Ted2006 Videos

In this stunning talk, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the world's indigenous cultures, many of which are disappearing, as ancestral land is lost and languages die. (50 percent of the world's 6000 languages are no longer taught to children.) Against a backdrop of extraordinary photos and stories that ignite the imagination, Davis argues passionately that we should be concerned not only for preserving the biosphere, but also the "ethnosphere," which he describes as "the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness." An anthropologist and botanist by training, Davis has traveled the world, living among indigenous cultures. He's written several books, including "The Serpent and the Rainbow" and "Light at the Edge of the World." His current work focuses on the preservation of all life's diversity, and includes National Geographic's Cultures on the edgewebsite. (Recorded February 2003 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 22:44)

Photographer Phil Borges displays his remarkable portraits, documenting the world's disappearing cultures, from persecuted monks in Tibet to embattled tribes in the Ecuadorian Amazon. He also shares inspiring results from his digital-storytelling workshops, which give indigenous teenagers tools for cultural preservation and self-expression. A former dentist, Phil Borges rediscovered his passion for photography, and spent the last 25 years documenting indigenous cultures around the world. His work collected in several books, including "Tibetan Portrait" and "Enduring Spirit." In 2001, he founded Bridges to Understanding, an organization that works with teenagers worldwide, promoting cultural preservation and exchange through digital storytelling. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 19:19)

http://www.ted.com Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

http://www.ted.com Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

Musician and activist Peter Gabriel explains the personal motivation behind his work with human-rights watchdog Witness, which gives video cameras to ordinary citizens to document human-rights abuses, so the perpetrators may be brought to justice. He shares stories of citizen journalists in action, and poses the question: if injustice happens and a camera is there to capture it, can it be ignored? Peter Gabriel first took the musical stage by storm with the band Genesis, but has enjoyed a successful solo career with hits like "In Your Eyes." In 1989 he founded the Real World label for global music and the Real World Studios in Bath, England. He co-founded Witness in 1992. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 14:50)

Arctic explorer Ben Saunders recounts his harrowing solo journey to the North Pole. At 26, Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole, updating his blog daily during the trek. He's now planning his next journey, SOUTH, an unprecedented, roundtrip expedition across Antarctica to the South Pole and back. (Recorded February 2005 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 18:48)

In this passionate talk, legendary spacecraft designer Burt Rutan lambasts the U.S government-funded space program for stagnating ("Houston, we have a problem."), and calls for space entrepreneurs to pick up where NASA left off. Rutan won the $10M Ansari X-Prize for SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded craft to enter space twice in a 2-week period. He's now collaborating with Virgin Galactic to build the first rocket-ship designed for space tourism. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 20:16)

Iqbal Quadir is co-founder of GrameenPhone, an innovative wireless operator offering services to poor rural villages in Bangladesh. In this talk, he explains the triple impact of bringing cel phone service to rural areas (connecting the village to the world, creating business opportunities, and generating over time a culture of entrepreneurship.) He also relates his personal "A-ha moment," when he understood that "connectivity is productivity." (Recorded July 2005 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 16:37)

Jacqueline Novogratz is the charismatic founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a non-profit that takes a business-like approach to improving the lives of the poor. In this talk, she applauds the heightened interest in Africa, but argues persuasively for a new approach to foreign aid: "The question isn't 'how do we fix this?' The question is 'How can we help Africans to do this for themselves?'" (Recorded July 2005 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 13:38)

TEDPrize winner Jehane Noujaim is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, responsible for Startup.com and the gutsy, controversial documentary Control Room. Two weeks before the U.S. invasion in Iraq, Jehane went to Qatar, gained access to both Al Jazeera and the U.S. military's Central Command offices, and caught the onset and outbreak of the Iraqi war on film. The result, "Control Room," lays out the divergent ways the war was reported by the Arabs and the West. In this talk, she unveils her TEDPrize wish: to bring the world together for one day a year through the power of film. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 26:22)

TEDPrize winner Cameron Sinclair is founder of Architecture for Humanity, whose motto is "Design like you give a damn." In this presentation, he demonstrates the need for a design response to natural disasters, and unveils his TEDPrize wish: to create a community that actively embraces open-source design to generate innovative and sustainable living standards for all. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 24:12)

TEDPrize winner Larry Brilliant is an epidemiologist who presided over the last case of Smallpox on the planet. He also founded the Seva Foundation, which works to reverse cases of blindness, and co-founded several technology start-ups, including the legendary online community, The Well. He was recently named Executive Director of the Google Foundation. In this talk, he explains in fascinating detail the key behind the successful WHO campaign to eradicate Smallpox, and then unveils his TEDPrize wish: to build a global system that detects each new disease or disaster as it emerges or occurs. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 26:34)

TEDPrize winner Jehane Noujaim is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, responsible for Startup.com and the gutsy, controversial documentary Control Room. Two weeks before the U.S. invasion in Iraq, Jehane went to Qatar, gained access to both Al Jazeera and the U.S. military's Central Command offices, and caught the onset and outbreak of the Iraqi war on film. The result, "Control Room," lays out the divergent ways the war was reported by the Arabs and the West. In this talk, she unveils her TEDPrize wish: to bring the world together for one day a year through the power of film. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 19:53)

TEDPrize winner Cameron Sinclair is founder of Architecture for Humanity, whose motto is "Design like you give a damn." In this presentation, he demonstrates the need for a design response to natural disasters, and unveils his TEDPrize wish: to create a community that actively embraces open-source design to generate innovative and sustainable living standards for all. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 18:41)

TEDPrize winner Larry Brilliant is an epidemiologist who presided over the last case of Smallpox on the planet. He also founded the Seva Foundation, which works to reverse cases of blindness, and co-founded several technology start-ups, including the legendary online community, The Well. He was recently named Executive Director of the Google Foundation. In this talk, he explains in fascinating detail the key behind the successful WHO campaign to eradicate Smallpox, and then unveils his TEDPrize wish: to build a global system that detects each new disease or disaster as it emerges or occurs. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 18:59)

Pastor Rick Warren has become one of the most influential Christian voices worldwide, following the runaway success of his book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," which has sold more than 30 million copies. His Saddleback Church which began as a small group in his home, now hosts more than 20,000 congregants. In this talk, he describes his own challenge to find renewed purpose in the wake of his book's success, and his belief that God's intention is for each of us to use our unique talents and influence. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 21:47)

Dan Dennett is a Tufts philosophy professor and cognitive scientist, renowned for his books, "Consciousness Explained" (1991) and "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (1995). His most recent book, "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a natural phenomenon" calls for a rational examination of religion as a cultural phenomenon that has co-evolved over millennia to meet human needs. In this talk, which followed the presentation by Pastor Rick Warren, he takes issue with Warren's book, "The Purpose-Driven Life." (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 25:30)

Pastor Rick Warren has become one of the most influential Christian voices worldwide, following the runaway success of his book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," which has sold more than 30 million copies. His Saddleback Church which began as a small group in his home, now hosts more than 20,000 congregants. In this talk, he describes his own challenge to find renewed purpose in the wake of his book's success, and his belief that God's intention is for each of us to use our unique talents and influence. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 20:47)

Dan Dennett is a Tufts philosophy professor and cognitive scientist, renowned for his books, "Consciousness Explained" (1991) and "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (1995). His most recent book, "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a natural phenomenon" calls for a rational examination of religion as a cultural phenomenon that has co-evolved over millennia to meet human needs. In this talk, which followed the presentation by Pastor Rick Warren, he takes issue with Warren's book, "The Purpose-Driven Life." (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 23:00)

Joshua Prince-Ramus is architect of the Seattle Public Library and principal of REX (Ramus-Ella Architects). Previously, he was U.S. Director of Rem Koolhaas's Office of Metropolitan Architecture. Through a series of beautiful visualizations, he deconstructs the collaborative process of building the Seattle Public Library, and also offers a sneak preview of his works in progress (The Wyly Theater in Dallas, Texas and Museum Plaza in Louisville, Kentucky). (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 20:43)