Each Friday recently, we’ve been featuring a TEDTalk that was posted early on in the TED.com experiment. Today’s hidden gem is from rock star and activist Peter Gabriel, talking about WITNESS.org, a project that uses powerful user-created video and online media to fight for human rights.
He starts with a deeply moving personal story that may actually catch you off-guard. (Rives writes: “I play the first minute of this talk to my poetry students to teach them how to explain, charm, recollect and devastate.”) His point: the power of a story, and the act of building a visceral, personal connection to that story, can move mountains. Watch for astonishing video from the WITNESS project — shot by people from the most dangerous places and situations in our modern world.
More: Over on BoingBoing.tv, Xeni Jardin has a fascinating interview this week with Grace Lile, a digital archivist from WITNESS.org.