'If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... ' began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis - from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project V.O.I.C.E. - and gives two breathtaking performances of 'B' and 'Hiroshima.' This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.
Sean Aiken is the creator of 'The One-Week Job Project', an inspiring journey across North America in which he worked 52 jobs in 52 weeks to find his passion. He trekked more than 46,000 miles, slept on 55 couches, raised over $20,000 for charity, and tried every job he could: Bungee Instructor, Advertising Executive, Stock Trader, Baker, NHL Mascot, and more. Sean has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, MTV, TIME, and The New York Times. He frequently speaks about what he learned from his One Week Job experience and has developed an international program to empower others to discover their passion by taking on a series of 'One Week Job's. Source: TEDxVancouver
Education scientist Sugata Mitra conducted a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, where he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and watched as they taught themselves how to use it. As he accepts the 2013 TED Prize, he calls for us to take this idea to the next level with a School in the Cloud, where students explore with just a little guidance.
On February 26th, 2013, Bono spoke at TED to show the progress in the fight against extreme poverty… and what we need to do next. Bono shares the new facts about fighting global poverty: 'Forget the rock opera, forget the bombast, my usual tricks. The only thing singing today will be the facts.'
By becoming a 'factivist', we can learn what needs to be done to end extreme poverty within the next generation. And the facts are beyond promising. Since 2000: eight million AIDS patients have been receiving retroviral drugs; mMalaria deaths have been cut in some countries by 75%; child mortality rate of kids under 5 is down by 2.65 million deaths a year; extreme poverty declined from 43% in 1990 to 33% in 2000 to 21% by 2010. Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 20 years, and the facts show that we can get it to virtually zero within a generation - but only if we act. 'Let’s think about that,' he says. 'Have you read anything, anywhere in the last week that is as remotely as important as that number? It’s great news, and it drives me nuts most people don’t know this.' 'If you live on less than $1.25 a day, this is not just data. This is everything. If you’re a parent who wants the best for your kids, and I am, this rapid transition is a route out of despair and into hope.' Watch the video HERE.
I couldn't finish this post without mentioning the fact that today is Bono's birthday. Yep, that's it! My favourite rock star turns 53 this very same day! Coincidentally, it is my eldest daughter's birthday, as well! So, congratulations to you both. I now leave you with a classic: With or without you!
