Video posted to YouTube by Charter for Compassion.

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community. The text of THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION.

A call for the restoration of the golden rule as central to all religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions, The Charter for Compassion was initiated by Karen Armstrong when she was awarded the TED prize on February 28, 2008.  At that time, she asked for help to create, launch, and propagate the Charter, which was launched on November 12, 2009. A former nun, a scholar, and a writer on the religions of the world, her intellect and scholarship are formidable. In my view, she embodies the compassion she encourages.  It takes enormous compassion to put yourself in danger and travel the world addressing religious illiteracy and asking folks of every persuasion to demonstrate the emotional maturity to see all peoples as one, not other. Her humour is engaging and modest. She refers to herself  as “a freelance monotheist.” One of her more recent books is The Case for God.

From November 13-15, events to commemorate the launch of the Charter took place across the globe from Australia and South Africa to Argentina and Thailand with more than 100 partner organizations. These events included everything from art exhibits and film screenings to small lectures and large conferences. Religious leaders gave services on compassion and the Charter in houses of worship.  The list of signers and partners grows.  Part of the plan is to give copies of the signed Charter to key political leaders.

This effort is – among other things – a call to remember that the real purpose of religion is spiritual transcendence of ego not tribalesque sectarianism. War is not peace, nor will it lead to lasting peace because of the wounds and resentments it fuels. If we truly want our children and grandchildren to live their lives in safety, to be guaranteed the freedom to practice the religions of their parents, then compassion must rule.  As long as any one person or any one group is in danger, we all are. The welfare of others is our own welfare. “Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things,” wrote Thomas Merton. Compassion for ourselves is not self-indulgence or the control of others, it is the ability to see others as we see ourselves and to treat others and we would be treated. 

Look at all the children who are growing up in war zones, who have never known anything but war, who have seen their towns and families decimated. They are in pain. And, frankly, most of them are time bombs. For this, we are culpable. Because of this, we are vulnerable. But who am I to say so?  I’m just a mother, disabled, at home and sad about the unnecessary suffering, worried about other mothers’ children and about the world my son and his wife will grow old in.  Karen Armstrong is the expert.  I hope you will take the time to view her TED prize acceptance speech.  You may be inspired. You may be shocked or appalled. In any case, you will be forced to think.

Já fazia algum tempo que queria falar um pouco sobre o TED, e não apenas explicar o significado dessas três letrinhas, mas tentar dizer o que representa pra sociedade como um todo.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), ou (Tecnologia, Entretenimento, Desenho), é uma conferência, aliás, considero muito mais que isso, vejo como um acontecimento único, e considero ainda ainda que todos as comunidades deveriam ter a sua edição.

Tudo começou em 1984 na cidade de Monterey, porém nesse ano foi passou a ser realizada em Long Beach, outra cidade do estado da Califórnia, devido a um aumento do número de participantes.

A conferência ganhou tanta força que acabou ganhando versões pelo mundo, passando a ser chamada de TEDGlobal 2009, tendo cidades como Oxford, na Inglaterra, além de Mysore, na Índia, todas nesse ano.

Nomes reconhecidos mundialmente já palestraram por lá, como Bill Gates (fundador da Microsoft), Bill Clinton (ex-presidente dos EUA), Bono Voz (vocalista da banda irlandesa U2), Al Gore (vice-presidente durante a administração de Bill Clinton), e até Michelle Obama (esposa de Barack Obama).

Enfim, qual o tema tratado pelo TED? A resposta para essa pergunta pode ter milhares de variações, mas a principal é reunir num único lugar pessoas com grande ideias, e tentar difundir as mesmas num mundo cada vez mais complexo, ou seja, é um celeiro de grandes mentes pensadoras.

Originalmente o acontecimento tem como foco tecnologia, entretenimento e design, no entanto com o passar dos anos o negócio foi se expandindo de tal maneira que acabou se transformando também no lugar para debater temas como ciência, artes, política, educação, cultura, negócios, questões globais, tecnologia e desenvolvimento.

Com tantas pautas importantes e palestrantes como uma amplo conhecimento nas áreas em que atuam ou atuaram, um grande acervo de informação foi formado, e mais de 500 das palestras realizadas encontram-se no site do evento, e desde que foram disponibilizados para consulta online já foram acessados por mais de 50 milhões de pessoas, em cerca de 150 países.

Desde 2005 a organização do evento elege três pensadores em destaque e repassa a cada um a quantia de 100 mil dólares, para que possam realizar suas ideias. Tal premiação recebeu o nome de ´TED Prize´.

E como não poderia ser, o Brasil também ganhou este ano a sua versão, com o TEDx São Paulo. Antes de entrar no assunto sobre a versão brasileira, é bom explicar que o TEDx trata-se de um programa direcionado à empresas, escolas e outras instituições que queiram organizar seu próprio evento.

O TEDx São Paulo aconteceu no dia 14 de novembro passado, e reuniu pela primeira vez o presidente grupo Santander Brasil, Fabio Colletti Barbosa; Francisca Simões Cavalcanti, Engenheira Agrônoma; Silvio Meira, um dos maiores pesquisadores de engenharia de software no Brasil; e outros grandes nomes que somam 30 grandes pensadores de áreas de conhecimento.

Esse é só um dos diversos eventos mundiais importantes que começam a serem sediados também no Brasil. Mesmo diante de um abismo de indiferenças sociais, o país ganha o reconhecimento e importância no cenário dos grandes acontecimentos internacionais.

Paulo Saldiva, chefe do serviço de patologia do Instituto do Coração da Faculdade de Medicina da USP, durante o TEDx SP, falando sobre exclusão e racismo ambiental.

Bill Clinton, na edição de 2007, aceitando o Prêmio TED 2007, e pedindo ajuda para levar cuidados de saúde para o Ruanda – e no resto do mundo.

Ben Dunlap conta a história de Sandor Teszler, um sobrevivente do Holocausto húngaro que lhe ensinou sobre a vida apaixonada e aprendizagem ao longo da vida.

Assista aos vídeos do TED

Assista aos vídeos do TEDx São Paulo*

*Escolha o vídeo por idioma traduzido ou por evento (menu situado à esquerda, última opção)

Karen Armstrong is purely brilliant. She knows what matters.

Her book “A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam” was one of those few books that did change the way I thought of the world and us humans not just religion.

After winning the TED Prize; Karen’s wish was a call to bring the world together…Charter of Compassion which if anything affirms her deep understanding of what we all know needs to happen yet we hide behind self preserved walls.

Watch the video voicing the charter:

Bueno, por donde empezar con esto!!

Sigo hace mucho tiempo este evento a nivel mundial a través de su pagina web www.ted.com, y cuando empezaron a a traducir al español, mas todavía.

TED es como la charla soñada, con la gente soñada.

Se habla desde política, pasando por arte, música, ecología, educación, tecnología, deportes, y muchas mas!

Los que seguimos TED, por lo menos por Internet, y mas los que estamos en el ultimo peldaño de la Patagonia, que esto tendría que llegar a la Argentina.

Y señores!!!! Así fue, después de mucho trabajo del grupo que organizo el evento, haciendo una movida viral increíble en las redes sociales como Facebook, Twitter, etc. lograron que el día 8 de abril del 2010 en el Predio Ferial de Buenos Aires de La Rural.

Participan 25 oradores registrados hasta el momento como: Adrian Paenza (Maestro de Ceremonia) quien mejor que el!!! Mariano Sigman, Manu Ginobili, Luis Pescetti, Jose Cibelli, Ines Sanguinetti y mas….

El Grupo Organizador es de lo mejor,Gerry Garbulsky ,Santiago Bilinkis, Vanesa Kolodziej, Adrian Paenza, Diego Goldberg, Omar Arab, Sergio Meller, Dario Whertein, Laura Muchnik, Tino Lutteral ,Diego Golombek , y otros que participan en diferentes campos para la organización de este evento.

Esta es la pagina oficial:  http://tedxbuenosaires.org/

Les comento que la atenciòn organizativa es excelente, cuando se arranco con la pre-inscripción, recibì un TWT de Santiago Bilinkis, avisando que habían largado. Me empiezo a inscribir, y cuando llego al final de la pagina y le doy enviar, se cae la web!!!.

Bueno, después de mails, tuiteos, y mas mails, logre saber que estaba pre-inscripto!

Lo importante es, mas allá que me encataría participar, que TED, ya llego a nuestro país, y tenemos que hacer fuerza para que no quede como otro proyecto que arrancó bien y despues se vino a pique. ( No creo que pase!!).

Esto va a producir un gran cambio en muchas personas, y eso es fundamental, ya que el momento que estamos pasando en el país en todos los sentidos, necesita un cambio, y esto es un puntapié inicial, por lo menos es lo que creo yo.

Ahora les dejo con uno de los videos que mas me gusto de estas charlas, la oradora es Sylvia Earle, oceanógrafa, comenta a través de un estudio de mas de 30 años de los océanos del mundo, como se están deteriorando y de que manera podemos salvarlos!

Sylvia gano este año el TED Prize 2009, premio a la mejor charla.

Saludos!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

My out-going e-mails are not sending.  What in the world does this mean: “Error connecting to intmail – Check the hostname resolves, accepts incoming SMTP connections and is active”?

1. Called TED about the TED Prize (212.346.9333)
2. Got instructions from NYC Business Solutions to set up an appointment with the Community Development Project of the Legal Aid Society (212.426.3000).  Called and left message.
3. Update the “Get Involved” page
4. Set up appointment to meet with Emily from God’s Love We Deliver to get avice on vonlunteers
5. Heard back from SocialVibe, who is no longer accepting partners, with the exception of those who come with a paid brand sponsor or celebrity affiliates who’s willing to be involved in a campaign promoting an organization on SocialVibe through videos, media interviews, etc.
6. Discussed the foundation with several people I met at a renewable energy event and got some good feedback.
7. Showed Steve the website design and got good feedback
8. Out-going e-mail went down.

Primeiro evento TED no Brasil apresentará inovações em diversas áreas de conhecimento e atuação.

No dia 14 de novembro, cerca de 700 pessoas estarão reunidas em São Paulo para debater “O que o Brasil tem a oferecer ao mundo agora?”.
Este é o tema que guiará as discussões do primeiro evento TED no Brasil, o TEDx São Paulo. Durante todo o dia, 30 palestrantes
apresentarão inovações em diversas áreas de conhecimento e atuação, com o objetivo de avaliar o papel de nosso pais no contexto global.

Mais do que uma exposição de boas ideias, a conferência propõe a formação de uma comunidade de inovação, que inspire e mobilize. Um
primeiro encontro, um primeiro passo. Desde a seleção dos palestrantes até a plateia, a Comissão Organizadora busca explorar a diversidade, criatividade, inteligência e, porque não, a paixão e fascínio dos brasileiros por seus projetos.

Uma força que une a química Milena Boniolo, que aos 25 anos recebeu o Prêmio Jovem Cientista por seus estudos em torno do uso da casca de banana na limpeza da água, à Guti Fraga, ator e realizador do Projeto.

Nós do Morro. Regina Casé, atriz, apresentadora e produtora de programas como “Central da Periferia”, à Flávio Deslandes, designer
industrial, criador de bicicletas com bambu nativo do Brasil.
Pensadores que juntos descobrirão como um país moldado pela diversidade podem ajudar a construir na prática um mundo melhor.

Para que a experiência não seja restrita aos presentes e não se encerre na data, após o evento todas as apresentações serão
disponibilizadas na íntegra no site do TEDx São Paulo. No canal, os interessados também podem realizar suas inscrições. Vale ressaltar o
evento não tem fins lucrativos. Os palestrantes não são pagos e as inscrições são gratuitas. Sendo fundamental a curadoria tanto de um,
quanto de outro.

Sobre o TED:

O TED surgiu em 1984 como uma conferência anual na Califórnia e já teve entre seus palestrantes Bill Clinton, Paul Simon, Bill Gates,
Bono Vox, Al Gore, Michelle Obama e Philippe Starck. Apesar dos mil lugares na platéia, as inscrições esgotam-se um ano antes. Cerca de 500 das palestras estão disponíveis no site do evento e já foram acessadas por mais de 50 milhões de pessoas de 150 países. A cada ano
a organização elege um pensador de destaque e repassa a ele 100 mil dólares para ele que possa realizar “Um Desejo que Vai Mudar o Mundo”.
Com essas 4 ações, TED Conferece, TED Talks, TED Prize e TEDx a organização pretende transformar seu mote “ideias que merecem ser
espalhadas” cada vez mais em realidade. “Acreditamos apaixonadamente no poder das ideias para mudar atitudes, vidas e, em última instância, o mundo”, dizem os organizadores do TED. Nós também. E você?

Sobre o TEDx:

No espírito das ideias que merecem ser espalhadas, o TED criou o programa chamado TEDx. O TEDx é um programa de eventos locais, e
organizados de forma independente, que reúne pessoas para dividir uma experiência ao estilo TED. O TEDx São Paulo é uma conferência sem fins lucrativos que reunirá mais de 30 pensadores de áreas de conhecimento tão diversas quanto arte e tecnologia, ciência e negócios, para falar sobre suas melhores ideias em palestras com duração de 5 ou 15 minutos. O tema desta primeira edição do evento será: O que o Brasil tem a oferecer ao mundo hoje? O TEDx São Paulo acontecerá no dia 14 de
novembro de 2009 e será gratuito.

Mais informações:

Lívia Ascava

livia@tedxsaopaulo.com.br

http://www.tedxsaopaulo.com.br/

Fonte: Thamires Andrade – WebCitizen

Photo credit: Jurvetson on Flickr

Edit: The curator of TED, Chris Anderson, kindly tweeted about what he would like to see in this article.  The changes have been added.

The conference, TED Talks, has been attracting significant mainstream attention, since 2007, TED.com offered videos of the lectures for viewers to stream.  TED’s success is a good example that is counter intuitive to traditional ways of doing business: giving away information can actually increase revenue.

If you have landed on this article and haven’t watched any TED Talks:

1. Open the TED Talks list in a new window

2. Watch several of these talks (currently 442)

3. Finish reading this article.

For those of you who have fully embraced your addiction to TED, and are looking for more TED, here is a list of things you can do:Show me the list!

1) Get to know TED.com

This may seem obvious, but because TED has made their videos available to download and embed to other websites, some people may be getting their dose of TED from another site (like google video or iTunes podcasts) and miss out what TED.com has to offer:

a) A community to join. There are currently 163,928 members that are part of the TED community.  You can create a profile and connect with them/view profiles and comment on the talks.

b) The TED blog.  Subscribe to the blog to receive the latest and greatest.

c) An index of speaker’s biographies.  Love a talk? Find out more about the person behind the talk.

EDIT: d) TED has since added an extensive list of languages that the talks have been translated into

2) TED on Facebook

a) The TED application for Facebook allows you to browse, view and favorite all of the videos offered by TED.  You can also invite your friends to the application.  Once your friends have the application, you  are able exchange which videos you have on your “favorites” list.

b) Become a fan of TED on Facebook. Updates from the official TED site will be posted in your Facebook Feed. You will be able to talk about your favorite talks in the “discussions” tab. Videos, photos, and other TED exclusives are available to their fans.

c) Join a TED group on Facebook.  The advantage of groups over the fan page is that groups are formed for niches.  For example, TED Talks in Farsi.

3) TED Talks on Twitter

Twitter offers a great way to enrich your TED experience.  The official feeds for Ted are @TEDTalks, @TEDPrize and @TEDPalmsprings.  You can also follow the curator Chris Anderson @TEDChris.   Following these accounts is a great way to get updates on what is happening with TED.  Additionally, speakers at TED often have Twitter accounts posted in their TED bio.  For example, if you were blown away by Eric Lewis’s rendition of “Going Under” and would like to know more about what interests him, you can follow him @ELEWW.  Finally, to read what the Twitterverse is saying about TED, search the trend “#TED“.

4) TED on YouTube

If you are a heavy YouTube user, you can subscribe to TED’s official channel.  If you can help it, watch the videos directly from the TED site, as they are of higher quality relative to YouTube.

5) TED Talks on your Phone.

If you have an iPhone, TED Talks has a free application under “Education”.  This application has all of the video/audiocasts available, with the option of being able to favorite. This is probably the best ways to pass time on a bus, in a lineup, a lay over in an airport. There is a plusmo widget to add a TEDTalks audio feed to other phones.

6) TEDx

TEDx opens the TED brand to independent groups of people to organize events with the same “TED-like experience”.  This a huge step to globally exposing TED’s brand its culture of “ideas worth spreading”.  Although each TEDx event is hosted independently, TED still offers support in the way of advice, exposure on TED.com,  connections to other organizers and the ability to use the “TEDx” brand.

This is a huge opportunity to involve and engage your community, school, workplace.  If you would like to be involved in organizing a TED event in your area visit TEDx.  From there you will learn, what happens at a TEDx event, the benefits of joining TEDx, how to host your own TEDx event, choose a name, how to invite speakers and how to get a sponsor.

In case you are still not convinced, here is one of my favorite TED Talks.  I would love to hear yours!

Jose Antonio Abreu is the charismatic founder of a youth orchestra system that has transformed thousands of kids’ lives in Venezuela. Here he shares his amazing story.

See http://www.ted.com for more information on TED

See also The Sound of El Sistema

The Future of Classical Music lies in Venezuela

Related: Free Instruments for Poor Children in the UK

Recently, I had the pleasure of knowing about TED. For this I’d like to thank a friend of mine for introducing me into this wonderful venue of ideas. TED as you’d soon find out is an annual conference where scientists, philosophers, scholars, academicians, thinkers, entrepreneurs and all the other amazing personalities come together and share ideas, valuable ideas on Technology, Entertainment and Design (simply put T.E.D). Each year three outstanding individuals are awarded with the TED prize. Aside from the $100,000, TED prize recipients are also granted a “wish to change the world” which they unveil at the end of their talk at TED. By wishing, the TED prize recipients hope that they may be able to inspire other people into action in the fulfillment of this wish.

In the past few days I have watched some of the videos from TED. The first video that I watched is Barry Schwartz’ talk on how we have stopped being wise. A truly amazing personality—Barry Schwartz is an American psychologists who frequently publishes editorials in the New York Times. Barry Schwartz talks about Aristotle’s Phronesis or “practical wisdom” and how it can save our asses during this financial crisis. He tells us how when CEOs pursues short term wins and smart incentives while foregoing the long term health of their companies end up messing the financial world. How brilliance, without wisdom, can spell trouble. How work has lost its morality and how the people doing the work have lost morale because we have stopped asking “is this right?” instead we simply ask the question “is this profitable?”

Sylvia Earle’s recent TED prize talk was one that will not be missed. Being an oceanographer and truly an ocean-loving scientist, her talk on saving our ocean was one that is both informative and compassionate. She shows us unthinkable statistics—how in fifty years we have eaten more than 90% of the big fishes, how oceans are being polluted and coral reefs the jewel belt of the pacific have half of all its glory disappeared. The most depressive part of her talk is the discussion on the implications of the destruction of the ocean—the destruction of our planet’s “life-support system”.

The ocean shapes earth’s chemistry, stabilizes weathers, regulates temperatures, and creates clouds that return to land. Our evolutionary chart tells us that life once started in the oceans. Most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is converted to oxygen by planktons. Heat is absorbed by the seas to prevent the lands from overheating. Fishes feed dolphins, whales, sea birds, penguins and many other creatures. Clouds from the sea waters the land “No blue? No green.” The ocean offers us so much not to mention its beauty and the mysteries it hold.

And yet we continue to destroy the ocean. We emit so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that dissolves in waters (like oceans and lakes) making them more acidic, ironically killing the planktons that help us reduce these greenhouse gases. A decrease in the number of oxygen-producing planktons also means less oxygen for fishes to breathe (also for us too). We continue to overfish (including the almost extinct blue-fin tuna) destroying food chains, reducing them in numbers and eventually killing them completely. We ruthlessly kill sharks for shark fin soups; we use trawlers that traps all sorts of fishes mostly by-catches (which fishers would eventually throw back to the sea, dead) while destroying ocean floors. We are preventing other creatures a chance to eat by overfishing—penguins, walruses, dolphins, whales are dying of hunger. For every one pound of fish that goes to market more than 10 or even 100 are by-catches (fishes that don’t meet the standards) that are thrown back to the sea—dead; trash liters our ocean killing all sorts of wildlife.

I have the pleasure of entertaining some responses to this dilemma of ours. Some people say that maybe those dying creatures are unworthy of living; because based on Darwinian Theory, only the fit deserves to survive. I find this extremely disturbing considering that only a scientist can use such an argument. We stripping away the polar bear’s land (the ice, their habitat) is not survival. We do not expect that while ice in the North Pole completely melts in the next 50 years we also expect polar bears to evolve into aquatic creatures, into a polar fish. That is unthinkable! We also do not expect hungry creatures deprived of fishes that we overfish to shrink their stomachs and go on without eating as the fishes in our ocean disappears. While we feast on 200-year old crustaceans, we do not expect them to suddenly grow like vegetables that are easily reproduced in a matter of weeks. We do not expect fishes to suddenly hasten their reproductive cycle from months into a matter of days or—to compensate for the rate with which we consume them—into a matter of a few hours. It is preposterous.

What about us? Do you call this atrocity survival of the fittest? I am disgusted by our acts of destruction as means of coping. Soon we will suffocate due to the lack of sufficient oxygen in the air. Overpopulation will drive more carbon-emissions, more over-fishing, more pollution, more wastes, and more destruction. Our future is bleak. Climate change isn’t just about storms, rising sea-levels, mass-extinction and destruction of wildlife. A rise in temperature will affect our crop harvest; it will kill our trees; it will destroy our food sources. Climate change will also mean hunger, poverty, and will very well affect public health. And here we are, some wise guy walking around telling me that hey, the earth is a passing phase—our final destination is the transcendental.

No offense to religions, well the hell with heaven. Humans have become complacent, stagnant, and stubborn. We have forgone our evolutionary chances and resorted to fatalism. It seems pretty insulting to call ourselves intelligent creatures. People are stuck at this level—arrogantly proclaiming ourselves as the pinnacle of evolution. Let me tell you this. Complacent human beings will be stuck in their current states with their stubborn mindset. Others will evolve. We can clearly see this in the past—extinct cousins of Homo sapiens who are undeserving of evolution. Humans will and should evolve, and we must aim beyond our planet—to engage the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. And we, humans, can only see to that glorious age where we will no longer be lonely in this universe if we can make this right. We have this chance to turn things around—aim for sustainability, long-term growth and for many companies this is a long-term investment—an investment not merely for the dying creatures, not only for the disappearing assets of the earth, but also for humanity.

We should start asking ourselves: “What have we done.” And only by discovering that we have violated our planet, our future and ourselves can we start asking “What can we do?” I hope that every one of us will stop digging our own graves. For the future of humanity—let us do the right thing.

I would like to end this blog entry by showing below the videos that inspired this blog entry. Barry Shwartz’ video can be found in my previous blog post.

Maestro Jose Antonio-Abreu, recipient of the 2009 TED Prize, gave his acceptance speech in February. He describes with great eloquence the impact of El Sistema, the nationwide youth music training program he founded over 35 years ago in Venezuela, on the hearts and souls of its people, and the society as a whole. He describes the effect of this system as being felt in three circles – the individual, the family, and the community. In other words, by planting the seeds of music-making in the hearts and minds of children, we affect wider circles than just those children. We affect the families, we affect the communities in which those families live, and we eventually affect the world. I am in awe of the beauty of how Maestro Abreu’s dream, which started with just eleven students in 1975, has come to truly be the change he wished to see in the world.

In its essence, the orchestra and the choir are much more than artistic structures. They are examples and schools of social life, because to sing and to play together means to intimately coexist toward perfection and excellence, following a strict discipline of organization and coordination in order to seek the harmonic interdependence of voices and instruments. That’s how they build a spirit of solidarity and fraternity among them, develop their self-esteem and foster the ethical and aesthetical values related to the music in all its senses. This is why music is immensely important in the awakening of sensibility, in the forging of values and in the training of youngsters to teach other kids.

– Jose Antonio-Abreu, in his 2009 TED Prize Wish

Follow this link to see the video of the talk, and here to read the complete transcript of the talk.

Here is the video from a surprise satellite-fed performance by one of El Sistema’s Youth Orchestras, performing live in Venezuela after the Abreu talk. Conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, an alumnus of El Sistema and, beginning in 2009, the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The energy, passion, and discipline of this group of high-school-aged students is truly breathtaking. I’ll borrow from the TED blog’s words, by asking you to please take 20 minutes and

…accept this astonishing gift from a bunch of kids in another country who might have lived lives of futility … but instead discovered the transformative power of music.

Behold and enjoy the results of 35 years and the dedication of an entire country.

]]> http://silviuistrate.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/ted-prize-2009-live/ Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:26:23 +0000 silviuistrate http://silviuistrate.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/ted-prize-2009-live/ http://pmaples.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/ted2009-prize-winners-share-their-wishes/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:50:32 +0000 Pam Maples http://pmaples.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/ted2009-prize-winners-share-their-wishes/

Running notes from the TED conference in Long Beach, CA.; first posted on www.stltoday.com, my newspaper’s webiste.

The three 2009 TED Prize winners were recognized tonight at the organization’s annual conference, picking up $100,000 awards and revealing their “wishes” to change the world.

In addition to the money, the winners receive an array of volunteer help from TED members, who include some of the world’s richest technology entrepreneurs, leading scholars and scientists. This year’s awards ceremony was streamed lived on the TED website and broadcast in a handful of movie theaters around the world.

The winners and their wishes:

Astronomer Jill Tarter, director of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute’s Center for SETI research. Tarter has spent her career looking for signs of sentient life elsewhere in the universe.

Tarter/Photo by TED

Tarter asked the TED community to help her “empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company.” She said she intends to use the prize money on efforts to engage and education young people and asked for help with new technologies to aid her search.

Deep ocean explore Sylvia Earle, who has led more than 50 expeditions around the world and was captain of the first all-female team to live underwater. She helped develop undersea vehicles that enable scientists to work at depths that were previously impossible.

In the 1990s, Earle was chief scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. She is currently explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.

Earle/Photo by TED

Earle asked for help to “ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean.”

Venezuelan economist and musician José Antonio Abreu, who founded a program that has taught classical music to thousands of poor children in his country. Abreu, who is retired, started the program in 1975 with the goal of providing the children an alternative to drugs and crime.

El Sistema — “the system” — is now a national organization with more than 155 children and youth orchestras and 270 music centers. Almost 250,000 Venezuelan children are involved in the programs.

Abreu/Photo by TED

Abreu asked for help create a special training program for 50 young musicians who are committed to developing El Sistema in the United States and other countries.

NOTE: TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, is an annual conference that draws some of the world’s leading scholars, scientists and business and technology figures.

The 2009 TED conference starts today.  Like Davos, I’m sure the conversations this week will be very different than they were a year ago.

There are two TED-related firsts this week worth announcing.

First, this Thursday, February 5^th, the TED prize session will be broadcast live in select theaters across the United States.  These are wishes from the TED community to change the world: deep-ocean explorer Sylvia Earle, astronomer Jill Tarter, and maestro Jose Antonio Abreu each have a 2009 TED Prize wish that they will share in a two hour presentation featuring Quincy Jones, Al Gore and Sir Richard Branson and a “surprise guest.”  So be the first to see the results.  Tickets are $20 and can be bought here for theaters in various venues in California, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.  Click on the video below for a preview.

Second, the TED Fellows program was officially announced this morning.  50 applicants from around the world who are leaders in their fields will be chosen to join the TED community.  Cool.

(For those who don’t know TED, it’s the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference that brings together leading thinkers from all imaginable sectors and has them give captivating, 18 minute talks filled with “ideas worth sharing.” If you ever wanted to know where to get inspired – both by content and in what world-class presentations look like – this is the place to go.   Here’s a recent article by Virginia Heffernon titled “Confessions of a TED Addict” with a nice list of TED talk favorites).

And here’s the TED Prize preview.

Así, entre signos de admiración y respeto profundo hay que titular este post, único en su especie por lo que representa para los Venezolanos y para los que como yo, habiendo nacido en el extranjero, hemos aprendido a amar profundamente a ese bello país. 

La labor del Maestro Abreu es en si misma un mensaje de humanidad, tolerancia y respeto que todos deberíamos escuchar atentamente. Mensaje que por cierto contrasta totalmente con el continuismo, el personalismo y la opresión propia de quienes, por ejemplo, les da por pisotear libros sagrados y profanar templos.

Celebremos con el Maestro Abreu este merecidísimo premio. Celebremos que en Venezuela existe gente con un talento enorme, con una vocación pedagógica sin paralelo y con un corazón inagotable. Celebremos la humanidad, el don de compartir, el arte, el talento. Celebremos el rechazo que la labor inmensa de Abreu y todos sus chicos representa ante la intolerancia, el sectarismo, el odio y la opresión. 

El 5 de Febrero recibirá el Maestro su merecido premio. Es tradición en TED que los ganadores pidan un deseo (el llamado TED WISH). No hace falta ser muy imaginativo para prever qué pedirá el Maestro. Seguramente hablará de paz, de tolerancia, de hermandad.

Recibamos todos su mensaje y celebremos con él la esperanza que hay en Venezuela. 

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an annual conference first held in 1984. Speakers are invited to give an eighteen-minute talk – ‘the talk of their lives’ – to present ideas worth spreading. The best of these are made available free to the public.

Each year the TED Prize is awarded to three individuals. Each receives $US 100,000 and the granting of ‘One Wish to Change the World’. They unveil their wish during the award ceremony held at the TED Conference. The TED community then helps to make the wish come true.

TED.com is a global community which anyone can join. The community, with millions of members, seeks to exchange and spread ideas. It is described as ‘a community welcoming people from every discipline and culture who have just two things in common: they seek a deeper understanding of the world, and they hope to turn that understanding into a better future for us all.’

TED2009, ‘The Great Unveiling’, is the 25th anniversary conference, to be held in Long Beach, California, 3-7 February 2009.

A ’sister conference’, TEDGlobal, originally to be held every other year in different countries but now to be held annually in Europe, has a stronger international perspective. Conferences held so far have been in Oxford, UK (2005) and Arusha, Tanzania (2007). TEDGlobal 2009, ‘The Substance of Things Not Seen’, is to be held in Oxford, 21-24 July 2009.

One of the 2008 TED Prizes was awarded to British author Karen Armstrong, a former Roman Catholic nun who now describes herself as a ‘freelance monotheist’ and specialises in the study of comparative religions.

Her wish was: ‘I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.’

The Charter for Compassion takes the Golden Rule as fundamental to all world religions and aims to ‘inspire people to think differently about religion’. The public were invited to submit contributions for the Charter and a ‘Council of Sages’ has been working on the final wording.

According to the Charter for Compassion website, the  Charter does not assume that ‘all religions are the same’, ‘compassion is the only thing that matters in religion’ or ‘religious people have a monopoly on compassion’; but does affirm that ‘compassion is celebrated in all major religious, spiritual and ethical traditions’, ‘the Golden Rule is our prime duty and cannot be limited to our own political, religious or ethnic group’, and ‘therefore, in our divided world, compassion can build common ground’.

The Charter is intended to create a grass-roots movement around the document. It is not an organisation itself but is supported by a range of organisations as Partners.

The Charter seeks to show, ‘that the voice of negativity and violence so often associated with religion is the minority and that the voice of compassion is the majority. Through the participation of the grassroots, people around the world will expect more out of religious leaders and one another. In doing so, the Charter will shift conceptions of religion for all people.’

Karen Armstrong was one of three persons awarded a 2008 TED Prize for a very big wish for changing the world. She stated her wish this way: “I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.” (See this archive of Karen Armstrong’s Wish Blog for further developments regarding the Charter for Compassion.)

Here’s a YouTube video of Karen Armstrong’s original TED presentation in which she first communicated her wish:

Here’s a later YouTube video about the Charter for Compassion:

I wanted to draw your attention to a short video that went live on the web a few days ago. If you have some spare surfing time then please do click through and have a look. It’s very inspiring.

It marks the launch of a global endeavor to celebrate compassion and promote collaboration between the world’s religions. The background to it is a TED Prize wish by Karen Armstrong, calling for a Charter for Compassion.

And the exhilarating twist here is that the writing won’t be done behind closed doors. It will be done by you… and perhaps millions of others around the world. Because they’re using special collaborative web tools created by the geniuses at Kluster (a collaborative decision making platform) to enable this be truly a charter “created by the world for the world”.

Millions of people around the world will be contributing, in their own language, to help create a charter capable of inspiring the world to focus on what the great religions share, as opposed to what divides them. Already people are responding to this amazing idea with passion and excitement. The goal is to obtain all input from global participants within the next four weeks, select the best contributions with the help of a council of religious “sages”, and conduct a major launch of the finished document in 2009.

For all you Buddhists, yes, I know it’s a philosophy not a religion, but I think this is very exciting and very relevant to something we all hold close to our hearts.

Often described as the greatest war photographer of recent decades, James Nachtwey was one recipent of the TED prize in 2007.

The TED Prize is

awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

Watch James’ key note address here.

James’ body of work is termed ‘witness photography’ and I personally find him an inspiration. An individual who pushes the boundaries, reporting on those stories the world has forgotten and forsaken.

I have been a witness, and these photographs are my testimony

As a result of his TED prize James helped establish xdrtb.org to draw awareness to Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDRTB).

Tuberculosis in 2007 ‘killed 1.7 million people 4,660 deaths a day or one death from TB every 20 seconds. However this problem has been exacerbated by inadequate treatment of TB suffers that has resulted in a series of drug resistitant mutations emerging that are untreatable by current medical procedures. The implications of XDRTB are particulary profound for people infected with HIV.

Currently TB is the number one killer of people infected with HIV and unless rapid action is taken it will seriously undermine the progress that is being made in the extending the life expectancy HIV sufferers.

TB is still treatable, in the majority of cases, with a courses of drugs that costs only $20 in the developing world. However, as always, the program to tackle the disease is only half funded. The danger is that unless the problem is tackled now a more virulent strains of XDRTB will emerge and prevent any hope of eliminating the problem and reducing the deathtoll from a currently preventable disease.

Every religion teaches compassion and tolerance. In these times of extremism and fundamentalism is there a way to come together? Starting as the wish of Karen Armstrong, authority on world religion and recipient of one of the 3 2008 TED prizes and now being created, the intention of the Charter for Compassion  is about “bringing together the voices of people from all religions… the Charter seeks to remind the world that while all faiths are not the same, they all share the core principle of compassion and the Golden Rule.

“The Charter will change the tenor of the conversation around religion. It will be a clarion call to the world”. And it will be written by the world through special group decision making software and the overseeing by a Council of Sages, made up of religious thinkers and leaders, who will craft the world’s words into the Charter which will not only speak to the core ideas of compassion “but will also address the actions all segments of society can take to bring these ideas into the world more fully”. Visit the new website, watch the short video and contribute your thoughts and ideas. I am very moved by the masterpiece we will create together through this project.

via: TED

Although I came across the following short video through a new friend of mine at PhotoSensibility, the video is hosted the TED site which is where he came across it.  This beautiful video is titled “Mankind is No Island” and recently won first prize at Tropfest NY.  Directed  by Jason van Genderen, it was shot entirely on a cell phone with a budget of $57!

For those of you that follow TED this will be 10 day old news, but maybe you didn’t read the announcement yet?! And for everyone else I really wanted to share the news. As you might remember the Pangea Day Film Festival that was an incredibly impactful event was the result of a Ted Prize; a wish to unite the world in realtime through film.

“The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED community’s exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.” Source Tedprize.org

This year the TED prize winners are -

Sylvia Earle- Deep ocean explorer & dedicated advocate for the world’s oceans and the creatures that live in them.

Jill Cornell Tarter – Astronomer and Director of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

José Antonio Abreu – Maestro who changes the lives of Venezeulan Children through music.

I highly recommend that you read the full details at tedprize.org

Now if you are new to TED I would also encourage you to join the network, you will then be sent the most incredible short videos that are the sessions from each of the thought leaders that talk at the TED Conferences, they are very inspiring.

I really look forward to 2009 and hearing what these visionary individuals wish for and how it will positively change the world.

What would you wish for?
Have an incredible week.
Candice

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The winners of the TED Prize 2009 had been announced. Amazing people. One thing I get from the three of them was that they used what they knew and what they were passionate for in order to help people around them and to teach people about field that they were in.

Again, I do hope that someday my ideas of doing something about the state of our education system will become a reality. I may not win a TED prize, but I do want to help kids in the rural areas and even out-of-school youth to have access to education and even to technology (Insert cold sweat here – this is my thesis topic and I have not written a single sentence). I will make this happen.

An aside, watched L’auberge Espagnole last night. Now I want to get into the Erasmus Mundus Program. But the problem is the prorgram ends this year. I do hope they extend. But working in the Philippines is the best thing I can do after graduation and figure out what I will take as my masters degree. Dreaming BIG.