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Information for tech enthusiasts, hobbyists, devs, tech startup founders and tech entrepreneurs

TED 2010 Nairobi Screening

Last Saturday (13th February), the last day of this years TED, for the first time ever, local youths in Kenya (some from the Kibera slums) were entreated to the live TED experience via webstream.The event was held in the building where the Acumen Fund is based in the parking lot (cool huh!) The original venue was in Kibera but at then it had to be moved at the last minute due to logistical reasons… [Read the whole story and see more photos on Afrinnovator.com]

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TED 2010 Comes to Kibera

That would be quite an amazing thing now wouldn’t it! TED being held in the largest slum in Africa.

Well, Suraj Sudhakar, the guy who brought us TEDxKibera in 2009 is at it again and this time he wants to bring TED 2010 live to Kibera and the youth of Kibera [Read the full story] …

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TEDxYouthInspire to be held in Accra, Ghana in April 2010

I just got this in my mail and I just got excited (ok, very excited). You see, it’s true, the storm is brewing…

Inaugural TEDxYouthInspire to be held in Accra, Ghana in April 2010

Accra, Ghana, December 1, 2009 – On Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 8:00AM – 6PM GMT, the inaugural TEDxYouthInspire conference will be held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra, Ghana. The one-day, free event will be the first TEDx event dedicated exclusively to young African visionaries ages 14-25.

Tasked with inspiring young people to make sustainable transformation, the conference will utilize the theme “A Good Head & A Good Heart”, from former South African President Nelson Mandela’s 1995 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, to exhibit how radical thought and integrity of spirit combine to create unlimited possibilities for a brighter future.

“It is important that young people are aware of their power as local and global community leaders,” says Raquel Wilson, event curator, “TEDxYouthInspire will encourage participants to collaborate and embrace their shared passions for change.”

Space for TEDxYouthInspire is limited. Young people interested in attending should apply online at www.tedxyouthinspire.org/attend. Eligible applications must be received by Sunday, January 31, 2010 to be considered for admission.

Individual and corporate sponsorship packages are available. Additional information about TEDxYouthInspire can be found by visitingwww.tedxyouthinspire.org. You can also follow along on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tedxyouthinspir or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tedxyouthinspire.

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The Most Unique TED Stage Ever

UPDATE: Emmanuel Jal beat the odds of growing up as a child soldier, watching his friends die of starvation in the Sudan. But today he sings the song of a war child on the TED stage

UPDATE: TED Blog post about TEDx Kibera!

This past Saturday (yesterday) I was invited to speak at what I call the most unique TED stage ever! Suraj, an Acumen Fund Fellow put together a TEDx event in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa! And what an event it was.

The TEDx Kibera Stage

The TEDx Kibera Stage

Suraj has this theory that there is an ‘idea gap’. Basically, the idea gap is the fact that mostly the discussions and ideas around Kibera both from within the slum and from NGOs and other organizations that work in the slum, are primarily and almost only about poverty, HIV/AIDS. There is very little else that is associated with this places, nothing inspiring, nothing out of what the environment presents. So Suraj started showing some of the youths in Kibera TED videos, and you could tell the impact that this had had on them. Just showing them the possibility of a different world, of something outside what the slum offers them, which is mostly despair, and mental imprisonment.

Suraj then got together some volunteers from the slum and organized a small 2-hour TEDx, where anyone from the slum was invited. He got three speakers, Tonee Ngungu of Wazimba, Otieno Gomba a founder of an Ghetto Art an art studio in Kibera who is from Kibera himself and myself.

It is quite hard to put into words the experience. I attended TEDx Nairobi a week earlier which was a much much bigger event at a bigger venue. But the interesting thing is, even being in this smaller event being held in the middle of a slum, in a shanty church building, surrounding by the dirt and grime of Kibera… there was still great inspiration (if not greater) and great ideas! And I think that’s the beauty of  TED, the fact that despite where you are, in whatever circumstances, people (if motivated enough) will always come up with great ‘ideas worth sharing’! And that says something very deep about the human spirit and the dignity of human beings. That whether rich or poor we all have that capacity for creativity. Otieno Gomba said it perfectly, we are all created with the innate ability to create!

The even more interesting thing is, I think I who was meant to be a speaker coming to share something with this crowd from Kibera was actually probably way more inspired, and challenged and astounded by the audience. Particularly by the young volunteers. I literally had to take the rest of the day just to recover!

You can find my photos from TEDx Kibera on Flickr.

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(Some of) My Best TED Talks

Hans Rosling:
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_truth_about_hiv.html

Brian Cox
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brian_cox_on_cern_s_supercollider.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brian_cox_what_went_wrong_at_the_lhc.html

Elizabeth Gilbert (Blew me away!)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

John Wooden
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html

Jill Bolte (Blew me away!)
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Jeff hawkins
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jeff_hawkins_on_how_brain_science_will_change_computing.html

Kwabena Boahen
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kwabena_boahen_on_a_computer_that_works_like_the_brain.html

V S Ramachandran
http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html

Christopher deCharms
http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_decharms_scans_the_brain_in_real_time.html

Ron Eglash
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ron_eglash_on_african_fractals.html

Jacqueline Novogratz
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jacqueline_novogratz_invests_in_ending_poverty.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/jacqueline_novogratz_on_an_escape_from_poverty.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jacqueline_novogratz_on_patient_capitalism.html

Benjamin Zander
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html

Gregory Petso
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gregory_petsko_on_the_coming_neurological_epidemic.html

Joseph Lekuton (A Kenyan MP, Can u believe it! and very good too)
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joseph_lekuton_tells_a_parable_for_kenya.html

Nick Sears
http://www.ted.com/talks/nick_sears_demos_the_orb.html

James Burchfield
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/james_burchfield_plays_invisible_turntables.html

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