The thinkers in this session, “Lateral Action,” don’t go about creating change in the usual ways. Here, their unexpected approaches: Argentinian singer-songwriter Juana Molina opens the session with a hypnotizing performance on the electric guitar and a rack of pedals that layer sounds into gorgeously complex song structures. Singing calmly behind layers of chords, she mixes […]
This session is all about “Basic Needs.” Enjoy these talks on food, innovation, sanitation and more. Sipho Moyo puts two images up on her screen: a Ghanaian cocoa farmer using a primitive wooden rakes, juxtaposed with the glossy Godiva chocolates that would not exist without her. And yet, says Moyo, the Africa director of ONE, the […]
In this session, “Lenses,” speakers look through cameras and new lenses — at subjects from the very, very big to the very, very small to the very, very far away. Wendy Freedman talks about a remote location in the Andes, far from the lights of civilization, where the stars can be seen clearly with the naked eye. In that location, […]
The theme of this session is “Blueprints.” And so we hear from speakers who have that all-too-easy-to-overlook first step: a plan. Brazil is named for a tree, says Tasso Azevedo. And thus, it is a good place to be a forester. 12% of the world’s forests are in the country, primarily in the Amazon, which plays a vital role in […]
In this session, six very different speakers share how they see technology empowering people and communities worldwide. Below, recaps of these fascinating talks. At the age of twenty-three, Rodrigo Baggio was already a successful entrepreneur when he decided: He needed a change that would make him more fulfilled, not just richer. Even then, in 1995, Baggio saw […]
This session was all about cities. From speakers parsing the cycles of violence in them, to those thinking far outside the box on what they could look like, read up on these ideas for cities. Robert Muggah is troubled by our cities. Not urban success stories like Shanghai and Seoul, but those that he calls “fragile cities,” quickly urbanizing […]
The theme of Session 4 is Field Work — and we’re hearing from people who get outside, who work in the field and hear what’s really going on. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is a professor at the University of Mauritius, and she’s here this morning to show us five plants unique to where she works and lives: the Mascarene Islands. […]
Session 3 of TEDGlobal 2014 took a look at things thatmove across borders, from identity to violence, from money to music. Below, a recap of these moving talks. Filmmaker José Padilha, director of Elite Squad and the remake of RoboCop, talks about a new project about Friendship Bridge, which connects Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. A hotspot for violence, this slim arch […]
Technology fuels social movements and opens up opportunities for political change. But at the same time, technology can radically compromise our privacy. In Session 2, speakers explore both potentials, with surprising conclusions. Below, recaps of the talks in this session. In 2011, a single email launched a worldwide movement against wealth inequality. Yet three years on, Occupy hasn’t delivered on its utopian […]
Session 1 of TEDGlobal 2014 felt a little like a campfire, as five speakers took the stage to share stories of their homeland. Below, a recap of what each had to say. Figures from history rarely have political durability, says writer Marie Arana. And yet, Simón Bolívar’s face still appears in street art throughout South America — he’s […]
By Laura McClure, Emily McManus and Kate Torgovnick May Big data is already transforming our daily lives. And at TED@IBM, a TED Institute event, we got a glimpse of what’s next. Speakers revealed how data will change spaces from the kitchen to the emergency room, and how it will even help us react more quickly […]
At our small, fast-moving nonprofit company, everyone does a couple of jobs — and productivity apps help us manage roles that shift between coding, writing/designing and running a full-scale conference twice a year. We asked the TED staff what apps they can’t live without. And beyond the classics—Instagram, Google Maps, Spotify, Uber, Seamless—we found some […]
Just in time for TEDGlobal next month, we’ve rebuilt our TED Live program, allowing you to watch the entire conference—or a single day of it—on a high-definition live stream anywhere in the world, anytime. 7 reasons to try it: You’ll gain insight into what’s going on in the world. The TEDGlobal 2014 program is designed […]
By Kate Torgovnick May and Krystian Aparta Music is the universal language. So why, then, do so many songs get translated? Sometimes, bands adapt their lyrics into English to reach international audiences—which explains why so few of us can sing ABBA in the band members’ native Swedish. Other times, songs are adapted into local languages […]
By Baratunde Thurston So, you might know me. I ran the digital side of The Onion for a long time; I’m the author of How To Be Black. People call me to do things like host White House events on innovation, do the wrap-up at TED salons, join semi-secret cabals at MIT, and comment on the […]
On the anniversary of September 11, we’re proud to launch an idea that is the deepest possible antidote to terror. It’s the powerful story of Zak Ebrahim, who grew up the son of a terrorist (his father helped plan the 1993 WTC bombing), and chose tolerance over hatred. This idea reaches you in a form […]