So what in effect is TED, and what’s the purpose of this whole enterprise? This I learned from Bruno Giussani, the director of TED Europe. TED’s goal is to spread good ideas freely around the world. Once upon a time, the kind of exposure to lectures, such as those at TED, were the domain of the few who had the money and the status to be invited to such events. With the aid of TED, the world’s best lectures are distributed in the video form on their website. Everyone is welcome to view and be inspired. From there on, the responsibility is turned over to the viewer.
As I was pondering TED’s social message, of breaking down barriers between people and knowledge, the M.C. and producer, Liat Aaronson, took the stage, and instead of announcing the next lecturer, she told her own story. In India, after the TED conference, Liat took the bus to a monastery for a retreat. On the way, and completely by coincidence, she sat next to Hanan, a Palestinian living in London, who had also participated in TED. All the way to the retreat and back they were busily involved in a political debate (as usual), however at some point they realized the futility of the argument. Both of them, fascinated by the possibilities of a TED conference, decided to put their arguments aside and initiate a joint Israeli-Palestinian TED conference: TEDxHolyland.
By that stage, I was flooded with emotion. Those who know me, are aware that bridging the gap between Israelis and Palestinians runs in my blood. For the last 7 years I have devoted myself to building an international organization, the Center for Emerging Futures, which brings together Israelis, Palestinians and foreigners, not for the purpose of peace, but for the purpose of constructing practical ventures and partnerships for the good of society and the environment. I felt that I must participate in the TEDxHolyland venture. What’s nice about the conference is, that without any trouble, I approached Liat and Hanan during the first break, and offered them my help, which was welcomed. See you at the conference in Jerusalem.
If anything is possible, and that was my feeling at the moment, then why can’t we solve the world’s most difficult problems? The lecture by Pablos Holman, from Intellectual Ventures Lab, nicely demonstrated this. Pablos, a “super hacker”, a member of an almost make-believe inventor’s laboratory (I couldn’t figure out where the lab is located, but I suspect that it’s not on the face of the earth) spoke about a solution for eradicating malaria from the world with laser cannons, a solution for stopping hurricanes by penetrating cooling pipes deep into the ocean to cool the waters from which the next hurricane will erupt, etc. The main idea: The world needs the refreshing thinking of these hackers, for whom there is no possibility of “impossible“.
At the end of the lecture the M.C. turned to Pablos and said she was aware that he is also a great salsa dancer. She asked if he would dance for us today. Pablos was taken aback, saying that he would be happy to dance at the party that evening. The M.C. insisted, inviting him to dance here and now. Pablos, was by now embarrassed. Realizing that he had no choice, he opened his arms and invited the M.C. to dance. However, she told him to turn around – and there she stood, in a salsa dress, an energy bomb in the form of a salsa dancer, especially in his honor. Needless to say that after the event I vowed to myself (again) that I have to learn salsa. As mentioned before: There’s no such thing as impossible!
Another break filled with new introductions. There’s a sense of roulette during the breaks. Who am I going to meet this time? Wow, I’m speaking to Piven, whose work I really admire. Later with Tal, a promising startup entrepreneur, who is developing the next generation of social networking. Then with Adi, one of the founders of the Vertigo Dance Company. It was a win-win situation.
The next lecture wasn’t really a lecture at all. Although the speaker, Shimon Schocken, is a prominent professor of computer science, this time he spoke about his love of mountain bikes, and especially of the youth group he leads on spectacular, scenic bike rides around Israel. What’s so special about this group is that its participants are young offenders from a penitentiary institution somewhere in the country. Shimon undertook the unbelievable: to take these youths outside of the prison walls and prove to them that it’s possible to overcome difficulties, and not just through violence. The pictures which accompanied the lecture are worth a thousand words, and illustrate the beauty and the difficulties intertwined. Shimon told about a boy who faced some difficulties during one of the rides, and went berserk. No amount of reasoning persuaded him to calm down. The language of logic doesn’t work here. The boy didn’t calm down until Shimon pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket, approached the boy carefully, touched his shoulder and offered him the chocolate. The boy relaxed. At that moment he had received love and contact as he had never received before during his life.
By the next lecture, my brain was sending overload distress signals. Thus, I could only listen with limited attention, but with much wonder and amazement, to the lectures by Isaac Berzin about algae energy production, Ehud Shapiro about uncovering the “lineage trees” in human cells, and Oded Vardi about cultural differences between us and the Americans. The first two deserve deeper investigation. The third was a sort of interesting comic relief. The lecture by Haim Shafir, a game inventor (he invented TAKI) stirred me up, and reminded me again about how much more our joint creativity is worth, compared to individual creativity.
With the last of my intellectual and emotional powers, I listened to the lectures by conductor Itay Talgam, and the choreographer Noa Wertheim. Itay Talgam used his wide knowledge-base of the world of conducting, to show clips of of conductors displaying various leadership styles: from the dictator-type conductor through the conductor who didn’t hesitate to abandon his orchestra, being fully conscious that the performance would be of a lower quality without him. The highlight of Itay’s lecture dealt with Leonard Bernstein’s style. According to Talgam, who was a student of and an assistant to the legendary maestro, the ultimate leadership is that which doesn’t try to control, but doesn’t abandon either. It is the leadership which has presence, and causes each one of those being led to surpass himself and, in essence, become a leader for the moment. How do you achieve this? Please contact Bernstein.
Finally, the charming Noa Wertheim who hadn’t slept for two weeks before the lecture because she was so nervous. On stage it was obvious that she was nervous, but the compassion and sensitivity she displayed captured the audience’s hearts. One of her messages was being grounded, which allows one to overcome gravity. It was wonderful seeing the Vertigo dancers floating on the stage after Noa explained the source of the inspiration for the dance. Anyway, after a conference so full of text, the Vertigo dancers said it all without words.
That’s it for the report from TEDxTel Aviv. Cheers to the organizers, and may there be many more!
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