TED Talks - Not just any talk

Treasure is often found by accident. I discovered 'TED Talks' through a treasured friend. Thanks Douglas!

TED - Technology, Entertainment and Design Conference brings people of action from different fields to talk their passion. The list of speakers is a virtual 'who's who' from worlds of science, technology, economics, business, development, entertainment, arts..... and the TED Talks page provides online access to the videos and audios of their talks. As live participation in the conference is by invitation and a registration fee of slightly over $4000, TED Talks has become a highly valuable link for me.

Some of the talks are pure gold. Innovative content and absorbing delivery, some even serious-ly funny. So into the organizer a short entry has made an appearance - my daily talk a day. And the distinct emphasis on 'wishes' in this year's New Year greeting had strains of Malcolm Gladwell's emphasis on 'pepsis and not pepsi'. As they say you think some and steal some....ideas!!! Though this form of creativity is definitely not the kind that Sir Ken Robinson refers to in his (witty) talk on the significant success of our current system in 'educating us' out of creativity. [Lets go to Talk]

To give you a quick taste of the action, here are some snippets from the 2006 TED conference.

Remote in a Gadget Age

Back on cyberspace after 18 days of no internet, television or ipod!

This techno deprivation necessitated a fall back to the now not-so-in ways of spending time - books, friends, walks, watching (the ships), listening (to the rain drop), talking (to myself).....In retrospect, it wasn't that tough! And created some memorable moments with a quick yank back to the world of people and sights.

Watching others (the non-deprived) absorbed in their PDA's, laptops and chats, I safely wagered a bet that most of them were going home to the TV and some more surfing.

In the significantly favourable odds of this wager festered a question - are we becoming gadget addicts? What is it doing to us and our families? Kids hardly play outside now, babies donot eat without the barney DVD, we can't sleep without the mobile next to the pillow, most of us spent more time staring at the computer screen than looking into eyes, traveling without the ipod is unimaginable, in peak of summer the AC's freeze us into woolens, we walk more in a gym than in the park and the closest we come to rivers and forests is on the TV screen.

Where are we headed? One thing is for certain, the direction leads away from ourselves, nature and fellow beings.

To be further certain, I read Ann Dooling's perspective on the challanges posed by technology in her classroom; PC World's raptures over the 50 greatest gadgets; The yearning for the Ultimate Wired home; Electrosensitivity of human body; and the summary of the Sept 1997 special issue in New York Times on what Technology is doing to us!

One of the books read on this tech-detox spree was 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman'. Mr. John Perkins, I have'nt been able to stop talking about it (yet) with everyone I meet. At a professional level, the unraveling of the politics of aid strengthened some core concerns on the social-economic developmental process. But at a personal level, my key take-away from the writing was the co-relation between professional or life aspirations and their consequential 'shaping of our world'.

It reminded me of a couplet by Kabir

"Sayeen Itna Deejiye, Ja Mein Kutumb Samaye

Main Bhi Bhookha Na Rahun, Sadhu Na Bhookha Jaye"

Its literal translation is 'Dear God give me so much that is enough to suffice the needs of my clan. Let me not stay hungry nor let any visitor go away hungry from my place.'

Though in today's age, how much is enough?

'I Make the Society' - and Change it

"This is how the society is." So accept it! This all encompassing 'reality' has stonewalled many a revolutionary argument. Try a counter query of "Who makes this society"? And watch the shrug.

Though recently, I have had the immense pleasure of tuning in my dear 'realists' to the "I make the society" call....whose frequency and bandwidth are both on the rise! Whether it is those who trade in their PHD's for a village life (Dhirendra & Smita story); or the high flyers who leave their sky rocketing careers (and pay packets) to downsize into a high challenge but less paying profession (John, Ramji & Jane's crusade), this growing band of change-makers is providing some (literally) heart-warming ammunition to resurrect that prematurely stalled argument!

Not yet convinced? Lets present the case of Institute of OneWorld Health, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the United States. The company is winning over millions by developing safe, effective and affordable new medicines. Its target - the deadly but preventable diseases that are still killing many in the developing countries. And its target consumer - the most susceptible victims who normally cannot afford to pay much and sometimes nothing for life saving medicines. Surprisingly they are also making enough to stay in business!

The world is full of such 'reality' defying stories, some unfolding in distant places and others right next door. KarmaTube narrates some through its online videos. [Do Something Videos]

Some statistics to support the point? Well that I leave to the more articulate and compelling Miniature Earth Video.....

And please do turn up the volume...of the call

Change This?

Today on my net prowl, I stumbled upon `Change This´. A slightly different approach from other media sites. It has an objective - challenge our ideas and current state of things. And it has a tool - manifestos on viewpoints developed by us, the people. From culture, business, current affairs to technology, there is a manifesto. Now if that is'nt constructive debate....then what is?

The first manifestos that I clicked on was 'Changing the Rules: Lessons from a Starfish World'. Guess the rebel in me can never resist a jab at existing rules!!

The manifesto compiles Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom belief that the conventional 'spider' like organization and approaches will never be able to control or completely eliminate a 'starfish' like group. According to them that is why a starfish outfit like Al Qaeda will survive the most powerful onslaught. And one marked characteristic (and a reason for sucess) of these resilient starfish groups like Apache Indians, music swapping programs, Wikipedia, Alcoholics Anonymous and Al Queda succeeds is - absence of hierarchy (head). So conventional organizations (spiders) best watch their backs. Begin by reading Changing the Rules: Lessons from a Starfish World

And ofcourse there is the 'Slow Leadership: Creating Civilized Organizations' manifesto which I would definitely want my perpetually 'work stuck' husband to read. And his boss! Plus all those managers and leaders who are always in a rush to do more and more.....So darling are you ready to proceed to Slow Leadership: Creating Civilized Organizations?

On a lighter and definitely more fun note is the Adbusters animation for the Slow Down Week that whizzed past in early January.....like the rest of the year!! It does hit the nail on the head...[Watch the Slow Down in Animation] Aaah, how can I not mention this....it is by the International Institute of Not Doing Much.

Make Roads Safe

Having spent a lot of time on the roads recently, I have a revived taste for the road safety slogans. Some of them are really good: 'Take your time. Not your Life'

'Don't become another mark on our roads'

'Stop accidents before they stop you.'

'Normal speed meets every need.'

'Better to arrive late than never.'

'Speed thrills kills'

'Please be Gentle on my curves'

'It is better to be 15 minutes late in this world than 15 minutes early in the next...'

At the inquest into the world’s first road traffic death in 1896, the coroner was reported to have said “this must never happen again”. More than a century later, 1.2 million people are killed on roads every year and up to 50 million more are injured. Road traffic injuries are expected to become the third leading cause of death and disability worldwide by 2020. Signs of a global epidemic?[Road safety: a public health issue]

According to the Make Roads Safe Report, 3000 people and 500 children are killed every day on the world’s roads. 85% of them die in developing countries. 44% of all road traffic deaths occur in the Asia/Pacific area, which only has 16 % of the total number of motor vehicles. No wonder, 23 - 27th April 2007 has been designated as the first UN Global Road Safety Week. [The coming plague of Road Traffic Injuries: A preventable burden for rich and poor countries]

If you have time, try out your skill at the online Roadie Runner game and please 'Don't Learn Safety by Accident'!

So drive carefuly, donot add on to the statistics.....[Join Make Roads Safe Campaign]

The World's most Endangered Monuments

Helloo!! Just got back from traversing through parts of the trans-himalyan belt. Absolutely awesome!!

On this journey, I was introduced to the 100 most endangered sites listed by the World Monuments Watch. Announced every two years by the World Monument´s Fund, the list "calls international attention to cultural heritage sites around the world threatened by neglect, vandalism, armed conflict, or natural disaster. Through the Watch, WMF fosters community support for the protection of endangered sites and attracts technical and financial resources to assist in their rescue. More than 75% of Watch sites have been saved or are well on their way, thanks to timely intervention."

The 2006 list includes monuments from 55 countries (spread over the seven continents). I personally had'nt heard of most of these sites and their illustrous backgrounds uptil now. Embarassingly, this included some sites in my own country!! Why don´nt you too check out your embarass quotient?

On the World Monuments Fund website, you can browse the 2006 sites list by country or explore the interactive map.

And for the serious travellors and history/heritage buffs, there are some interesting and frankly quite enlightening articles on the Newsweek website. As one of them points out "The number-one threat to tourist treasures, paradoxically, is tourism itself. The challenge is how to keep the world's most esteemed monuments from being loved to death."

Do you know which are the 7 most endangered wonders of the world? (Check it out)

[The Most Endangered Sacred Sites]

"Bound by Law?": A Comic of Tales from the Public Domain

Why do we have copyrights? What’s “fair use”? Bound By Law, explores some of the pressing issues facing law, art, property and an increasingly digital world of remixed culture. Presented in the form of a comic, its heroine is Akiko, a young and tough documentary filmmaker. During the day, she films her documentary and navigates the twists and turns of intellectual property. At night she brandishes laser guns to fend off the cyclopean 'Rights Monster'. Thats what I would call 'protecting one's interest'......Smart!

Remember how “Eyes on the Prize,” the great civil rights documentary, was pulled out from circulation because the filmmakers’ rights to music and footage had expired? Did'nt that make you wonder on What’s going on?

If you are looking for some answers to arm yourself with....the comic would be a good place to start. The free digital version can be downloaded from [Center for the Study of the Public Domain]