TED Take
Why TED? Why not? Connecting people and ideas. Ideas worth spreading. Those are some of the buzz phrases surrounding the Technology Entertainment Design movement. I suspect, from the 2,200 attendees at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday there were 2,200 reasons for being there and 2,200 different experiences and outcomes. Probably more.
On the weekend I attended TEDxSydney. It was my first foray
into the TED world although I’ve seen the odd TED talk video and heard so much
positive feedback about TED events from sources I respect.
So I went along, not sure what to expect. To be honest, I
didn’t even really read up on the speakers' due to present; I just
rocked up with an open mind. Not sure what to make of it, I let each presentation wash
over me.
I walked away with a great deal of insight and inspiration that I think
will benefit me as a professional and as a human.
My two biggest highlights and revelations
1. If I could only recommend one speaker for people to watch it would be this one (Oliver Percovich - session 3, presenter 2).
Oliver Percovich founded Skatistan, a non-political,
independent project that combines skateboarding and education. It is inclusive
of all ethnicities, religions and social backgrounds. In five years, Skatistan
has grown to employ more than 50 people worldwide and is an award-winning
international organisation with projects in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South
Africa.
Skatistan may sound like a cute, simple idea
but listen to Oliver. It is so so much more.
By the way, did you know that 70 percent of people in Afghanistan
are under 25? (Half of the population is younger than 16).
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| Double shot of happiness |
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| Laser Beak Man Tells The Wiggles To Shut Up |
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| Laser Beak Man and the Barbie Queue |
2. This is the art work of Tim Sharp, an internationally
acclaimed 25 year-old artist from Brisbane. After he was diagnosed with Autism at age three,
his mother was told that she should “put him away and forget about him”, that he would never feel emotions and she would never hear him tell her she
loved him.
His story is extraordinary and his achievements are
extensive and ongoing. His mum was scared to dream in the beginning. Their
future was uncertain but she knew she had to get up every day and just try. Tim wrapped up the telling of his astounding story by telling us, “Every day is a good day for me. Every day is a happy day for me … she is
my mum and my best friend. She is beautiful and excellent. I love my mum.”
Tim and Judy Sharp are a double shot of happiness.
You know what else made me sit forward in my seat?
During the acknowledgement of country when, after acknowledging
that we were on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, Michael West
encouraged us all to acknowledge our ancestors. I guess I am so used to hearing
this demonstration of awareness and respect to the Aboriginal land owners at
official events, I have never even stopped to consider taking pause to
acknowledge my own ancestors, those that have gone before me. His point was by
working together and sharing stories, we can make a great country. And we can
make a difference.
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When author of The Book Thief, Markus Zusak said “Failure
has given me a greater motivation to succeed next time; it’s given me a
beautiful afternoon throwing the discus in the pouring rain with my dad (who
was addicted to tic tacs); it’s given me the power to imagine my way around
problems; and it’s given me the courage to follow my own vision completely.”
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The moment academic, Adam Alter made me realise I’m really
up myself because one of my favourite letters of the alphabet is the initial of
my first name.
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When musician, Lindsay Pollack made a clarinet using a carrot. No seriously.
He also made a couple of instruments using a garden hose and
a feather duster.
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| photo by Barat Ali Batoor |
This photo by Barat Ali Batoor. It was taken on a
doomed boat that set out illegally from Indonesia to Australia. He almost
changed his mind about attempting the perilous voyage but having been driven out of Afghanistan, where most of his relatives were
massacred, he felt he didn’t really have a choice.
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Half-way through a presentation I began listening to with polite interest, my heart started aching for a family and the scientific brilliance its heartbreak spurred on.
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Hearing former soldier and diplomat, David Kilcullen’s revelation
about the power of consumer technology and the hope it provides poorer nations,
“… consumer technologies that are out there now flooding the developing world
that allow cities and communities to understand themselves in ways they were
never able to before to generate the kind of consensus around problems of urban
over stretch, of crime, of poverty, sanitation and so on and to come up with
that kind of participatory co-design approach that allows them to think about how
might we do differently what we need to do in our environment in order to make
it more resilient.”
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Considering the notions of vengeance, justice and truth and
how they relate to the legal system, politics and the media.
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When Fred Leone spoke about the traditional language of his
people and how it was considered a dead language (he prefers to think of it as
asleep). It reminded me of the documentary I saw on Aboriginal runners and when
they spoke, their words had to be translated. It felt strange and sad that
here, were my fellow countrymen who lived in and loved the same place as me,
yet I couldn’t relate to them in any way.
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Hearing the principal of Punchbowl Boys’ High School, Jihad
Dib say he drew the line when a fellow teacher told him those kids weren’t
worth it, so he drew on a sense of family to change the culture and the
trajectory of the school. “Where there’s a heartbeat, there’s hope.”
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... I knew it was the truth when vocalist, Lior said that to be
more compassionate is to be more free. I have experienced this for myself very
recently. BTW how is this guy’s voice!?
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“A lot of Lady Gaga’s costumes really are period costumes. From the period of, like, Madonna.” – Post
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| As told by Mark Major |
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I was looking forward to Megan Washington’s performance all
day. And she kicked the whole thing in the guts with her own TED talk to share
her story of life as a stutterer (still). Huge ups. Love her even more now.
Brave woman.
And what about her latest song?
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This video.
