLoft blog is hosting a carnival that is infused with TEDGlobal ideas.

+ Afrigadget has a proposal for "A strategy for supporting innovative entrepreneurs in Africa"

+ Jen Brea asks "there are tons of people out there doing projects who would like to know how to do them better? Or differently? What kind of forum could be created for brainstorming, critiquing, and improving upon existing ideas and models?"

+ Tunji Lardner, TED Fellow and founder of WangoNet, is looking at "unlocking products from various research institutes in Nigeria, we intend to scientifically bundle them and them market them."

... and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In the week to come, watch for more news from TEDGlobal's continuing conversation, and guest posts from conference bloggers.

Premiering Wednesday, August 1: The first TEDTalks from TEDGlobal2007!

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