Global Issues

From counterfactual reasoning to iPhone art: Highlights from TED@SãoPaulo

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TED Talent Search: TED@Sao Paulo

This spring, TED headed on the road, visiting 14 cities across six continents on the hunt for untapped talent. The idea behind the sweeping search: to let you, the TED community, weigh in and vote on which speakers you’d like to see ascend the stage at TED2013. After holding one-night salons in Amsterdam, Bangalore, Doha, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Tunis and Vancouver, we couldn’t help but notice that every city’s event had its own unique flavor. And so we’ve asked one audience member from each stop along on the tour to share their memories.

First up, we asked audience member Ana Goelzer of Porto Alegre, Brazil, to tell us about her experience at TED@SãoPaulo, which took place on June 12.

Ana, what three adjectives would you use to describe the night?

Awesome, funny … and I’m having trouble with a third. What struck me at TED@SãoPaulo was that the people were the light. The power went out three times, but everyone stayed in great spirits.

Who were the must-see speakers of the night, who you hope TED fans will watch on the TED Talent Search website?

Alexandre Sequeira. His talk was about visiting a small village with a beautiful history of trust and collaboration. It was a lovely exploration of how a camera can change a life … and even protect a village from flying saucers.

Roberto Lautert. He talked about how technology inspired him to leave behind portraiture. But how meeting both Freuds — Sigmund and Lucian — brought him to go back to art. Only, this time, his iPhone became his sketch book.

Edgard Gouveia Jùnior. He shows how changing the world can be fun, fast and have no cost. He is amazing, an unstoppable guy, always spreading good ideas.

Gabriel Otsuka. Such nice classical Brazilian piano player. And he’s only 11.

Diego Caleiro. He explains the concept of counterfactual reasoning and why it is so important in our lives.

Which speaker from the night do you want to be your new best friend? 

Arthur Pugliese, who spoke about turning construction sites into venues for art, with construction workers using site waste to create sculptures and paintings. He did what Brené Brown said. He doesn’t speak English, but got up on the stage and asked his fiance to translate his awesome talk as he went. He did a great job!

[An additional note from co-host Kelly Stoetzel:  The interpreter wasn’t his fiance at the beginning of the night. She was his girlfriend … and about an hour before his talk, he proposed to her from the TED@SaoPaulo stage during one of our power outages. She said YES!]

Stayed tuned for more audience impressions of TED Talent Search events, coming at you over the next month.