Entries from TED Blog tagged with 'Africa'
07 October 2009
The danger of a single story: Chimamanda Adichie on TED.com
Our lives, 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. (Recorded at TEDGlobal, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 18:49)
Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/3k
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19 August 2009
TEDxKibera: From a humble location comes a visionary event
On Saturday August 15, a TEDx event was held in Kibera, the largest squatter city in Africa and home to nearly a million Kenyans. Suraj Sudhakar, an Acumen Fellow, hosted the ambitious event. Sudhakar has begun several projects in low-income communities, from improving housing conditions through financial consolidation to sanitation by promotion of the Eco-toilet concept. His vision for the TEDx conference was to spark discussion on subjects other than HIV/AIDS and poverty, which are commonly associated with Kibera.
Speakers included Tonee Ndungu of the Kenya Wazimba Youth Foundation which uses mobile phones for large-scale networking and communication, Otieno Gomba founder of Ghetto Art, a studio for Kibera's artists, and software developer and tech blogger Wilfred Mworia.
Mworia has an engaging account of the afternoon on his blog, and provides a link to his Flickr account with many photos of this inspirational event. For even more photos, check out Tonee Ndungu's twitpics.
The event in Mworia's words:
I attended TEDxNairobi a week earlier which was a much much bigger event at a bigger venue. But the interesting thing is, even being in this smaller event being held in the middle of a slum, in a shanty church building, surrounding by the dirt and grime of Kibera… there was still great inspiration (if not greater) and great ideas! And I think that’s the beauty of TED, the fact that despite where you are, in whatever circumstances, people (if motivated enough) will always come up with great ‘ideas worth sharing’! And that says something very deep about the human spirit and the dignity of human beings. That whether rich or poor we all have that capacity for creativity.
For more insight on squatter cities like Kibera, watch Stewart Brand's 2006 TED Talk and Robert Neuwirth's 2005 TED Talk.
Photo: Tonee Ndungu at TEDxKibera August 15, 2009, in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Wilfred Mworia
05 May 2009
Q&A with TEDFellow Erik Hersman: When technology goes African
In his 2009 TEDTalk, techno-blogger Erik Hersman breaks down the framework of and uses for Ushahidi, a crisis reporting platform that emerged to help Kenyans avoid violence during riots after the 2008 elections. During this follow-up interview with the TEDBlog, he talks about his African ties, how the TEDFellows program has impacted him and the very beginnings of Ushahidi.
How did Ushahidi begin? We know it began during the aftermath of the 2008 Kenyan elections, but who were the key players and how did they come to contact each other and form this system?
It was very, very fast and loose. We quickly combined our thoughts around the basic idea via Skype and then got the whole thing going in a couple days. Ory, Juliana, Daudi and I knew each other from the Kenyan blogosphere, and as past TEDAfrica Fellows. I knew David Kobia, our lead developer from an interview I had done of him on my WhiteAfrican blog.
Could you give some examples, from your recollections, of the most successful moments of Ushahidi -- moments where you knew you were part of an important structure?
The first week was the first indicator. To us, the system was rudimentary, but it worked. To outsiders, especially those in the humanitarian field, it was the first time they had really seen a technology tool used to bypass the establishment and go directly to ordinary people on the ground to get information. It seemed like the only thing to do to us, but it was revolutionary to them.
The other big moments were when we started to get approached by people and organizations from the rest of the world asking us to create one for them. Needless to say, we couldn't due to our having our own full-time jobs, but it proved there was a need.
Finally, having Al Jazeera pick the tool up for use to collect and monitor the Gaza situation back in January was big. It was the first time an established media organization had used our tool.
What are the elements of the system that contribute most to its success? Anonymity of reports, ability of the population to vote credibility of reports -- which to you are the most important or essential?
Well, I think the biggest thing is that Ushahidi fills the gap. It makes it easy for the traditionally unconnected, those in developing world countries and in rural areas, to start sending information in and getting alerts of things that happen around them -- all from a simple SMS only enabled mobile phone.
Beyond that there are two very important issues. First, the need for anonymity in environments where you can't trust the governing bodies. Second, a way to verify information as it comes in.
Just to probe, it seems that Al Jazeera is the only non-grassroots media group using Ushahidi? Why do you think this is? What makes Al Jazeera and Ushahidi a good fit?
There are some other NGOs using Ushahidi, but Al Jazeera is the largest organization using it to date. I happened to be in Qatar last week and had the chance to visit Al Jazeera's new media team in person. We spent a good portion of the day talking about what they're trying to do and why Ushahidi makes sense for them. It turns out that they're really trying to stretch the traditional news in new ways. Ushahidi isn't the only tool in their repertoire as they get into ways to both gather and disseminate news via mobiles. Finally, because Al Jazeera is largely focused on the parts of the world that most other large media organizations are not, it's a good fit since that's where Ushahidi works best as well.
READ MORE: Erik talks about his connection to Africa, attending TED2009, the TEDFellows program and more.
13 July 2008
Inspiring stories from students at AIMS
From the TED Prize blog:
More AIMS Student Talks: Be inspired by the stories of current and former AIMS students -- young Africans whose lives have been changed through access to a top-notch scientific education at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Every two weeks, the TED Prize team uploads three talks from the May 12 launch party for the NextEinstein initiative in South Africa (part of the TED Prize wish of physicist Neil Turok). This week we've posted talks from two students, Daphne and Viani, as well as a musical performance by Vusi Mahlasela, who dedicates a song to the students of AIMS.
Watch Daphne's talk below, and see many more amazing talks and performances on the NextEinstein YouTube Channel.
Get frequent updates on the TED Prize wishes via the TED Prize blog RSS feed.
16 June 2008
AfriGadget is one of Time's 50 best websites of 2008
AfriGadget, the fascinating blog that rounds up inventions and hacks from around the African continent, was just named one of Time magazine's 50 best websites of the year. Founded by TED Fellow Erik Hersman (also one of the brains behind Ushahidi), AfriGadget is a vital -- and inspiring -- look at creativity and engineering brilliance on a very, very low budget.
25 October 2007
Building an economic market in Ethiopia: Eleni Gabre-Madhin on TED.com
Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world's largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket. "There is no place in the world and no time in history that small farmers have had to bear the burden of risk that African farmers bear today," she says. "But I'm not here to lament or wring my hands. I'm here to tell you that change is in the air." (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 20:46.)
Watch Eleni Gabre-Madhin's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Eleni Gabre-Madhin on TED.com.
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18 September 2007
Searching for humanity's roots: Zeresenay Alemseged on TED.com
Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged has been digging the badlands of Ethiopia, looking for clues to humanity's origins. Here he talks about one of his most exciting finds: the 3.3-million-year-old bones of Selam, a 3-year-old hominid child, from the species Australopithecus afarensis. In studying Selam's tiny bones, Alemseged is searching for the points at which we humans became human. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 16:08.)
Watch Zeresenay Alemseged's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Zeresenay Alemseged on TED.com.
04 September 2007
Taking a new look at Africa: Andrew Mwenda on TED.com
Andrew Mwenda is a journalist from Uganda and an active critic of many forms of Western aid to Africa. In this provocative talk, he asks us to reframe the "African question" -- to look beyond the media's stories of poverty, civil war and helplessness and see the opportunities for creating wealth and happiness throughout the continent. Most important, he says, the solution to Africa's problems is not more aid. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 17:19.)
Watch Andrew Mwenda's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Andrew Mwenda on TED.com.
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.
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.
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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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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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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31 July 2007
"The African spirit pushes through"
Guest blogger David McQueen was an enthusiastic reporter, photographer and networker at TEDGlobal 2007. He's a speaker, writer, music executive and youth worker whose busy blog covers issues around Africa and general personal development -- two interests that intersected at TEDGlobal, as he writes below.
Being very passionate about the continent of Africa, I love to put my money where my mouth is. I love to write about Africa, to meet people across the Diaspora, and to be engaged in discussions with people who have varied views on the beautiful continent. However, the one thing I was not able to do as frequently as I could was visit Africa, to get involved on the ground.
Earlier this year, however, a good stroke of fortune allowed me to be a fellow at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania. A place where young and old (am somewhere in between) movers and shakers for the next chapter of Africa could come to share ideas and thoughts. All of my friends were both happy and green with envy of the opportunity that came my way.
Having landed in the verdant country that was Tanzania, I got to meet a number of people who I had only ever spoken to online before. I met some celebrities like Bono and Larry Page ("Hi Larry, great software you have there!"), and was not too far from the president of Tanzani himself, and some scary-looking bodyguards. For those of us who attended, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Amazing friendships were formed and continue on.
A number of weeks later, the conversation continues. Many of us have spoken on the phone, emailed, planned a potential reunion and collectively contribute online in our very own Google Group. The buzz continues. The videos will be released soon, and my wife knows that I will be back to the continent of my ancestors anytime soon.
Collectively, many of us dream of a brighter future. Of course, it won't be the easiest passage readdressing the history, turmoil and the massive health problems we are facing, but heck the African spirit pushes through and will reclaim itself, even if in part as a result of the meeting of minds of those in that glorious conference organised by TED. Watch this space.
Watch for the first TEDTalks from this conference, premiering Wednesday, August 1, on TED.com.
28 July 2007
From "The Art of Conference Blogging"
Ethan Zuckerman blogged TEDGlobal 2007 (and several past TEDs). Every session. Every speaker (save a few). Every day for four days. His near-real-time blogging was a crucial record of this conference. Many comments were made about his ability to turn out fully formed, thoughtful posts almost instantly.
Just as important, his posts helped other TEDGlobal bloggers begin the conversations that have continued ever since. The roster of TEDGlobal bloggers, working together, told the story of this conference, as he writes in the excerpt below, taken (with his permission) from his post "The 5-4-3 Double Play, or the Art of Conference Blogging" -- which offers his 10 keys to conference blogging.
Collaborate:
"Hash," writing about bloggers at the TEDGlobal conference in Arusha, used the Swahili term “harambee” to describe the ideal operation of a group of bloggers at a conference:
Harambee is a Swahili term that means “pulling together”. That mentality, the willingness to work together, was what made it possible to cover a busy event like TEDGlobal ... Some of us decided to take pictures, some did interviews between sessions and others decided to summarize the day. Everyone who blogs has their own voice, and I think it showed in the coverage. What could have been an amalgamation of everyone saying the same thing turned into a fairly well-rounded coverarge of the event.
My goal in blogging a conference is not to be the sole, authoritative voice of the blogosphere. It’s to do what I enjoy doing: writing detailed summaries of each sessions. But that means I can’t take photos of the speakers on stage, can’t interview speakers between sessions, can’t monitor coverage of the conference in the blogosphere. At TED, we were able to split up the tasks, so that Hash and Andrew took photos, Ndesanjo blogged in Swahili, Juliana did interviews, June and Emily monitored blogosphere coverage, etc. It’s a whole lot more fun to blog these events in groups, even if that means sitting next to someone trying to liveblog at the same time as you are, arguing about how to spell a word the speaker has just uttered.
Watch for the first TEDTalks from this conference, premiering Wednesday, August 1, on TED.com.
26 July 2007
Powerful new documentary on the Darfur genocide
TED Curator Chris Anderson writes: Last night, I attended the New York premiere of The Devil Came on Horseback, a searing documentary about Darfur, told through the eyes of US military observer Brian Steidle, whose photographs of the ongoing genocide there exploded onto the world two years ago. They raised awareness then, and the new film has the potential to do so again. It packs a powerful punch. I came out seething with anger, and I think that was the intent. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times writes: "Brutal, urgent, devastating -- the documentary The Devil Came on Horseback demands to be seen as soon as possible and by as many viewers as possible." See it if you possibly can. If anyone out there thinks they can help boost distribution of the film (similar to how this community helped with An Inconvenient Truth), please let me know by writing to chris at ted dot com, and I'll connect you with the filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg.
25 July 2007
"African bloggers stepped up to the plate ..."
Guest blogger Imnakoya has been writing Grandiose Parlor, offering "cogitations on sociopolitical and economic issues in Nigeria & Africa," for more than two years, and recently helped launch the African site aggregator and multi-author blog magazine AfricanLoft. His sites have been important voices in the post-TEDGlobal discussion -- which is especially significant because he wasn't actually in Arusha attending the conference. Following along with TEDGlobal from the United States via the blogs, he has helped to fuel the post-conference networking -- and the early initiatives that have grown out of the conference.
As one of the missing-in-action Fellows who couldn't attend the conference, the only rational thing I could do was plug into the mainstream media (MSM)-dominated information pipeline to follow the event. Well, this didn't happen; the MSM dropped the ball -- there was little or no coverage. Unexpectedly, the African bloggers stepped up to the plate, giving a comprehensive and almost hourly rendition of event. This is unprecedented in Africa. As I write this piece, African blogs are the only existing and extensive source of information on the TEDGlobal conference.
Just as no one would have thought some "ragtag bunch of unschooled bloggers" would become so relevant in broadcasting and amplifying what ensued in Arusha, no one would have deemed it possible to cull so much intellectual and entrepreneurial energy at one time in one remote location in Africa.
There is only one word for these scenarios: Revolution. I referred to the TED-Arusha conference as a revolution shortly after it closed, and I still stand by that statement.
TED brought out the cheetahs and left the hippos behind.
As conveyed by conference blogger Ethan Zuckerman:
[Economist George] Ayittey characterizes several of the conference speakers as "the cheetah generation," fast-moving people who don't accept corruption, and who demand that democracy and transparency lead to better governance. "Africa's salvation rests on the back of these cheetahs."
He contrasts them to "the hippo generation", the ruling elites, stuck in their intellectual patch, complaining about colonialism and imperialism. "They won't reform, because they benefit from the status quo."
However, I feel the element that would have given this revolution a much bigger bang was missing or present in insufficient amount: The hippos. The absence of the hippos was reflected in the Economist, whose writer observed:
... there were notably few of the hard-knuckle African politicians who often run the interior or defence ministry or act as kingmakers, sometimes bankrolling rotten presidents...
While the over-representation of the cheetahs may have been strategic, the dearth of hippos in Arusha limited a face-to-face encounter and discussion between these two -- the kind of interaction that is missing and needed in Africa.
Even though the impression in certain quarters is that the hippos are becoming irrelevant, I share a contrary view: The hippos are still of strategic importance given their influence in politics, within the general African society, and in the public sector, and it would have been blissful to have cheetahs impact some "good words" onto them in Arusha. After all, these are people who by choice have become "deaf and blind" and "locked up" within their rarefied positions of power and authority. Getting them to see and listen to the cheetahs' ideas, accomplishments, triumphs and challenges could have generated some interesting reactions ... among many earth-shaking meetings at TEDGlobal. (Who could have guessed Bono and Andrew Mwenda would have had such an interesting exchange?)
The conference is over, now what?
Great initiative comes with great challenges -- and one such is getting the word out beyond the margins of the blog pages. As much as the TED initiative is driven by an out-of-the-box mentality, the success of any post-TEDGlobal initiatives in Africa will be dependent in great extent on the ability of the players to bridge the old and the new worlds. Although the blogs carried the day in Arusha, the mainstream media is still very relevant in Africa.
It's also imperative that the cheetah generation aggressively seek ways to extend their footprints beyond the relatively comfortable entrepreneurial/NGO circles. One of the advantages of having access to political power is the ability to make things happen faster, and reach a wider audience. The sooner more cheetahs assume the control of strategic positions within the public sector, the quicker several of the excellent ideas showcased in Arusha will become mainstream in Africa.
Watch for the premiere of the first talks from TEDGlobal, next week on TED.com.
24 July 2007
"TEDGlobal was a seminal moment for Africa ..."
Next week on TED.com, we'll premiere the first talks from the TEDGlobal 2007 conference, held in Arusha, Tanzania, this June. Several bloggers from the conference will be posting here over the coming week.
TEDGlobal 2007 Fellow Juliana Rotich has been keeping the influential blog Afromusing for two and a half years, writing and interviewing about such issues as green energy, technology and many other topics around Kenya and the African continent. She also contributes to AfriGadget and is working on a forum for renewable-energy information exchange.
As the videos from TEDGlobal are released, I'd like to share a few thoughts on what I felt as a TED Fellow, an African and blogger; what this conference meant to me and other Fellows that I have been conversing with since this historic conference ended.
TEDGlobal was a seminal moment for Africa. It opened our eyes and minds to the ideas, people and technology shaping a continent. Glimpses of history from the segment "Looking Back to Look Forward," the present innovation in "Emergent Design" and "Tales of Invention," to the future in the segment "Ideas Worth Spreading." It felt like a precursor to a Wired Nextfest of sorts -- Africa edition, a "jumping-off point."
It was an out-of-the-box experience: boxes of tribe, nationality, continent and yes, even boxes of race. Chris Anderson and Emeka Okafor on stage reminded me of Seinfeld's black-and-white cookie. It was also about conversations between different minds from different continents, backgrounds and specialties. To have been in a forum where views and ideas about Africa are discussed with fervor, passion and engagement was ground-breaking, inspiring, enlightening and fantastic.
As an African, one might think that we would already know about the content presented at TEDGlobal 2007, but many of us could not have imagined the breadth and talent in Technology, Entertainment and Design coming from Africa. There was even a metaphorically poignant moment when the president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, removed his suit jacket and got comfortable to address the TEDGlobal audience. It was a moment that seemed to signal a peeling away of old ideas, seeing new ways to tackle Africa's challenges. Inasmuch as our minds were opened up to the potential of the African continent, on looking back I am reminded that the themes at TEDGlobal are indeed ... Global. As you watch the talks and see the ideas being shared, think of the universal questions that bind us all together.
For the African fellows like me, to have a video by a fellow African who looks like me, comes from the same continent, showing what they have done to change Africa ... It touches my mind and resolutely affirms a belief that perhaps was in the back of my mind, but today has been brought to the fore of my consciousness. The belief that Africa's next chapter is being written with innovative, entertaining and creative ideas that will shape a bright future. As we watch, engage in the conversations, and spread the ideas coming out of TEDGlobal, I am reminded that we are in one sandbox of a planet. We might as well learn and help each other. The African voices you will see and hear will have an idea, a message, a story that I hope will also touch you. Cheers TED, and thank you.
Watch for the premiere of the first talks from TEDGlobal, next week on TED.com.
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!
14 July 2007
Africa Cookbook Project launched at TEDGlobal
Fran Osseo-Asare is a sociologist who studies (and loves) the food of Africa -- check out Betumi: The African Culinary Network, and her blog, BetumiBlog. She's found that, on this continent with so many regional cuisines, authentic cookbooks can be hard to come by. Which may seem like a small point -- but as she says, cookbooks are "a record of popular culture, social history, [and] my specialty, culinary creativity." Culture, in short, is shared and honored through food.
Last month at TEDGlobal 2007, Osseo-Asare launched the massive Africa Cookbook Project, collecting cookbooks from all African nations and regions. She'll catalogue them and, eventually, digitize them. If you have African cookbooks, or want to learn more about the cuisines of Africa, get in touch.
And watch this space: Video from TEDGlobal 2007 will start appearing on TED.com this month.
12 July 2007
Everything we know about AIDS in Africa is wrong: Emily Oster on TED.com
Emily Oster, a University of Chicago economist, looks at the stats on AIDS in Africa -- and comes up with a stunning conclusion: Everything we know about AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is wrong. We look for root causes such as poverty and poor health care -- but we also need to factor in, say, the price of coffee, and the routes of long-haul truckers. In short, she says, there is a lot we don't know; and our assumptions about what we do know may keep us from finding the best way to stop the disease. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 15:45.)
New: Download this talk in high resolution (480p)
Watch Emily Oster's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Emily Oster on TED.com.
10 July 2007
TEDGlobal, one month on
It's been a month since TEDGlobal 2007 rocked Arusha, Tanzania -- bringing together Africans from all over the continent and the world, philanthropists and businesspeople, global citizens and key bloggers. The four days of the conference were up-all-night intense -- and many bloggers signed off on the last day with promises to write more when they caught up on their sleep.
Well, now they have.
Blogger Jen Brea turned in a sharp article for American.com that sums up the discussions around Africa sparked, in June, by TEDGlobal, the G8 summit and Vanity Fair:
Three weeks ago, TED held its first-ever conference in Africa, bringing together trademark optimism with an even more humbling sort of A-list.
Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a World Bank economist, returned to her native Ethiopia to start a commodities exchange to prevent future famines. Daniel Annerose invented software in Senegal that allows farmers to track market prices via SMS text messaging. Alieu Conteh built the first cellular network in the Congo, Florence Seriki, Nigeria's first computer manufacturing company.
Then there's William Kamkwamba, the undisputed showstopper, a teenager from rural Malawi who, at age fourteen, built a windmill from plastic scrap and an old bicycle frame that generates enough electricity to light his family's house.
These speakers were selected to support a thesis, painfully obvious but somehow radical in this age: Africa won't be "saved" by aid, but by the ingenuity and determination of its own people. ...
Conference speaker Nii Simmonds, at Nubian Cheetah, reports on a conversation with revered economist George Ayittey two weeks ago:
George asked, "so Nii, how do we get you TED Cheetahs to contribute to African development"?
I thought about it for a second and said, "I would be nice if TED sponsored fellows to their respective countries to use their professional work experience to help a business for a month or so."
I heard a pause, and George said, "well that is nice, but what about a fund, called a Cheetah Fund that is sustainable was set-up to help TED fellows or other African Cheetahs with funding for their respective businesses".
Wow, I said to myself, how come I didn't think about this before. African chiefs have been using this system for centuries before colonialism, we just have to go back to some of our indigenous roots ...
Speaker Ory Okolloh, who blogs at Kenyan Pundit and runs the public-affairs site mzalendo:Eye On Kenyan Parliament, is working her way through the sessions, using Ethan Zuckerman's liveblogging for her notes. During Euvin Naidoo's talk, she mused:
... wouldn’t it be great to have a one-stop shop website or something where you can access stats and info about investing in individual African countries. I thought the Investment Climate Facility was supposed to be doing that, but it appears that they are focused on other things. Niche blog opportunity anyone?
Lova Rakotomalala, from blogging family Global Voices, offers a quote-packed roundup from the Malagasy blogosphere (with translations from French to English):
Harinjaka got to visualize his dream of helping his homeland by attending the TED conference ...
He explains that he drew inspiration from the discussion in Arusha and he plans on leaving France and going back home to contribute to the turnaround ...
This is just a sample from the TEDGlobal blogging community; visit our list of TEDGlobal bloggers to find more updates and news.
And watch this space: Video from TEDGlobal 2007 will start appearing on TED.com this month.
04 July 2007
Incremental infrastructure for Africa
Extending the discussions at TEDGLOBAL2007 in Tanzania and the conversation that's currently taking place online, Ethan Zuckerman has a must-read post on the economic growth of Africa as exemplified by the very fast growth of mobile telephony across the continent -- there are currently nearly 120 million subscribers to cell phones. That growth has been breathtaking, and is central to many discussions about the future of Africa. However, Ethan wonders, it’s hard to know whether it is replicable in other sectors:
There’s a couple of circumstances that I think are critical to understand in the rise of mobile networks on the continent:
- You can build a mobile phone network one piece at a time. With a GSM license and a single tower, a company can begin earning revenue and start using this revenue to finance future expansion. An investment in the single-digit millions can turn into a multi-billion dollar business through reinvestment of revenues. That just isn’t true for creating container ports, major roads or large power generating facilities (...)
- Users financed a great deal of the infrastructure behind the mobile phone boom - specifically, they purchased the handsets (...)
- Sheer government incompetence helped the mobile industry by ensuring that most phone buyers weren’t replacing land lines with mobiles, but purchasing their first phones. It’s easier to sell someone a new, useful service rather than an improvement on an existing service (...)
I’m trying to figure out whether these criteria lead to an infrastructure investment strategy for Africa based on incremental infrastructure development. (...) African mobile phone companies are being forced to become power companies. In urban areas, phone companies have to equip every tower with diesel generators because of frequent power cuts. In more rural areas, where companies can’t rely on grid power, providers need to put in two generators - one to power the station, the second as backup. The cost of delivering diesel fuel to these locations is substantial - Russell Southwood calculates that a grid and road-connected base station costs $2,500 a month to maintain, while a very rural station might cost $20,000. (...) If mobile phone companies - or a similarly entrepreneurial entity - could begin building larger, more efficient power generating facilities, they could service local communities with power as well as with telephony. If there were sufficient success for this model, it might start to resemble the “electranet” that some have suggested might alleviate African power problems.
25 June 2007
Blogging the young windmill builder who rocked TEDGlobal
William Kamkwamba, the 19-year-old self-taught engineer who built a windmill power system for his family's home in Malawi, was a star of TEDGlobal 2007. As reported by Ethan Zuckerman, several TEDsters have pledged to help him further his education.
Now you can follow William's journey on his blog. Read about the windmill he built, his latest upgrades to his power system, and the people he is meeting who -- like so many people at TEDGlobal and in the blog community -- are impressed and inspired by what he's achieved.
18 June 2007
A TED-bagful of inspiration from Sierra Leone
TED Curator Chris Anderson writes: If there had been no other outcome of TEDGlobal than the story below, I think the whole thing would have been worthwhile. This hit my inbox today... It's from Yene Assegid, the founder of a development organization in Sierra Leone called Integral Africa. She was part of the Fellows program at the conference.
On my way back from Arusha, I had taken the speedboat back to town ... and I tell you it was adventure. The sea was rough, the boat was swinging right & left to the point that I thought we were about to be thrown in the water. We ran out of fuel and it took a while to be rescued. Upon arrival on the beach, we were all wet, most people were sick (what a mess) and in all this, my TED bag was snatched by the beach boys. I only realized after I reached home. The bag contained all my passports, credits cards, notes, phone, ipod, etc.. And I had to travel back again in 3 days. Madness.
So, on Saturday, I went back to the beach to talk to possibly 5-6 dozen boys. These boys are feared by all, some are ex-combatants, some are just hoodlums, most are on drugs ... Anyway, I told them I need my bag back (like right now). I explained about the TED, about how we will not progress our countries forward if we behave this way, about how the rest of the world is moving forward and that unless we sort ourselves out -- we will not create a better future for our children and coming generations. Do you know that we had such great conversations. It was a magical encounter and before long, they brought my bag back with everything in it (except for the phone and the ipod). They even apologized. Well, this has never ever happened. No one ever saw their stolen items returned.
So, I cooked for them. In huge pots -- Rice & Stew. It was one of the best gatherings ever. The women came, the grandma's came, the children came, the old men came and the boys came. We had such a wonderful time talking, eating, and sharing about how we must go back to our own the essence of African traditions (full of ethics, hospitality and compassion).
This is the adventure of my return from Arusha. Often times Sierra Leone is only thought of as a war torn country with "not much hope" for the war affected communities. But through this story, it was obvious that heart was still there. And that if we level with people, without judgement & prejudice, well people listen and in listen we can effectively communicate to bring change.
Yene is hoping now to make a short film about this experience, with any proceeds going back to the beach. Fantastic.
13 June 2007
TEDGlobal: TED staff look back
TED's Content Producer, Kelly Stoetzel, helps choose the speakers for every TED conference. She shares her thoughts after TEDGlobal 2007 -- on the conference buzz, the connections and the small moments between the sessions:
I observed so many connections and conversations at the conference that felt like they were changing lives. Like William Kamkwamba, the kid who built his family a windmill. Tom Rielly showed him the Internet for the first time. He'd never seen it. Tom typed his name and "windmill" and said, "Look, this is all the information that's on the web about *you*." (As Ethan Zuckerman reports, the TEDGlobal community is getting together to help Kamkwamba get further education.)
It felt like the speakers were more remarkable as individuals, because of what they've had to overcome to achieve what they've achieved. Corneille Ewango is a perfect example. He has an accent, and he is a little shy, but people really connected with his story. It reminded me that we should take risks with speakers -- if the story is great and hasn't been heard, people will connect. I had to go on stage after William Kamkwamba, wearing a blindfold, to throw hats into the audience, but by the end of his talk, his story is so amazing, so inspiring, I was moved to tears -- with a blindfold on!
Especially among the Fellows, there was a huge sense of connection, the optimism and the connections. All the people, all of them wanting to make a difference in the same area -- it'll be really interesting to watch.
11 June 2007
Catching Up with AfriGadget/White African
After a security breach crashed his two crucial blogs, AfriGadget and White African, on Thursday morning, blogger Erik Hersman lost his voice for the conclusion of TEDGlobal. But now he's back up, and we're catching up with him:
From "Finally! A Mobile Payment System for Africa!":
Yesterday’s talk by Herman Chinery-Hesse was one of the highlights of TEDGlobal for me. He is the owner of SoftTribe, the leading computer technology company in West Africa, and a dynamic speaker and visionary. He’s been a trailblazer in what he called, “tropically tolerant software.” ...
... Herman stated one thing that I think will rub some in the diaspora the wrong way, but he uses his own life as an example:
"It is not dignified for an African to live their whole lives overseas."
Hersman blogged his own talk too -- he gave a 3-minute presentation on AfriGadget, saying:
Africans are bending the little they have to their will, using creativity to overcome life’s challenges.
The examples on AfriGadget showcase African ingenuity, the type of ingenuity born of necessity.
TEDBlog comments are still down -- and you're invited to join the conversation on TED.com, perhaps in the Theme called "Africa: The Next Chapter," where we've collected some Talks from past TEDs that touch on the themes from TEDGlobal 2007.
10 June 2007
The whole world is watching TEDGlobal bloggers
TEDGlobal 2007 has been largely reported and disseminated via blog. Which is not surprising, when you consider the sheer number of African and world bloggers who attended -- and how powerful their blogs have been in sharing ideas of the new Africa.
For those following the conference from home, it's clear that the blog coverage of TEDGlobal has the power to provoke emotion, passion and the desire to make change.
Ethan Zuckerman -- in a post-TED post that is a must-read for anyone thinking about Africa -- reports:
I got an IM from a friend in the States today who told me she’d found the ideas expressed at TED - which she followed through the blogs - inspiring, filling her with hope. I hope that reaction is widespread. ...
Home viewer beninmwangi makes the point on his MySpace blog:
... if you have not already guessed it, I am truly inspired, but as a blogger what inspires me the most is how the bloggers in attendance have taken the stage from the usual suspects -- the conventional media.
The African Uptimist writes:
Jennifer Brea ... made my day with her post "Writing a new story about Africa," in which she invites the reader to "imagine four days where you only use the good words to talk about Africa: words of forward motion, words of change...[four days of hearing] from the mouths of people who are out there living it, building it, succeeding (and quite possibly getting very rich) in Africa." I think it is safe to say that TED Global Conference 2007 was special in that it marked a turning point towards the 're-branding' of Africa.
Other blogs, including smallSHIFT, nobaddays and Magaidi, also shared their excitement over the ideas coming out of the conference via bloggers such as Ethan Zuckerman, Erik Hersman of AfriGadget and White African, and David McQueen (who notes "Well my blog has never been so popular. I must go away some more and write like nuts"). You can see the full list of bloggers here.
Thank you to BijanBlog for a nice compliment on our coverage here at the TEDBlog -- and for pointing out the connection between TEDGlobal's blog coverage and the Bob Thurman talk we posted this week on TED.com:
A few days ago, TEDBlog posted an earlier video of Bob Thurman's talk (taken on 12/06) about ... an all-connected world:
"When we can know everything, we can see how everything is interconnected -- and we can begin to feel compassion for every living being."
Wow.
09 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007: bloggers' first thoughts from home
Afromusing sums it up:
TED Global felt like a seminal moment in Africa. I may have said this already but i will say it again. It was unlike any conference i have ever attended. Stupendous, challenging, interesting, eye-opening, heart-opening literally with Dr. Seyi Olesola and figuratively with Binyavanga Wainaina, Chris Abani and the music of Vusi Mahlasela. It was not uncommon to see people quietly wiping away tears during some of the talks. ...
Bankalele brought TED's perspective to stories from the G8 summit:
After listening to a week of stories on aid, development, and entrepreneurship, we emerged from Ted Global in Arusha to find one of the proponents of a new vision for development in Africa -- outgoing British prime minister Tony Blair endorsing shady dealings that involve Saudi Arabia in the name of strategic relationships. ...
In a post titled "Panic Mode," Mentalacrobatics shares a searing story (with photos) that must be read start to finish. It begins:
Well, well, well. I get back from TEDGlobal in Arusha to find the world has gone mad back at home. ...
After blogging every single session, Ethan Zuckerman is still processing:
Conferences like TED Global are only a couple of days long, but I find I can get surprisingly used to them -- wake up, absorb a mass of new and provocative ideas, have a few dozen conversations, stagger back to the hotel, rinse and repeat. And then, all of a sudden, they’re over. ...
... And now I’m enroute to Cape Town, wondering what we’ve learned, what might come out of this gathering.
Mweshi says:
I believe the people of TED provided us with a great platform with which to communicate with one another and if we can harness the power of those present at TED, Africa’s future is looking very bright! ...
And from a previous post: What happens after this conference now is entirely up to all of us who love our continent. To all TEDsters out there, let’s make this event the genesis of the cheetah renaissance!
Afrigadget/White African's Erik Hersman was offline from Thursday on --but he's back, and it's worth catching up. Also check out his photos from the conference here.
And our apologies to those readers who've tried to leave comments in the past week. While we're making repairs, please join the conversation on TED.com, perhaps in the Theme called "Africa: The Next Chapter," where we've collected some Talks from past TEDs that touch on the themes from TEDGlobal 2007!
08 June 2007
Initiatives and gifts announced at TEDGlobal: the bloggers report
TEDGlobal 2007 was studded with announcements of new initiatives and major gifts to the cause of Africa's next chapter. Here's a sampling, as reported by the blogs:
As Ethan Zuckerman reports from the final session:
Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete took the stage with Dr. Larry Brilliant of Google.org and Bruce McNeighbor of Technoserve. Dr. Brilliant announces his support for Believe, Begin, Become, a national business plan competition, modeled on the successful experiment Google and Technoserve operated this past year in Ghana. He emphasizes the importance of job creation and business development as critical parts of economic development. Brilliant describes the program as “tried and tested” in Africa and Latin America, where it accompanies investment with intensive entrepreneurship training ...
Afromusing has more on the press conference that followed:
President Jakaya Kikwete’s comments during the press conference and also during the TED global address showed that he is a leader with an open mind, engaging and committed to market liberalization. He struck me as a new breed of African leader, who engenders progressive ideals.
Reuters reported June 7 that Ethiopia's first commodities exchange -- modeled on the Chicago Board of Trade -- has set a target date to be in beta by the end of this year, quoting TED speaker Eleni Gabre-Madhin:
"What we hope to do first is to have a first launch of some kind of a pilot by the end of 2007. We hope to have a starting bell by December 2007," Eleni Gabre-Madhin, programme director with Washington DC- based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), told Reuters.
Some 100 of the conference's attendees were TEDFellows, sponsored to attend because of their contributions to Africa's next chapter. TED's Director of Partnerships, Tom Rielly, helped arrange to send the TEDFellows home with some lovely parting gifts, courtesy of GE, Google and AMD, and Noah Samara from Worldspace, as Ethan reports -- and TEDFellow Soyapi Mumba Twitters:
Mac vs PC live in Africa! TEDGlobal2007 fellows to choose either Mac or PC as their gift laptop sponsored by Google and AMD. I'm a Mac!
As Erik Hersman at White African reported earlier in the week: Google also annouced its first sub-Saharan Africa hire:
Joseph Mucheru has been named the new site lead for Google Kenya. This was whispered to be happening, but at today’s Google lunch at TEDGlobal the position was made official by Francoise Brougher, Director of Google Business Opportunities.
And a grassroots effort is being formed to support one extraordinary young speaker; Ethan shares the details:
This isn’t the only generous effort coming out of the TED Global conference. William Kamkwamba, the amazing young Malawian engineer who built his first windmill at age 14, has captured the imagination of many of the people in the crowd. A number of TED attendees have banded together to support him fiscally to complete his high school education and go onto university. A TED staffer is travelling to Malawi next week to start working on finding tutors for William to help prepare him to attend a top high school in Malawi.
07 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007 bloggers look back at world-changing days
People are packing up to leave TEDGlobal now, and the bloggers who came to the conference are thinking over the past four days.
David McQueen found new connections and strengthened virtual ones, and he sums it up in words and pictures:
I honestly don’t think Chris and Emeka (the organisers) REALLY understand how powerful this event has been. There have been connectors here, but most people have just dived into connecting with each other, creating partnerships and new friendships. A lot of dialogue about sustainable environments on the continent of Africa have begun and we are not just talking the sub Saharan countries but it would appear all fifty three in some way or the other have been affected by this. Congrats guys. Its been magnificent. TED Global is in the blood!!
Mweshi looks back to George Ayittey -- who divides African leaders into two camps, the fast-moving "cheetahs" and the wallowing "hippos" -- and then looks forward:
What happens after this conference now is entirely up to all of us who love our continent. To all TEDsters out there, let’s make this event the genesis of the cheetah renaissance!
An enormous thank-you to those in the TEDGlobal blog community who live-blogged or wrapped up or posted to flickr or in any way shared the experience of being in Arusha during this extraordinary week. And thanks in advance to all the bloggers who will get off the plane tomorrow and head straight to the keyboard to continue the conversation.
07 June 2007
Day 4: reports from the bloggers
Two final sessions, "Leadership and Truth" and "Ideas Worth Spreading," brought together economists, activists and the president of Tanzania. And the big ideas keep coming.
Mweshi reports:
Salim Amin is asking every African and those interested in the continent to help his for-Africa by-Africa 24-hour news channel, A24, come to fruition. With 900 million people on the continent, we continue to look to international news channels to provide information about our continent. ...
... It’s time Africa got its own 24-hour news channel.
After Salim Amin comes Ory Okolloh, a lawyer, activist and blogger from Kenya (and yet another TEDGlobal blogger to take the stage). NETucation digests her remarks, which begin:
Africa is a continent full of contradictions. You’re Harvard educated and you’re coming here to tell us what to do?
James Shikwati is described onstage as "a one-man think tank libertarian economist" by TED curator Chris Anderson. NETucation quotes Shikwati:
We need to understand how the world works, how the world thinks. The Aid debate operates under the constrained position i.e. the African person is in a box, somebody else must free him. We need to focus on releasing the African mind.
Tanzanian president Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete closed the early-morning session with a talk on African governance as it works on the ground. Ethan Zuckerman reports on what he said:
In the past, leaders would march in, declare themselves President, dismiss the parliament. They’d declare a ‘revolutionary council’, but there’s no revolution there. This used to be the way the continent worked. We’re moving beyond this, and beyond the leaders who led us out of colonialism.
Starting the final session of TEDGlobal 2007, President Shikwati got back on stage for a wonderful announcement, as reported by Ethan:
Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete took the stage with Dr. Larry Brilliant of Google.org and Bruce McNeighbor of Technoserve. Dr. Brilliant announces his support for “Believe, Begin, Become,” a national business plan competition, modeled on the successful experiment Google and Technoserve operated this past year in Ghana.
Noah Samara got up to talk about how he built WorldSpace, the first satellite radio network -- in a case where, as NETucation reports:
... for the first time technology was launched in Africa before it was handed down to America.
Journalist Dele Olojede talked about a decision he had to make in 1994: cover the birth of the new South Africa, or cover the Rwandan genocide? Ethan reports:
He decided that he’d give anything to see Mandela see his dream through, and he missed the Rwanda story.
“It became clear this was not an ordinary Central African horror story,” Olejede tells us, “and perhaps my decision was not correct.” Out of a sense of penance, he became “obsessed with the idea of Rwanda, with understanding it,” and has been travelling there ever since.
Patrick Awuah left Microsoft (pointing out that "While he worked at Microsoft the revenue of the company group grew larger than the GDP of Ghana") to found a university at home in Ghana. NETucation reports on his talk:
A month after launching he received and email from a student, “I am thinking now.” Another student asked “Can we create a perfect society?” after they were issued a challenge to come up with their own honour codes. This has lead to a vigorous debate among the students on campus. For the first in the history of Ghana, a woman was elected to be president of student body. This is real hope.
The amazing Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria, closed the session. In a week of refocusing the aid story, she made a brilliant point, says Ethan:
African entrepeneur Mo Ibrahim dreams of the moment when Africa is giving aid. “But we’re already doing it - the UK and the US could not have been built without African aid. The resources - including human resources - have made those countries what they are today.” So when those countries are willing to give something back, we need to take it, but we need to use it effectively.
NETucation quotes her further:
Aid has to be a facilitator, it can be catalytic. China says Nigeria needs infrastructure and discipline to succeed. Within the private sector maybe aid can be used as a money guarantee. Her punchline is to help women get more access to resources - the research and statistics of this speaks for itself.The final question is what you will do with aid, the government, the private sector and the African as an individual.
Soyapi reports via Twitter on the party that folllowed:
Vusi on stage at tedglobal2007. Will be joined by the other 2 lady musicians. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala just did the last talk.
06 June 2007
[TEDGlobal 2007] Session 10: The Campfire
The campfire. It's one of the world's most enduring metaphors, evoking simultaneously the safety of light, warmth, family, story; also the danger of darkness, exile, what lies beyond. The metaphor is all the more poignant here in Africa, where humankind evolved, along with language and storytelling and music and myth. And well-timed for our last evening together as a newly formed community, before we return to our individual lives.
So... for our final evening together in Arusha, we gathered around our stage-as-campfire, to take in four remarkable storytellers with 400+ new friends.
It began with Zambian-born, Italian filmmaker Franco Sacchi, whose upcoming film, "This is Nollywood," spotlights Nigeria's homegrown $250M/year industry, which turns out 2000+ movies per year, each shot straight to video on shoestring budgets. The stories? A little rough around the edges. The significance? Profound. "This started as a grassroots movement," Sacchi said. "It happened without foreign investment, without government aid. It happened against the odds."
Then Nigerian author/poet Chris Abani (best known for his novels Virgin of Flames and GraceLand) took us on a soulful and moving journey with words, weaving reflections on the power of language ("It's said that language describes the world we live in. But language makes the world we live in. Language is everything. Story is everything.") with powerful pieces of his own history (At 16, he published his first novel; at 18 he was sent to prison for the first time, and was "totally broken by it.") and reflections on the big questions in life ("The question for me is how do I balance narratives that are wonderful with narratives of wounds and self loathing. ... Transformation is a difficult and slow process. Sometimes I can say, 'I'm Chris Abani. I've been human for 6 days.'")
Binyavanga Wainaina -- author of the unforgettable satirical essay "How to Write About Africa," and publisher of literary journal Kwani? -- continued the evening's magical journey, with a series of stories, and reflections on the power of storytelling itself. A small sample:
Excerpt from Discovering HomeIf there is a miracle in the idea of life it is this: that we are able to exist for a time, in defiance of chaos. Later you often forget how dicey everything was; how the tickets almost didnt materialize; how the event almot got postponed; how a hangover nearly made you miss the flight....
Phrases swell, becoming bigger than their context and speak to us with TRUTH. We wield this series of events as our due, the standard for gifts of the future. We live the rest of our lives with the utter knowledge that there is something deliberate, a vein in us that transports everything into place -- if we follow the stepping stones of certainity.
Finally, South African singer-songwriter Vusi Mahlasela, who was a crucial artistic voice during the fight against apartheid, treated us to an utterly beautiful performance. His music moved me beyond words.
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Franco Sacchi and Chris Abani, Binyavanga Wainaina and Vusi Mahlasela.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
06 June 2007
Day 3 in the afternoon: reports from the bloggers
The after-lunch and evening sessions, "Connecting the Continent" and "The Campfire," were about communication and forming bonds.
Mweshi rounds up the early afternoon session, starting with Héctor Ruiz, the chair of AMD, speaking on AMD's 50x15 initiative:
AMD’s 50×15 initiative is a business venture and not a charity, it’s focused on simple, accessible, and human-centric solutions; it’s based on a “geo-sensitive” approach and is about fostering local, integrated, end-to-end ecosystems. ...
And Soyapi Mumba reports on Ruiz' personal message, via Twitter:
At TEDGlobal2007 AMD CEO: 'my father told me each generation shld be better than the previous'
More on Day 3 after the jump >>
06 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007 Session 8: Health and Heroism
In a session punctuated by spontaneous applause and quiet tears, three heroes told their stories. If ever you doubt the ability of one person to move the world, any one of these talks would make you a believer.
Ernest Chijioke Madu is determined to bring world-class cardiovascular care to Africa, and stem the tide of elites leaving the continent to seek health care. Relying on foreign hospitals -- as most Africa elites do -- is neither sustainable nor sensible, in the case of cardiovascular disease, as most deaths occur in the 24 hours following a heart attack or stroke. "If you have a heart attack tonight, what will you do?" he asked. "Will you fly back to the US? To Germany? To France? No. You will die."
The hospital he'll build in Nigeria will be modeled after the Heart Institute of the Caribbean, the pioneering clinic he founded, which has a telemedicine platform, so other doctors around hte world can log in and lend advice. It's helped stem the tide of elites going overseas for medical care, while also offering care for all. "We have a policy of not turning away anyone regardless of ability to pay." (Can you hear the audience cheering?)
Environmental defender Corneille E.N. Ewango is a tropical botanist and conservation ecologist who risked his own life to protect the okapi reserve in the Congo forest ... In 1995, he started work at the reserve, home to elephant, giraffe, okapi, forest giraffe and more than 1,300 plant species, many of them unknown outside the park. There was a coup soon after, and Ewango found himself caught between pillaging rebel soldiers and government forces. Rather than flee, he focused on preserving what he could. He hung important equipment from trees, buried their 4x4 cars in the ground, and packed samples from 4,500 plants on the back of his bicycle, which he pedaled four days to Uganda and back.
A second war soon followed, and Ewango became a one-man reporting bureau, of sorts. Using an Iridium satellite phone, a laptop and a solar panel, he fed information -- on troop movements and war crimes -- to western NGOs. He won the 2005 Goldman Environmental Prize for his courageous effort. Now, in a more peaceful time, he’s managing a research project on global warming.
Our final hero, Leon Kintaudi focuses not on the typical African focal points of AIDS, malaria or TB, but on maternal health. The situation in his native Congo was dire when Kintaudi returned to try to improve it: The maternal and child death rates higher than most of the world (1 in 5 children die before age 5). So he founded the SANRU (Santé Rurale) Rural Health Program, a comprehensive program including preventative care, free malaria bednets, vaccinations, drug distribution, while also calling for society wide changes in educating children and promoting laws that protect women.
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Ernest Madu, Corneille Ewango and Leon Kintaudi
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
06 June 2007
Twittering TEDGlobal
Beat the crowds in the bloggers' lounge: blogger Soyapi Mumba is Twittering the conference.
Is anyone else? Send a Comment.
06 June 2007
From blogger Jennifer Brea: "Writing A New Story About Africa"
Beijing-based blogger Jennifer Brea is one of 100 Fellows attending TEDGlobal. She's the Francophonia editor for Global Voices, and a prolific and powerful blogger about Africa. I love what she wrote about rethinking media coverage of Africa. Just an excerpt below. Read the full post here.
The first day's speakers--Euvin Naidoo, Andrew Mwenda, Carol Pineau, Andrew Dosunmu, Zeray Alemseged, and Newton Aduaka--took the story of Africa, the tired story of dependence, desperation, and despair, and tore it to shreds. They took the West's gaze, and killed it, stomped on it, mocked it, burned its effigy (Joseph Conrad to be precise) so that we could start an entirely new conversation using an entirely different vocabulary. We killed famine, death, hopelessness, hunger, tragedy, poverty and started using words like potential, opportunity, wealth, entrepreneurship, ingenuity, art, imagination, creativity, success, investment, growth, choice.
These are words the media use liberally when writing about emerging nations like India, China or Brazil, but not to describe some of the fastest-growing economies in the world when they happen to be in Africa.
Now imagine spending four days where you only use the good words to talk about Africa: words of forward motion, words of change. I'm not talking about bringing Tony Robbins on stage and dreaming of a better future. I'm talking about hearing from the mouths of people who are out there living it, building it, succeeding (and quite possibly getting very rich) in Africa.
It's been thrilling.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007, Africa
06 June 2007
Day 3: Morning reports from the blogs
TEDGlobal's attending bloggers offer great roundups of the two morning sessions, called "Tales of Invention" and "Health and Heroism." Africa abounds in creative energy and innovation, a point made yesterday by Kwabena Boahen and elaborated today by two panels of inventors and health workers.
As always, Ethan Zuckerman has the speaker-by-speaker accounts.
Mweshi writes about finding innovation in new places -- and in places where, simply, no one has bothered to look. As he says: "We have so many great inventors on the continent, and yet we do not have any manufacturing plants":
What stood most about [Bola Olabisi's] talk was her showcasing of lo-tech inventions by some of Africa’s up and coming women inventors and innovators. Definitely an inspiration for a lot young girls and women on the continent and the world over...
... William Kamkwamba created a windmill in Malawi using locally available materials after reading a book called “Using Energy” by Atwater, M. et. Al. His main materials consisted of:
* old bicycle parts
* wooden poles
* plastic pipes
* an old car battery for energy storage, etc. ...
... Ernest Madu put his mouth where his mouth was by starting the Heart Institute of the Caribbean, a facility that has brought world-class medical services to the West Indies at 10% of what it costs to run and provide similar services in the continental United States. His argument is that through tele-medicine technology and education, we can improve the livelihoods of millions of people in the developing world.
Afromusing's detailed roundup of "Tales of Invention" captured a short talk by another TEDGlobal blogger, Erik Hersman of White African and Afrigadget:
Next, there was an excellent 3 minute presentation by Erik Hersman of Afrigadget -- the slides showcased some of the stories covered by afrigadget team, demonstrating how Africans solve problems every day by making tools and using local materials. The main idea he shared is that -- Ingenuity born of necessity. The quotable from him is that **Where others see trash, africa recycles**
Hersman writes about his encounters with two inventors: William Kamkwamba, a young man who built his family a windmill out of scrap parts, and Moussa Keita of Geekcorps:
There are two individuals here at TEDGlobal that it has been a great honor to meet. They are inventors, on the ground in Africa, creating solutions that will work in their area. These are great success stories that need to be celebrated, encouraged and supported. ...
Don at fifthculture says:
Today was about practical solutions and something else, something more ephemeral, transcendent. Under the heading practical solutions Seyi Oyesola pointed out that there is no system in place in most African countries for events such as accidents or chronic illness. His talk was titled "Beyond HIV and Malaria" and in it he stressed the need to get healthy, not just focus on HIV and AIDS.
David McQueen took this great pic of inventor and chemist Moses Makayoto, who is working to focus African innovation on local materials, local solutions, and modernized production.
And then there's Corneille E.N. Ewango -- for whom we need to invent a new term that combines "scientist," "hero," and frankly, "hearththrob." A sort of Indiana Jones of botany, Ewango literally put his life on the line to protect the Congo forest. Ethan has the details.
06 June 2007
Images fom Arusha: Opening the show
At the conference midway point, a few images from the TEDGlobal stage ...
Mali-born, Paris-based chanteuse Rokia Traore opens the conference with a traditional Griot song of welcome.
TED Curator Chris Anderson and TEDGlobal Program Director Emeka Okafor co-host the show from the TED stage.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
06 June 2007
Who is blogging from TEDGlobal 2007 in Tanzania?
Two dozen bloggers from around Africa and elsewhere are covering the sessions and the between-session action at TEDGlobal this week. We'll be sharing excerpts of the blogs' coverage on this site, and we encourage you to dive into the blogs below, both during and after the conference -- many bloggers say they are waiting until they get home to form their thoughts.
If you're a TEDGlobal blogger and you'd like to be added to this list, please send a comment.
Click here for images of the conference >>
Live-blogging every session:
My Heart's in Accra, by Ethan Zuckerman
Bloggers at TEDGlobal:
Erik Hersman, of White African and AfriGadget
David McQueen
Mweshi
Bankalele
Mental Acrobatics
AfroMusing
Soyapi Mumba, who is also Twittering
Andrew Heavens, at Meskel Square
Africa Beat, by Jennifer Brea
Rafiq Phillips at WebAddiCT
DNA
Harinjaka, in French
Fran Osseo-Asare, of Betumi: The African Food Network
Ramon Thomas, of NETucation
Ndesanjo Macha, who writes Digital Africa, in English, and Jikomboe, in Swahili
Mwenye Macho... in Swahili
Fifthculture
Ellen Horne at Radio Lab in Tanzania
ClassV
Sam Ritchie
Heresy
Reuben Abraham at Zoo Station
Bloggers who might be too busy to blog this week, but whose sites are always worth checking out:
Kenyan Pundit, by TED Conference speaker and blogger Ory Okolloh
Africa Unchained and Timbuktu Chronicles, by TEDGlobal conference director Emeka Okafor
06 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007 Session 7: Tales of Invention
Day Three of TEDGlobal began with a series of pointed questions ...
"Where are the women inventors?" Bola Olabisi asked, as she walked around an international inventors fair, where she'd come on a slow afternoon in London, while pregnant with her fourth child and in need of distraction. She walked the hall all day, and failed to find a single woman inventor. Distressed, she approached the organizer to ask why no women were represented. "If you can find them, let me know," he said. And this sent Olabisi on what became her new life's mission, to encourage innovation and invention among women, and African women in particular.
"There was a lack of acknowledgement, recognition or even awareness of any African inventor or innovator." So along with founding the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network she developed a Pan-African network for women inventors as well. And while there were many doubters ("Women inventors in AFRICA? have you thought about this carefully?"), every seat in her first symposium was full, often with designers of low-tech inventions -- floor tiles, wigs, household appliances, children's toys -- who may not have otherwise considered themselves "inventors."
The question, "Where are the African inventors?" echoed through the next talk as well, as Moses Makayoto called on young African scientists and engineers to stand up and be counted. An inventor and chemist himself, Makayoto invented the popular Mama Safi detergent, produced cheaply using local resources, and is now doing R&D into naturally developed malaria treatments and bio-pesticides, which can, for example, prevent malaria by attacking mosquitoes at the larval stage, and which can be created from raw materials found anywhere.
From Dr. Seyi Oyesola, a different question: Where are the well-trained African doctors? Answer: Overseas. Where they're better paid, better treated and enjoy modern hospital settings. In contrast, most hospitals on the continent lack vital equipment, and woefully fail to uphold sanitary standards. So "where do generally healthy Africans go if they need to be treated for things besides malaria, TB or HIV?" Oyeseola asks.
Distressed by the conditions in a Nigeria hospital where he came to perform a dozen open-heart surgeries (equipment was held together by duct tape; floors were dirty; X-rays were taped to windows for lack of a light table), Oyesola resolved to find a portable solution for bringing modern medicine with him. He co-developed the "Hospital in a Box" -- a pop-up, portable, plug-and-play system for off-grid medicine. Its environment-tolerant anesthesia makes surgery possible even in deeply inhospitable regions (or deeply ill-equipped regional hospitals).
His portable invention aside, the charismatic Oyesola stressed the importance of developing a strong non-emergency health care system throughout Africa. Emphasizing its economic significance, he quoted TEDster Hans Rosling: "You get wealthy faster if you're healthy first." (Watch Rosling's TEDTalk on TED.com)
The session's final question was asked by the entire audience, silently, to ourselves: "How on EARTH did he do that?" Chris and Emeka asked one of the TED Fellows -- 17-year-old William Kamkwamba from Malawi -- to the stage. A natural inventor, he built a fully-functional electricity-producing windmill from spare parts, working only from a photo in a magazine. After reading about Kamkwamba in a local African newspaper, TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down and invited him to join us here in Arusha, as part of our sponsored Fellowship program (There are 100 Fellows here). From the stage, William explained to TED Curator Chris Anderson that the windmill now powers 4 lights and two radios in his parents home. His dream? To build a larger version to help with irrigation, and go back to school. I have a feeling the next question for is: "How can we help?"
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Bola Olabisi, Moses Makayoto and Dr. Seyi Oyesola.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
06 June 2007
Day Two on the blogs
Tuesday, June 5, from around the blogs:
Erik Hertsman at White African reports: Google has hired its first sub-Saharan Africa employee!
Joseph Mucheru has been named the new site lead for Google Kenya. This was whispered to be happening, but at today’s Google lunch at TEDGlobal the position was made official by Francoise Brougher, Director of Google Business Opportunities.
Mentalacrobatics posted a fascinating blow-by-blow of his Day Two, ending with this wonderful image:
Back at the hotel is when TED came home. I sat down to write my thoughts on the day when Harinjaka shared with us the crazy deforestation that is taking place in his country of Madagascar. That was the beginning of all night thinking, sharing, debating session. Two Kenyans, one Madagascan, one Nigerian, one Italian, one American. We had never met before TED, all but one of us are at our first TED conference and we had our own TED session then and there. We talked about HIV/AIDS, about social disempowerment, about colonial legacy, about Nollywood, Bollywood and the Chinese film industry, about music, about deforestation in Madagascar ...
Afromusing was captivated by Ron Eglash's work on African fractals, including a web tool that integrates fractal design and hair braiding:
!! Indeed !!
Design cornrows using transformational geometry. Click here.
Ron Eglash spoke on looking at fractals in African architecture and design. For non comp sci people, fractals make for some of the most beautiful designs. For African geeks, egm and mathematicians, get the book.
David McQueen blogged his highlights from the second day:
Idris Mohammed - The suggestion of a “Fund of Funds” from G8 as a means of smarter aid. Encourage Africans or Europeans who can invest in Private Equite Fundraising. Remove the focus from “Poverty Reduction” and place more emphasis on “Wealth Creation”.
Don at fifthculture shared a ride with investor and TED Day 2 speaker Idris Mohammed:
Idris Mohammed, a private equity pioneer, said that energy is the next big job in Africa. ... I had the opportunity to ride to the hotel from the airport with Idris. I asked him what form of power (fossil fuels, wind, hydro), he said that most likely it would be fossil fuels. It seems we can't avoid creating problems even when we are solving them. Both options are grave.
Mweshi's roundup captured the buzz around entrepreneur Ted Kidane:
... a wonderful talk by Ted Kidane of Feedelix which is a mobile phone piece of software that enable text messaging in non-Latin scripts. But the thing that stood out the most about Ted’s talk was his challenge to everyone in the room to change the manner in which they look at the word POVERTY; which in his words defined as Prosperity, Opportunity, Validation, Enthusiasm, Resilience, Trust and Yes!
Big, brave ideas are flying around. Ellen Horne reports on a lunchtime conversation:
Today, I sat down at lunch with three African men. One was a grad student from Cape Town, S.A., and the other two were ex-pats from Ghana - living abroad but very much engaged in a conversation about the reasons that Africans leave. The conversation turned to the topic of corruption. How to address the massive short-term incentives for supporting the 'big man' power system fueled by corruption. One quickly brainstormed talked about a public humiliation website where people could anonymously post photos of bribes being given. I asked innocently 'Why would someone exchange bribery cash in public?" He agreed -- sure you aren't going to get many -- but maybe the few would set a powerful example -- and hopefully not a unique one.
And as always, for minute-to-minute coverage of the conference sessions, turn to Ethan Zuckerman at My Heart's in Accra.
06 June 2007
Day Two in Quotes [TEDGlobal 2007]
“Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth” — Acumen Fund CEO/Founder Jacqueline Novogratz
"What we call governments are vampire states, which suck the economic vitality out of the people." — Economist George Ayittey
"I want to make Africans rich. If you make Africans rich, they'll be less poor. That's my development strategy." — Private equity pioneer Idris Mohammed
"What we're trying to do is create a family tree for everyone alive today." — Anthropologist and geneticist Spencer Wells, who's leading the Genographic Project, a landmark study tracing human origins to their roots in Africa
"There is no region of the world and no period in history that farmers have had to bear the burden of risk that African farmers bear today. But I'm not here to lament or wring my hands. I'm here to tell you that change is in the air." — Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin, who is founding the first commodities market for farmers in Ethiopia
"World progress needs a good dose of spontaneous human intelligence to realize that the answers to many of the questions we ask ourselves are just around the corner." — Architect Issa Diabete, who draws inspiration from innovative, makeshift urban solutions found in Africa's sprawling squatter cities
"I'm hopeful because nature is amazing resilient. Seemingly dead tree stumps -- if you stop hacking them for firewood, in 10 years you can have a 30 ft tree.” — Primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall
“I am a mathematician and I would like to stand on your roof.” — Mathematician Ron Eglash's standard greeting to African families, when he was researching the intriguing fractal patterns observed in many villages across the continent
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
06 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007 Session 6: Listening to Nature
The day's journey continued with anthropologist and geneticist Spencer Wells, who had us riveted with details of the Genographic Project, a landmark study he's leading for National Geographic, tracing human origins to their roots in Africa. By collecting DNA samples from people around the world (especially groups of indigenous people), he's determined the genetic origins of humanity going back over 50,000 years. "What we're trying to do is create a family tree for everyone alive today."
Simon Mwacharo followed, with the story behind the wind-powered turbine he invented. He's determined to bring power to the poorest rural areas in Africa, and that means turning toward alternative, renewable energy sources and inexpensive, readily available materials.
Next up: A living legend. Bi Kidude, the 90-something singer from Zanzibar, sang her heart out with the equally legendary Culture Musical Club of Zimbabwe, while young women shook and shimmied around her. All I can say is: Wow. 90+ and still rocking out. If that's not inspiring ...
Well, if that's not inspiring, well Jane Goodall always is. The legendary cast a spell on the room, with her gentle voice and steadfast mission: To save the chimpanzees — and the jungle — she loves, against the steady progression of habitat loss and climate change. "When I look at my granchildren and think about how we've harmed this planet since I was their age, I feel a kind of desperation." Still, she finds reason for optimism. "You can't come to a conference like TED and not have hope, can you? I'm hopeful, because nature is amazing resilient ... Seemingly dead tree stumps -- if you stop hacking them for firewood, in 10 years you can have a 30 ft tree.” A standing ovation, of course. (If you're following along from home, you can catch her 2003 TEDTalk here.)
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Spencer Wells, Simon Mwacharo, and Jane Goodall and Bi Kidude.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
06 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007 Session 5: The Risk Takers
It's a theme that's emerged throughout the conference: Identifying unmet needs in under-served markets can pay back in spades. And for those willing to take a calculated risk, a perceived danger becomes an unprecedented opportunity. In this session, three case studies of extraordinary individuals pathfinding in emerging markets:
For starters, there's Florence Seriki, who founded Omatek, a leading computer maker in Nigeria, West Africa's largest market. Like so many other African entrepreneurs, she was motivated by the idea, "Why can't Africans do this?" Alieuh Conteh took on a riskier proposition, founding a mobile phone service in war-ravaged Congo, just after the civil war. He envisioned, established, funded and protected what's become Vodafone Congo, now one of the fastest-growing mobile services in central Africa, with a subscriber base of 3 million and a valuation of $1.6B. Thanking Conteh for his talk, TED Curator Chris Anderson noted, “There’s money to be made in Africa.”
And Ted Kidane, co-founder of Feedelix, forged his way in new technologies and markets, creating mobile-phone software that enables text messaging in non-Latin scripts. (A challenge on several fronts, including display, text entry and transmission.) Initially developed for use in his native Ethiopic, the software can work in many languages and world markets (Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, etc.)
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Florence Seriki, Alieu Conteh and Ted Kidane.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
06 June 2007
[TEDGlobal 2007] Session 4: Emergent Design
To understand Africa's technological future, TEDGlobal Program Director Emeka Okafor calls Russell Southwood to the stage. Publisher of Balancing Act and respected tech commentator, Southwood envisions a future in which Africa leapfrogs the entire industrial phase of development, and skips straight to a high-tech competitiveness. To achieve this, he identifies several "door-openers" to fundamental change, including ever-cheaper cell phones and plentiful, cheap bandwidth. Once those two commodities come in financial reach of more Africans, the continent could reach a technological tipping point, with much broader implications. "This revolution isn't just about tehnology, it's also a social and cultural revolution."
And now we step sideways to exercise other parts of the brain: Stanford-based bioengineer Kwabena Boahen gave a brain-twisting overview of his research, which aims to first understand how brains work, and then build a computer that works more like the brain. His beautiful simulation of neurons at work, and cogent explanation of the brain's networked approach to data transmission had all synapses firing.
From neural networks to urban grids... Architect Issa Diabaté took us next on a tour of African cityscapes that inspire his work. Clean lines and well-executed plans hold less interest for him than the messy, makeshift solutions so common in growing cities. "World progress needs a good dose of spontaneous human intelligence to realize that the answer to many of the questions we ask ourselves are just around the corner"
And from urban grids to fractal-shaped villages... "Ethno-mathematician" Ron Eglash set my mind on fire with his talk, explaining the research that led to his book, African Fractals. By looking at aerial-view photos — and then following up with detailed research on the ground — Eglash discovered that many African villages are purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with self-similar shapes repeated in the rooms of the house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village. The shapes and algorithms vary from village to village (and not all villages are laid out this way), but always correspond perfectly to mathematically predictable patterns — the same sort of patterns we see in nature (in Acacia trees and fern leaves and snowflakes). Isn't that fascinating? And bizarre? And: What does it mean? I don't know, actually. But I can feel some theories coming on ...
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Kwabena Boahen, Issa Diabaté, Ron Eglash and Russell Southwood.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
05 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007 Session 3: The Marketplace
So much of the new Africa centers around the marketplace, broadly defined: the connection points that enable commerce, community, communication and more generally: Growth. Today's first session approached these questions of infrastructure from different angles, offering distinct and distinctly optimistic visions for a revitalized Africa.
Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin began the session on an inspiring note, outlining her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia, bringing rates and standards (not to mention trading systems, warehousing and data centers) to the trade of crops. Her scheme would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world's largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket. "There is no place in the world and no time in history that small farmers have had to bear the burden of risk that African farmers bear today," Gabre-Madhin said. "But I'm not here to lament or wring my hands. I'm here to tell you that change is in the air." Despite the early hour, she brought the audience to its feet in a rare 9AM standing O.
Throughout each conference, we integrate 3-minute talks from audience members (who often have as much to say as the speakers). Here, Priceline founder and veteran TEDster Jay Walker, re-issued a challenge that he first put to us at TEDGlobal in 2005. His goal: Creating 10 million jobs in the developing world. His assumptions: (1) If you have capital tool (a bicycle, a sewing machine), you have a job. (2) The cell phone is today's most valuable capital tool. His conclusion: The proliferation of cell phones in Africa could mean a proliferation of jobs. His question: What is the job? If you have a cell phone, and can speak English, what job could you do? Walker threw out a few ideas — singing lullabies, telling a story, translating or simply chatting -- that have ultimately proved flawed. If you have a better idea, he wants to hear it...
Now, one strong TED tradition is intermingling serious conversation with serious fun. And so, an interlude of: Zip Zap! This circus school's mirth belies a serious agenda: teaching the children of South Africa to work together and trust one another, as they'll need to do to build the new South Africa.
Back on point: Private equity pioneer Idris Mohammed made the case for private investment on the continent, outlining not only its financial rationale (explored earlier by Euvin Naidoo, Carol Pineau) but its social significance. He points to the enormous gap between aid money (lots) and private capital (little) flowing to Africa as a roadblock to sustainable development. "I want to make Africans rich," he said. "If you make Africans rich, they'll be less poor. That's my development strategy." (Big laughs)
And Jacqueline Novogratz, charismatic founder of the Acumen Fund, provided, as always, one of the most balanced approaches to development. She offered, with wit and warmth, the key learnings of her years working in Africa:
- Dignity is more important than wealth
- Traditional aid is never going to solve the problems of poverty
- The market alone also will not solve the problems of poverty
Her approach is realized through Acumen, which she described as a "non-profit venture capital fund for the world." It takes a business-like approach to improving the lives of the poor, providing investment and grants (what she calls "patient capital") for grassroots, entrepreneurial projects, and demanding accountability to insure success. Her balanced approach seemed to strike a chord with the crowd, which gave her a standing ovation. (Watch Novogratz's TEDTalk from the last TEDGlobal, held in Oxford, UK in 2005. )
As in yesterday's first session, the program closed on a fiery note, with a grab-you-by the throat speech by Ghanaian economist George Ayittey. A natural orator, Ayittey unleashed an almost breath-taking torrent of controlled anger toward Africa's corrupt leaders and the complacent populace that allows them to thrive. "We call our governments vampire states, which suck the economic vitality out of the people," he said. (I could be wrong, but I believe at one point, he also used the phrase, "military fufuheads.")
But even Ayittey voiced a guarded optimism, in what he calls the "Cheetah Generation," a "new breed of Africans" taking their futures into their own hands, instead of waiting for politicians to empower them. (He compares them to the previous "Hippo Generation" who are lazily stuck complaining about colonialism, yet doing nothing to change the status quo.) "With cheetahs we can take Africa back, one village at a time." And the audience says: One more standing O.
For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Idris Mohammed and Jacqueline Novogratz.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
Technorati tags: tedglobal2007
05 June 2007
Bono vs. Mwenda: Around the blogs
On the first day of the conference, the discussion between Andrew Mwenda and Bono electrified the audience and those following the conference via blogs. Here's what bloggers both inside and outside the conference had to say:
Felix Salmon's Market Movers blog for Portfolio.com gives an overview:
... the conference kicked off with [William] Easterly-by-proxy Andrew Mwenda. Ethan Zuckerman was there to hear Mwenda run down the standard Easterly talking points –- but at TED conferences, the points have a way of talking back. And when Mwenda challenged the audience to name a country where aid had led to development, Bono, of all people, stood up and named Ireland, in the days of the potato famine.
Bono was scheduled to speak [in Session] Two, and he devoted his time not to his own ideas but to rebutting Mwenda's. ...
And a report on the confrontation as it went down comes from fifthculture:
Andrew Mwenda [is] a journalist and social critic (read troublemaker – my kind of guy), and passionate speaker. ... [A]ccording to Andrew, all of us bleeding hearts from rich countries are doing the absolute wrong thing by giving aid to African countries. Andrew asked "has anyone in this room benefited or had a relative who benefited from aid?" A surprise answer came from Bono (all I could make out of the comment was "bullocks," but Bono would elaborate a little later).
Liz Dolan from the Huffington Post reports in detail:
Addressing the growing feeling that debt relief will not get African nations nearly as far as western direct investment, Bono said "You'd think somebody farted in here when the words 'debt relief' came up -- ooh, that's so uncool. Well, I will tell you that 20 million children in Africa are going to school today as a direct result of debt relief, 3 million right here in Tanzania alone.
David McQueen reports on the talks and the reaction:
... Talking to a number of people afterwards there were many mixed messages. Most believed that trade should be the primary focus but with incumbent governments still very dependent on aid that the focus should change. Personally I lean more to the position of Mwenda. Here is a man looking at the situation from the ground, and with possible prison sentences hanging over him from his native Uganda. OK he may not have all the solutions but his disdain for people looking down at Africa trying to solve issues from the outside in definitely resonated with me and many others.
Ecorica-Blog offers some more background on Andrew Mwenda's analysis:
One important remark: He admits that aid can bring humanitarian relief and can save lives, but he does not believe in the idea that aid can support long-term development of a society.
Live-blogging hero Ethan Zuckerman writes at length about both Mwenda's and Bono's talks. (The title of this blog post is borrowed from his indispensable blog.) White African also offers a good look at the talks, as does Ramon Thomas.
05 June 2007
Preconference tours show TEDGlobal bloggers the new Africa
Before the official start of TEDGlobal 2007, some attendees joined us for preconference tours, to get a visceral experience of the new Africa. Hosted by businesses and NGOs working on the ground in Tanzania, TEDsters visited schools, farms, businesses and other projects. A few reports:
ClassV took a tour led by DATA and shot some breathtaking photos:
The days ... in Tanzania have been inspiring, breathtaking, potentially life changing. Spent time engaging directly with the community through DATA and its founder, Bono. The term hero should be reserved for the kind of people I met during these visits, offering their love to the most unfortunate among all of us connected on this planet.
AfroMusing posted a long entry on the DATA trip, plus photos:
Early monday morning I was among a group of TEDsters for the DATA morning field trip before the conference. DATA is the organization founded by Bono of U2 to raise awareness about the issues facing Africa, namely Debt, Aids, Trade and Africa. DATA is mostly associated with the lobbying for debt forgiveness for the developing countries such as Tanzania. It was an incredible day, started out at the Artemisia farm of Mr. and Mrs. Loshie of Sambasha in Arumeru district. ...
Mweshi posts more stories and photos from the DATA tour:
The farm was only the first part of our half-a-day long trip. Following the farm visit, we saw how debt relief has helped to bring about improved health care and education in a clinic that provides ante-natal and post-natal services to mothers and would-be mothers as well as two schools located on the outskirts of Arusha. ...
Hugo Schotman helped hand out Lapdesks before the conference, and took pictures.
Technorati tags: TED, TEDGlobal, TEDGlobal2007, DATA
05 June 2007
TEDGlobal bloggers on the scene in Arusha
Aside from posting great coverage of the sessions and speakers at TEDGlobal 2007, the conference's many bloggers offer a glimpse of conference life -- the spark of meeting so many people with so much to share.
DNA captures the thrill:
"... today is my first day at the TED Global Conference being held here in Arusha, Tanzania. ‘Tis the first time TED has come to Africa and I am straight up meeting the most AMAZING people every few minutes. It’s almost like a brain overload kid. I already have a bunch of folks to followup w/ and some potential collaborators and I haven’t been here 24hrs yet."
Rafiq Philips, our Web AddiCT says:
"Haven’t picked my jaw up from the floor yet, All these passionate people. Wow."
Mental Acrobatics writes about the blogger convergence:
"It is wonderful that there is a healthy mix of bloggers amongst the TED Fellows. I’ll highlight the KBW members who are here apart from myself; Afromusing, Bankelele, Kenyan Pundit and White African. Ndesanjo is here as well running things on his home ground. Outside KBW Jen Brea and Andrew Heavens are here too."
And if you need visuals, check out the ever expanding flickr pool ...
05 June 2007
Walk-in Music, African style
Those of you who've attended TED in Monterey know that when you hear the Elephant March from Aïda, it means the doors for the Main Hall have opened, and it's time to scramble for a seat. (Over the years, this becomes a Pavlovian response; a single bar of that striding score touches off the rush of anticipation, inspiration, excitement (and let's face it, a bit of seat-finding stress) I associate with TED.
But for TEDGlobal, we thought we'd choose something more site-specific. (Yes, yes ... I know Aïda was an African princess. But still.) And so, welcoming us into the Main Hall each day in Arusha: A reinterpretation of the Tanzanian classic "Kuna Kunguni" (listen to it here) by the late master musician Hukwe Zawose, funked up in a version produced by Michael Brooks. The gyst of the song, for those who don't speak Swahili, is an upbeat invocation for people to come together, and work toward a better world. (Thanks to Bill Bragin for sourcing it!)
Technorati tags: TED, TEDGlobal, TEDGlobal2007
05 June 2007
The Day in Quotes (TEDGlobal 2007, Day One)
"We are all Africans. Welcome home."
— Paleontologist Zeray Alemseged, who discovered in Ethiopia the 3.3 million-year-old Salam, a 3-year-old hominid child, whose remains shed light on a key period in human evolution
"We need to reframe the challenges facing Africa, from the challenge of soliciting charity to the challenge of creating wealth."
— Journalist/Social critic Andrew Mwenda
"Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. I was going to talk about the Marshall Plan. But instead I'll talk about the Mwenda Plan, inaugurated today."
— Rock star/activist Bono, beginning a rebuttal to Andrew Mwenda, who argued forcefully against foreign aid in Africa
"Saying 'invest in Africa' is meaningless. Africa is not a country. There are 54 countries, each with its own value proposition."
— Financier Euvin Naidoo
"[Looking at media images of Africa], I thought, 'This is not the Africa I grew up with. The Africa I grew up with is full of life, full of optimism."
— Photographer Andrew Dosunmu
"Aid has never developed a nation. That comes from investment."
— Journalist/Filmmaker Carol Pineau
Technorati tags: TED, TEDGlobal2007 TEDGlobal07
05 June 2007
TEDGlobal 2007: What the blogs say (Day one)
"There’s nothing like a little controversy to get the party started. TEDGlobal hasn’t disappointed thus far." --White African
"I'm fascinated to see how the crowd - both regular attendees of the conference and first-timers - react to the program that Emeka Okafor has put together. (...) I suspect that the overall message of the event will challenge the preconceptions of all participants, African and non-African." — Ethan Zuckerman
"Meanwhile, down toward the southern end of the Great African Rift Valley in Arusha, Tanzania a kinder, gentler type of world event is taking place — Africa: The Next Chapter..." — Jewels in the Jungle
More blog coverage of TEDGlobal 2007
04 June 2007
[TEDGlobal 2007] Session 2: Looking Back to Look Forward
We began session two looking back to ... session one. Bono offered an unscheduled talk, taking on the anti-aid stance of journalist Andrew Mwenda, articulated earlier that day. (A bit of background: Bono's moving 2005 TED Prize acceptance speech helped ignite within the TED Community a heightened interest in Africa, and led quite directly to the planning of this conference.)
Bono led off with a video greeting from German chancellor Angela Merkel; a reminder that, in a parallel universe, the G-8 Summit also convenes this week, focusing in part on what some have called an African Marshall Plan. "Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan," Bono began. "I was going to talk about the Marshall Plan. But instead I'll talk about the Mwenda Plan, inaugurated today." He challenged Mwenda on multiple fronts, emphasizing the still-relevant role of aid in saving and improving lives, and the imperative of debt relief for nations who suffered corrupt regimes. I have a strong sense that the aid vs. investment debate is only just getting started ...
We then returned to our regularly scheduled program, looking to Africa's past to inform the future. Paleontologist Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged took us deep into our history, shedding light on human evolution through the fossil of Salam, a 3-million-year-old toddler he discovered in Ethiopia. (Fascinating fact: The shape of the skull indicated a brain closer to humans than chimps. But the vocal box was distinctly monkey-like, meaning this 3-year-old hominid may well have used language, but would have sounded more like a chimp than a child.) Historian Kenneth Vickery brought us into the recent past, offering snapshots of key moments in African history, which have resonance today.
Then the program leapt unexpectedly from our heads to our hearts (as so many memorably TED sessions do). Nigerian-born, Paris-based filmmaker Newton Aduaka shared an extraordinarily moving clip from Ezra, the Sundance-nominated film about child soldiers in the Sierra Leone. Then the magnificent Rokia Traore took the stage again (visibly moved by Aduaka's film), and enchanted us with her voice, which alternately floated and soared. Mali-born and Paris-based, Traore brings traditional music (and instruments) into a modern context, creating a sound all her own. Audience reaction: Not one, but two standing ovations.
For more extensive descriptions of each speaker, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Bono, Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged, Kenneth Vickery and Newton Aduaka.
Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
04 June 2007
[TEDGlobal 2007] Session 1: The Africa You Don't Know
After an extraordinary welcoming fanfare by Malian chanteuse Rokia Traore, TEDGlobal 2007 (Africa: The Next Chapter) kicked off this afternoon with a session intended to shift your thinking about the continent. We hear so much about Africa's problems — disease and poverty, conflict and corruption; here are the counterpoints that open our 4-day conversation here in Arusha, Tanzania...
"What's the worst thing you've heard about Africa?" asked Euvin Naidoo, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce, America. After fielding audience call-outs of "famine," "war," "corruption," he offered persuasive reasons why investing in Africa makes great business sense, and why the continent's challenges should be reframed as opportunities. American journalist/filmmaker Carol Pineau echoed this theme, drawing on her excellent documentary Africa Open for Business for case studies of successful entrepreneurs. She also critiqued her profession for the kind of one-sided coverage that has distorted the world's view of the continent...
Now, this question of media representation is one close to my heart, and I expect to hear — and think — a lot about it in the days to come. It's central to the work of Nigerian photographer Andrew Dosunmu, whose career has focused on countering the dominant images of Africans in non-African media (Invariably, they are starving, warring, or dying of AIDS). After emigrating to London, he was shocked by media images of his homeland. "I thought, 'This is not the Africa I grew up with. The Africa I grew up with is full of life, full of optimism.'" Seeing his work -- which centers around youth culture -- I couldn't help but imagine a Time cover story of his photos, replacing famine-wracked refugees with smiling, stylish girls in sunglasses; young couples in love; fathers bringing daughters to football games. Headline: "This is What Africa Looks Like."
The session culminated with a healthy dose of controversy. Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda gave a fiery talk, articulating his well-honed arguments against foreign aid, which he views in no uncertain terms as Africa's problem, not its solution. Eloquent, funny and forceful, Mwemba sent a jolt through the divided audience. Many stood and cheered; others mutteried audibly in disagreement. "Do any of you know someone who grew wealthy from receiving aid?" he asked, midway through his talk. The silence was broken by ... Bono. Who argued that yes, actually, government aid helped Ireland through the potato famine, for starters. (Bono would take the stage himself in Session 2).
04 June 2007
George Ayittey's critique of "coconut republics" -- too good to keep to ourselves
In the months before each TED, we ask speakers to fill in a short, casual questionnaire for the program guide, answering questions like "Who are your heroes?" and "Family apart, what are you most proud of?" Most speakers write a sentence or two for each. But for TEDGlobal 2007, iconoclastic Ghanaian economist George Ayittey took it to a whole different level. His Q&A came back as a 6-page polemic, including a sharp, off-the-cuff dissection of the toxic "coconut republics" of Africa. Powerful and funny, it was too good to keep to ourselves.
Click here for George Ayittey's full Q&A >>
30 May 2007
TED.com's new discussion space: Africa: The Next Chapter
As the TED Conference team departs for Tanzania and TEDGlobal 2007, the TED.com team is beginning the conversation online, with our latest theme: Africa: The Next Chapter. We start with an observation: That while we're all familiar with Africa's challenges -- famine and disease, conflict and corruption -- it's less known that across the continent, change is afoot. A new generation of Africans -- entrepreneurial, optimistic, inventive, undaunted -- are shaping a very different future for the their homeland.
Ingenious solutions are being applied to tackle some of the toughest health and infrastructure problems. Businesses are being launched that can transform the lives of millions. New communication technologies allow ideas and information to spread, enabling markets -- and governments -- to be more efficient. The numbers suggest that real growth is on the way ... A new Africa beckons.
Next week, we hold our first conference in Africa (also titled "Africa: The Next Chapter") to learn all we can about the profound changes sweeping the continent. Thought leaders from across Africa will gather with counterparts from the west in hopes of building new and lasting collaborations. But the meeting in real time is only the beginning: It's the conversations and connections that continue online which will have even deeper reverberations.
Though the talks from TEDGlobal won't be online till midsummer, we've started the conversation off with several relevant talks from TEDs past, including Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the pioneering Nigerian Finance Minister, who captures the zeitgeist of the moment with a talk on rethinking the African economy. It dovetails nicely with Jacqueline Novogratz, who promotes a new approach to philanthropy, based on investment rather than traditional aid. Both those thoughts were echoed by Ashraf Ghani, former Finance Minister of Afghanistan, whose rousing talk on his country's future resonates with this theme, despite geographical distance. And then there's Bono, whose memorable 2005 TED Prize acceptance speech was the original inspiration for the conference (though many there may disagree with his approach).
Click here to go to TED.com's new Theme, Africa: The Next Chapter >>
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