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 […]
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. […]
Amid TEDGlobal’s talk of our global connection and interconnection, it’s a fine time to present Bob Thurman, Buddhist monk and scholar, on the Buddhist view of the universe. In our hyperlinked world, we can know anything, anytime. And this mass enlightenment, says Thurman, is our first step toward becoming Buddha. When we can know everything, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Beat the crowds in the bloggers’ lounge: blogger Soyapi Mumba is Twittering the conference. Is anyone else? Send a Comment.
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 […]
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 […]
“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.” […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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, […]
Anand Agarawala presents BumpTop, a fresh user interface that takes the usual desktop metaphor to a glorious, 3D extreme. In this physics-driven universe, important files finally get the weight they deserve via an oddly satisfying resizing feature, and the drudgery of file organization becomes a freewheeling playground full of crumpled documents and clipping-covered “walls.” Worried […]
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 […]