31 August 2007
Catching up with One Laptop Per Child
Update: OLPC has announced that, starting Nov. 12, it will begin selling the XO laptop to consumers through its Give 1 Get 1 program. From the site:
For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.
Or, right now, you can donate $200 to send a laptop to a child in a developing nation.
[This summer], the US news show 60 Minutes rebroadcast its segment on Nicholas Negroponte and his One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative. As Bruno Giussani has reported on the TED Blog, much news has emerged since that segment first aired in May:
+ OLPC and Intel have agreed to work together, not compete, to put laptops in the hands of every kid on the planet.
+ OLPC's chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepsen, said last month that a retail version of the laptop may be commercially available by this Christmas.
You can see more from Nicholas Negroponte here on TED.com -- he gave a rousing talk at TED2006, just days after he took a leave of absence from MIT's Media Lab to devote himself fully to One Laptop Per Child. Watch the TEDTalk and join the conversation >>
To contact Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child project, visit the OLPC website's Contacts page >>
30 August 2007
Redefining the dictionary: Erin McKean on TED.com
Is the beloved paper dictionary doomed to extinction? When does a made-up word become real? And could you use "synecdochical" in a sentence, please? In this infectiously exuberant talk, leading lexicographer Erin McKean looks at the many ways in which today's print dictionary is poised for transformation in this internet era. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:41.)
Watch Erin McKean's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Erin McKean on TED.com.
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29 August 2007
Remembering Paul MacCready
Al Seckel writes:
To all TEDsters,
It is with the greatest of sadness that we have to inform you that our very dearest friend and fellow TEDster Dr. Paul MacCready passed away on 28th August. Everyone who is reading this knows what a great and tremendous man he was, and how he devoted his entire life to making the world qualitatively a better place, and how incredibly unselfish and giving he was to all that knew him. It was no hyperbole when Time magazine named him one of the 100 greatest minds of the 20th century.
28 August 2007
Dean Kamen previews an extraordinary new prosthetic arm, on TED.com
Inventor Dean Kamen gives a 5-minute talk about the extraordinary prosthetic arm he’s developing at the request of the US Department of Defense, to help the 1,600 "kids" who've come back from Iraq without an arm (and the two dozen who’ve lost both arms). Kamen's commitment to using technology to solve problems, and his respect for the human spirit, have never been more clear than in this deeply moving clip. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 05:41.)
Watch Dean Kamen's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances, including Kamen's 2002 talk on inventing and giving.
Read more about Dean Kamen on TED.com.
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27 August 2007
Fighting slash and burn in Madagascar: African bloggers take action
At TEDGlobal2007, blogger Andriankoto Ratozamanana, of Harinjaka, gave a 3-minute talk on a developing environmental crisis: the "crazy slash and burn" of the Madagascar forest.
(To grasp the size of the problem, see this NASA image of burning in Madagascar, taken from the Terra satellite.)
This weekend, he emailed us to update the story:
A few days after TEDG, four Malagasy activists, led by myself, started a project in a remote village of the South-East region of Madagascar that strives to implement a local but comprehensive solution to the problems that the villagers are facing. All based upon the conversations that took place in Arusha.
The project is called Foko, and it is multi-pronged: tackling environmental issues that directly affect the villagers, building sustainable infrastructure, empowering the villagers -- especially the women -- to seek manageable solutions, and providing an efficient health care program.
We are focusing on battling deforestation and crazy slash and burn in Madagascar. Our actions are taking place in a village inside the Tanala region, in the heart of our most precious eastern forests -- freshly (June 2007, just after the conference in Arusha) added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Our commitment to this project is unwavering, because we feel now is the time to put into action in Madagascar the mindframe born from the TEDGlobal conference in Africa.
Foko is a nonprofit organisation funded entirely by grants and donations. As co-founder and Program Director on this project, I will be the one in the field at Madagascar, working with my three friends:
Joan Razafimaharo (blog: The Purple Corner, Montreal, Canada)
Lova Rakotomalala (blog: The Malagasy Dwarf Hippo, Indiana, USA)
Mialy A. (blog: Windows on the new World of SipaKV, Washington, USA)
We plan to drive this project via Internet and blogging.
Another TEDGlobal blogger, White African, explains how this project illustrates the transition from networking to action.
Foko's first project: Planting 10,000 trees in the village by February 2008, as part of the United Nations' Billion Tree Campaign.
24 August 2007
Bill McDonough, Reel to Reel
The information spread a few months ago: director Steven Spielberg is planning a movie (a theatrical documentary) about pioneering green architect William (Bill) McDonough, 
his work, and his "Cradle to Cradle" vision of absolute sustainability -- which Bill detailed in a 2002 book (written with Michael Braungart) and explained at TED2005 (watch his speech) and is now trying to apply everywhere, from the Googleplex to new Chinese cities.
But while Spielberg is thinking, actor Leo Di Caprio sped past, presumably in his Prius: inspired (like Spielberg) by Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", Di Caprio has produced "The 11th Hour", an eco-doc about humans creating the conditions for their own demise by destroying nature. The movie debuted at the last Cannes Film Festival; premiered in New York and Los Angeles a few days ago (read the NY Times review); and it's released across the US and Canada today (Europe and the rest of the world will have to wait). Among the academics, designers, entrepreneurs and other experts that appear in the film, narrated by Di Caprio, is Bill McDonough.
23 August 2007
Making films to make change: Jeff Skoll on TED.com
Jeff Skoll made his fortune as the first president of eBay. Now he's spending it at the movies. His company, Participant Productions, makes entertaining, issues-driven films that inspire real change -- Murderball, Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth ... Here, he talks about the people who've inspired him to do good, and about some upcoming films that will open your eyes. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:45.)
Watch Jeff Skoll's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Jeff Skoll on TED.com.
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21 August 2007
Encore from TEDGlobal2007: Vusi Mahlasela on TED.com
After Vusi Mahlasela played a 3-song set at TEDGlobal (including the moving "Thula Mama"), the audience simply wouldn't let him go. This charming encore, "Woza," showcases his brilliant guitar playing and multilingual lyrics. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 5:11.)
Watch Vusi Mahlasela's song on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Vusi Mahlasela on TED.com.
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20 August 2007
CARE Turns Down Federal Money for Aid and Turns to Investing
TEDsters have already heard this story -- from speakers Iqbal Quadir, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Ashraf Ghani, Jacqueline Novogratz, and several others at last June's TEDGLOBAL in Tanzania: developing countries need investments more than aid.
One of the world's biggest charities has now acted upon this idea. CARE, writes the New York Times, is turning down some $45 million a year in US federal financing, saying American food aid is not only plagued with inefficiencies, but also may hurt some of the very poor people it aims to help.
CARE says it will phase out by 2009 the practice of selling state-subsidized American farm products in African countries that in some cases compete with the crops of struggling local farmers (watch Jacqueline's speech for a parallel take on how donated clothes compete with local textile production). The move is controversial -- other charities are defending the current system -- but CARE has already started investing in local companies.
17 August 2007
Low-tech, high-impact design at Amy Smith's IDDS
Not all inventions need to be grandiose, complex things, Amy Smith said at TED2006: sometimes they can be simple and smart ideas that just help a lot of people (watch her speech - read summary). That's the philosophy behind her first International Development Design Summit (IDDS), which just took place at MIT, where she teaches and heads the D-Lab (understand the "D" as placeholder for both Design and Development).
The IDDS is not a conference. It's a monthlong collaborative learning program, as Jonathan Greenblatt describes in a nice wrap-up he wrote for WorldChanging:
People from locales as disparate as Brazil, Ghana, Haiti, Pakistan, and Tibet converged on MIT for the program: a month of intensive collaboration and learning. Participants self-organized into teams and were paired with mentors from top-notch design firms such as Continuum and IDEO. IDDS's rich classroom experience involved case studies and lectures taught by MIT faculty, as well as development experts (...) IDDS put forth incredibly basic design criteria. Teams were required to create innovations to serve a clear development need, to use locally available materials and to do so at a low cost.
The end products offer fresh takes on old problems, including an off-grid refrigeration unit tailored for rural areas, a low-cost greenhouse from recycled materials, and microbial power sources (a list of all the IDDS projects is available here).
Greenblatt offers more details on a specific product designed to enable efficient and hygienic water transport:
Typically, women and children in rural settings often can journey up to six miles daily to retrieve water for their families.
They frequently return to their homes carrying between 20 to 40 pounds on their backs or heads in unsound, unwieldy and often unclean vessels such as petroleum cans or ceramic pots. It's a ritualized behavior that sustains the cycle of disease, reduces human productivity and creates tremendous physical strain. An IDDS team created a striking device, SODIS Safiri, to deal with these challenges. (...) Water is carried in ergonomic, low-cost plastic pouches that can be worn like apparel. Imagine a "backpack" that can be manufactured for five dollars and efficiently bear up to four liters, or a poncho that can carry twice that amount at a cost of only seven dollars. Along with improving transport efficiency, the SODIS Safiri device capitalizes on the otherwise non-productive return journey: the transparent design facilitates solar disinfection (SODIS) of the water so that the water can be consumed upon arrival at the village. While some contaminants cannot be handled solely by ultraviolet rays, this zero-cost approach could be sufficient in many non-industrial locations where basic microbial contamination creates diseases.
Brilliant. Simple. Relevant. I can imagine Amy Smith smiling in the back of the room while the students presented this idea.
16 August 2007
Lakshmi Pratury: India turns 60, time to renew its vows
At TED2007, Lakshmi Pratury beautifully spoke about the lost art of letter-writing and its power. Founder of Tamarind Grove, which creates business and cultural links between the US and India, and a longtime TEDster, Lakshmi just posted on her blog her thoughts on the 60th anniversary of India's independence (that was yesterday, August 15):
"In most Indian states, when someone turns 60, they renew their wedding vows. (...) If India is turning 60, who would it renew its vows with and what would each party say?"
She starts by quoting India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the eve of the independence: "at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.” Then she proceeds to analyze the wows in the context of "the cause of humanity", discussing the destinies of the traditional elite (kings and princes), the middle class, the business conglomerate and tech elite (winners), and the poor, about which she says: "India has not delivered what it promised to them, but they delivered the spirit of India better than any other strata of society".
"India is in a good place today. The world is watching us and the only hindrance to India becoming a super power is India itself. (...) It is only our humility of our capabilities and a dedication to preserving our culture that can catapult India into true leadership (...) while embracing the entrepreneurial and risk taking values of the west. It is my dream that the largest democracy, India and the richest democracy, U.S can work together to create a new democracy of ideas that can change the world we live in for a better tomorrow and this is my toast to the bride and the groom as they renew their vows on the 60th birthday".
16 August 2007
Emily Oster: Cable television is good for women in India
University of Chicago economist Emily Oster went on stage at TED2007 to say that most of what we know about AIDS in Africa is wrong -- and proceeded to show data and graphs to make her case (watch the video of her speech -- or read the summary). Now she's applied her atypical lens to the effect of the introduction of cable television on gender attitudes in rural India, coming up again with surprising results.
In a recent draft paper (full text in PDF) that she wrote with Robert Jensen of Brown University after a three-year study, she argues that "the introduction of cable television is associated with improvements in women's status" and finds "significant increases in reported autonomy, decreases in the reported acceptability of beating and decreases in reported son preferences", this last point being about sex-selective abortions (rural families prefer boys). They also found "increases in female school enrollment and decreases in fertility (primarily via increased birth spacing)."
The effects are large, the two researchers argue, "equivalent in some cases to about five years of education" within the surveyed population.
These changes are "accomplished despite there being little or no direct targeted appeals" such as public-service announcements. Which brings Oster and Jensen to speculate that "it may be that cable television, with programming that features lifestyle both in urban areas and in other countries, is an effective form of persuasion, because people emulate what they perceive to be desirable behavior and attitudes".
16 August 2007
"Thula Mama": Vusi Mahlasela on TED.com
South African singer-songwriter Vusi Mahlasela was a crucial artistic voice during the fight against apartheid, and now in the new modern-day nation. Here he dedicates the beautiful song "Thula Mama" to all women -- with a special mention for his grandmother, who showed spine-tingling bravery in the face of apartheid-era police oppression. His story, voice and music will leave you speechless. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 10:18.)
Watch Vusi Mahlasela's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Vusi Mahlasela on TED.com.
NEW: Read the transcript of Vusi's introduction to this song >>
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14 August 2007
Tackling poverty with "patient capital": Jacqueline Novogratz on TED.com
Jacqueline Novogratz is pioneering new ways of tackling poverty. In her view, traditional charity rarely delivers lasting results. And commercial investors are also unwilling to seed the businesses and jobs that are needed in tough conditions. Her solution, outlined through a series of revealing personal stories, is "patient capital." This means using philanthropic funds to help "bottom of the pyramid" entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. Listening, truly listening, is key, she says, and the marketplace is the best listening device we have. The result: sustainable jobs, goods, services -- and dignity -- for the world's poorest. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 18:35.)
Watch Jacqueline Novogratz's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances, including her talk at TEDGlobal2005 in Oxford.
Read more about Jacqueline Novogratz on TED.com.
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14 August 2007
A freak blog migrates into an institution
After over two years at freakonomics.com, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner -- co-authors of the 3-million-copies "Freakonomics" -- last week moved their blog under a bigger and more institutional brand, that of the Opinion section of the New York Times' website.
Levitt spoke at TED2004 offering a preview of a chapter of "Freakonomics" titled "Why do crack dealers still live with their moms?" (watch the video) and exposing his very unconventional approach to economic analysis.
The migration of the blog wouldn't be a remarkable event (even though the blog is very interesting and highly interactive, attracting hundreds of readers' comments) were it not for two facts. The move, in a way, closes a circle: "Freakonomics" was born from a profile that Dubner wrote about Levitt for the New York Times Magazine in 2003, "The Economist of Odd Questions". It also underscores a nascent trend, that of well-known bloggers moving into newspapers' and magazines' websites, creating synergies and pooling readerships -- another step towards the hybridization of the media. The NYT is not the first to try this strategy: France's Le Monde, for example, has been doing so for a while.
12 August 2007
Wired's Anderson on Lomborg's "Cool It"
Wired editor Chris Anderson got an advance copy of Bjorn Lomborg's upcoming book Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming, and his summary is: read it, but don't follow his advice.
Lomborg (watch his TED2005 speech) argues that although global warming is clearly happening and is human-caused, the debate over what to do about it has been polluted by way too much bad science, non-science, inflamed rhetoric and outright fibs.
In the book, the Danish political scientist offers numerous examples of how much of the rhetoric over the effects of climate change doesn't stand up to scrutiny (for example: the most likely effect of climate change would be to increase, not decrease, the amount of ice in Antarctica).
"It's time to put the debate over whether human-driven climate change is happening behind us and instead focus on technologies to decarbonize the economy," writes Anderson. But climate change is only one of three strong reasons to do this, he adds: the others are economics (rising direct and indirect costs of oil and carbon fuels) and geopolitics (oil revenues prop up bad governments around the world).
There is a fourth reason that Anderson forgets, and which has been convincingly put forth by Al Gore in his TED2006 speech: it's a moral imperative.
08 August 2007
Learning Africa's stories: Chris Abani on TED.com
Novelist and poet Chris Abani believes the heart of a place can be best understood through its poems and narratives. He talks about African and Nigerian stories -- including his own story of artistic and political awakening, which began with an inventive teacher who taught him the forbidden history of his own people. How, he asks, can we reconcile stories of terror and war and corruption with one's enduring sense of pure wonder? (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 17:49.)
Watch Chris Abani's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Chris Abani on TED.com.
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06 August 2007
Training our next leaders: Patrick Awuah on TED.com
Patrick Awuah left a comfortable life in Seattle to return to Ghana and co-found a liberal arts college. Why? Because he believes that Ghana's failures in leadership -- and he gives several mind-boggling examples -- stem from a university system that fails to train real leaders. In a talk that brought the TEDGlobal audience enthusiastically to their feet, he explains how a true liberal arts education -- steeped in critical thinking, idealism, and public service -- can produce the quick-thinking, ethical leaders needed to move his country forward. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 17:42.)
Watch Patrick Awuah's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Patrick Awuah on TED.com.
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03 August 2007
100 Websites You Should Know and Use
The Web is constantly turning out new and extraordinary services many of us are unfamiliar with. During TED University at this spring's TED2007 in Monterey, Julius Wiedemann, editor in charge at Taschen GmbH, offered an ultra-fast-moving ride through sites in many different areas, from art, design and illustration, to daily news, blogs and curiosity. Now, by popular demand, here's his list of 100 websites you should know and use >>
01 August 2007
TEDGlobal Premiere: Four talks from "Africa: The Next Chapter"
Today we premiere the first online talks from this summer's extraordinary TEDGlobal: "Africa: The Next Chapter." The talks from the conference have been buzzed about around the blogosphere, and we're thrilled now to offer them as they happened. Whether or not you were with us in Arusha, you will want to check these out ... and then join the exhilarating conversation taking place about Africa's brighter future.
Four talks to kick things off.
Euvin Nadoo set the scene on day one, describing a continent poised to light up.
George Ayittey roused the audience alternating from lacerating criticism of Africa's "hippo generation" to inspiring appeal for the "cheetah generation" to arise.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the final speaker of the four days, provided a tour-de-force, telling powerful personal stories and showing how the different pieces of the aid vs trade argument, which had animated the conference all week, could be reconciled.
And 19-year-old William Kamkwamba won a standing ovation for his shy 3-minute interview, revealing how as a 14-year-old he solved his parents' energy needs in a village which had no electricity.
Over the coming months we'll continue to release ever more of these talks. These just represent the tip of the iceberg.
Chris Anderson, TED Curator
Emeka Okafor, Conference Director, TEDGlobal
01 August 2007
Premiere: William Kamkwamba on building a windmill
When he was just 14 years old, Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba built his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts, working from rough plans he found in a library book. In conversation with TED Curator Chris Anderson, Kamkwamba, now 19, tells a moving story of ingenuity and adaptation, and shares his dreams: To build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to find the funds to go back to school. This talk inspired outpourings of support from the TED community and in the blogosphere. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 04:23.)
Watch William Kamkwamba's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about William Kamkwamba on TED.com.
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01 August 2007
Premiere: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on reconciling aid and trade
After four days of intense discussion on aid versus trade at TEDGlobal 2007, it was up to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Finance Minister of Nigeria, to sum it up. She asks for the discussion to continue, and to grow more sophisticated, more nuanced. And she brilliantly refocuses the concept of foreign aid: As she points out, most Western countries could not have been built without "aid" from Africa; their rapid development relied on Africa's natural and human resources. So when the US or the UK gives aid, she says, what they are really doing is giving back. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 22:22.)
Watch Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances, including her talk from this spring's TED2007 in Monterey, CA.
Read more about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on TED.com.
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01 August 2007
Premiere: George Ayittey on Cheetahs vs. Hippos
This grab-you-by-the-throat talk by Ghanaian economist George Ayittey unleashes an almost breathtaking torrent of controlled anger toward corrupt leaders -- the "Hippos" (lazy, slow, ornery, greedy) who have ruined postcolonial Africa, he says. Why, then, does he remain optimistic? Because of the young, agile "Cheetah Generation," a "new breed of Africans" taking their futures into their own hands. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 18:00.)
Watch George Ayittey's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about George Ayittey on TED.com.
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01 August 2007
Premiere: Euvin Naidoo on the Africa You Don't Know
In the talk that opened TEDGlobal 2007 ("Africa: The Next Chapter"), South African investment banker Euvin Naidoo sets the scene, framing the conversation that would unfold over the four-day event. "What's the worst thing you've heard about Africa?" he asks. After fielding call-outs of "famine," "war," "corruption," he urges the audience to move past these preconceptions and see the broader picture of the African continent -- large, diverse, full of potential -- and shows why investing in Africa can make great business sense. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 19:13.)
Watch Euvin Naidoo's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Euvin Naidoo on TED.com.
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>> Emeka Okafor | TEDAfrica Director, blogging at Timbuktu Chronicles and Africa Unchained
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