16th of October
TEDxBucharest 2009
TED India Journal, Mysore, 2009
Entrepreneurs, innovators, gadget freaks, top designers, athletes, intellectuals, 1000 amazing people from all around the globe gathered this year at TED India between 5th-7th November 2009. TED is an international conference on Technology Entertainment and Design known across the world for the most inspiring thinkers from various fields.
We were extremely honored to attend TED India, as representatives of TEDxBucharest in search for inspiration, innovation and amazement. All this and much more was waiting for us in India. We reached India in the most pleasant way, starting our journey from Bucharest to Helsinki, then to New Delhi flying with our TEDxBucharest partner OpenSky, General Sales Agent for Finnair in Romania and Republic of Moldavia. For discovering Asia, Finnair is definitely the shortest way for Europe to Asia.
Four days of speakers covering a wide spectrum ranging from Technology, Business, Arts to Entertainment. We are the first Romanians to take part at TED global; hopefully this is just the beginning. What made TED more special this year (other than us being there) was that it was held in India for the first time, in the very best of locations, the high tech 21st century Infosys campus in Mysore.
Day one of TED India kicked off with a jaw-breaking performance by Hans Rosling, Medical Researcher & Data Wizard who explained how India & China by year 2048 will reach the economic level of USA & UK. It was quite a boost for everyone leaving in any other country but these 2. A spirited Gapminder demo, which outlined historical trends in per capital income and life expectancy, and the rise of Asia this century. Apart from Rosling, day 1 also hosted other remarkable guests: Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik, Chief Belief Officer of Future Group talking about different point of views and the consequent clash of civilizations, Mallika Sarabhai telling a story in dance, to show how theater and performance art can create global social change.
But the cherry of the day was none other than 28 years old MIT graduate, Pranav Mistry, with his sixth sense technology. So intriguing and probably the next mainstream technology, it simply makes one shake. Basically in the not so far future our laptops' content and more will be available on any kind of surface, from your own hand, to the back of the person sitting in front of you in the cue. This and much more.
Day one ended with a performance by Indian pop singer Usha Uthup, preparing everyone for the next 2 days. In no other place did anyone sing Hava Nagila after Tamally Maak, then an Indian song after a Pakistani one. Incredible atmosphere she created.
Day 2 opened with a bang, with speakers such as social activist Sunitha Krishnan, Anupam Mishara, environmental activist whom I found simply amazing ( you've got to see this humble being's work in the desert, providing drinking water for the communities living there), actor Abhay Deol and many remarkable others. Sunitha's story shock everyone's conscience there, simply painfully realistic, she told the story of the children that are abused in India, her story, stories of unbelievable tortures and atrocities.
The lovely day ended with an amazing official dinner at the Royal Orchid at Brindavan Gardens, where we discovered together the beauties of the Indian cuisine, dance, handcrafts, and the Indian culture altogether.
As in the TED style, the best would stay for the last. The conference ended with amazing topics & speakers like Eve Ensler, playwright known for The Vagina Monologues, Shashi Tharoor, minister of state of External Affairs in India, C.K. Prahalad business consultant and few but incredible others. C.K shared his thoughts on business and innovation. He stated that success is the first enemy of innovation as companies feel that they must be right and don't delve deeper to innovate or create something new. He also stated that size by no measure is a signal of a great company. Minister Shashi Tharoor's thrilling speech was about the fact that the country with the softest power will be the next super power. By soft power he meant a attractive value to the rest of the world that makes the rest of the world attracted to it. He explained this with an example by saying that Mcdonalds had done more for the American soft power than any other government initiative.
He stated that India's Bollywood and ability to attract the world with its various cultures and compassionate behavior would be what would make it a world leader. He stated that nuclear power and population aside it’s the other factors that mattered in one being a Super power.
This was followed by an amazing percussion performance by Sivamani (He played music on a suitcase, glass and what not!). Before we knew it, another day of terrific ideas, amazing people and thrilling emotions had pass.
All in all, 4 days of intense lectures by intellectuals, activists & artists, TED takes you through a world of emotions from hope to pure pride. About 70 talks, all impressive and most of them even jaw-dropping. You'll have the chance to see them on-line and take my advice if you haven't tuned in to TED yet, you definitely should.
TED India certainly raised up to the high expectations set, that of Ideas worth spreading. And the experience in itself is indeed worth telling, that of the first 3 Romanians ever to take part in TED global and as Lakshmi Pratury co-host of TEDIndia said - "I'd want to be a billionaire of such moments!"