(Editor’s note, as of Nov. 1, 2019: Ameenah Gurib-Fakim stepped down as president of Mauritius in March 2018, following accusations that she misused a credit card given to her by a nonprofit. Read more here.) You’ve heard of a philosopher king. But what about a biologist president? Ameenah Gurib-Fakim — the biologist who gave the […]
A few years ago, ethno-botanist Mark Plotkin injured his foot. A visit to a doctor at home had him feeling pain-free for a few months, but things changed when he headed to the Amazon rainforest for work. There, a local shaman noticed his limp and offered him a palm tree wrap along with a specially-brewed […]
One of the best things about a week after a conference? The chance to reflect on the experience. In the last week, several TEDGlobal 2014 attendees and community members have shared their thoughts throughout the blogiverse. Below, some highlights: Steve Song shared his experience preparing to speak at TED in a post called “Steve and […]
Bold, moving, challenging: TEDGlobal 2014 has just wrapped. Browse photos from the final two days of the conference, which headed South this year to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
TEDGlobal 2014 has wrapped up — here, some highlights from the last day of the conference. Onstage and online, it’s been a busy and fantastic Friday. Word spreads of Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize. Excitement was high at TEDGlobal this morning when the news came out that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize had gone jointly to Pakistani education activist […]
In the final session of TEDGlobal 2014, Mighty spaces, we take four journeys — three to great expanses in the world, and one into our minds and hearts: A low blue haze lights the stage as choreographer Aakash Odedra spins slowly. The light grows and his dance picks up — a mix of classical Indian […]
Whenever Fabien Cousteau opened the door of his home during June, he met the neighbors: sharks and grouper. That’s because Cousteau was living underwater for 31 days, in a deep sea lab off the coast of Florida. At TEDGlobal 2014 this morning, Cousteau spoke about Mission 31, during which he and his team conducted experiments that will […]
To introduce the sessions of TEDGlobal 2014, curator Bruno Giussani had an idea: he asked 12 different creative teams to give 12 different visions of Brazil. Below, watch them all in rapid succession.
This session presents speakers who are at home in awe-inspiring places. These bold explorers come bearing discoveries from the tundra and the rainforest, from beneath the ocean’s surface, and even from that most elusive of mighty spaces — the happy human heart. The speakers who’ll appear in this final session of the conference: Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard has […]
From a speaker helping to contain the ebola outbreak to an America lawyer standing up for rights in Afghanistan to a journalist cracking open the Nigerian media, Session 11: Fighters was filled with crackling talks. A recap: Fred Swaniker kicks off the day with a bold vision for Africa’s future, which, he argues, rests squarely in […]
Ten years ago, epidemiologist Chikwe Ihekweazu helped fight an outbreak in South Sudan. This TED Fellow now runs the health consultancy EpiAFRIC, writes about public health issues in his native Nigeria, and is soon to start a four-week rotation on the ground fighting the Ebola epidemic. So as the outbreak continues, he sat down for […]
Kimberley Motley is an impossible woman: The former Mrs. Wisconsin, whose father is African-American and mother is a North Korean refugee, is the first foreigner to litigate in the courts of Afghanistan. Today she closes the penultimate session at TEDGlobal 2014 to send a message to the world: Our laws can protect us, as long […]
Pakistan is facing a polio crisis from unvaccinated children, because health workers are viewed with distrust — if not outright targeted by the Taliban. (Why? In 2013, it was revealed that the CIA ran a fake vaccination campaign as cover to hunt for Bin Laden.) This moving short film is part of a campaign to help rebuild trust, […]
Where would we be without our fighters? This session pays tribute to the brave activists who are in the trenches working toward the things that matter. Making their impact through law, journalism and education, these speakers bring a fearsome and tireless dedication to the cause of human dignity. The speakers who’ll appear in this session: Kimberley Motley is the […]
Day 3 of TEDGlobal lifted our hearts and brought us new ideas worth spreading. Below, a few of today’s highlights…
Khalida Brohi grew up traveling between two very different parts of Pakistan: the bustling city of Karachi, where her parents moved so that she and her sisters could go to school, and a small village in Balochistan, where her family has its roots. Brohi got a modern education, and also developed a deep reverence for her […]