I had the privilege of attending the TED conference, one of the more extraordinary gatherings of worldchangers. Acumen Fund is particularly honored to be associated with TED, given our support from the Sapling Foundation, which owns TED. The conference includes 1,000 individuals who come to Monterey, CA from around the world to listen to some of the most innovative and creative thinkers and doers in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design. The experience was thrilling, filled with insights and inspiration. You couldn’t leave without wanting to be smarter, do better, make more of a contribution on earth.
One thing that struck me was how TED increasingly is a reflection of a new wave of idealism that is cresting across the world. Speaker after speaker talked about their inventions and discoveries, their insights and plans with an eye to do something of real significance for the world. If there were commmon threads, they were around the importance of private sector initiatives and resources to solve tough problems of today’s world. No one is waiting anymore for governments to solve problems; individuals and companies are looking to pave the way themselves. There was great focus on the need for more innovation, for bottom-up thinking, for quick prototyping and for more listening around the world, even to - or mostly to - people we don’t know and those who think they hate us. Indeed, the quest for new technologies that clean water, clean the environment, allow for early detection of pandemics and bring energy to the poor was combined with a search for better understanding and more open and complex moral frameworks. This confluence of skills and technologies with moral imagination must be at the heart of the future we will create together.
As Sir Ken Robinson said, TED celebrates the gift of the imagination. This conference pushed all of us to think harder to make a better world for everyone. I was proud to be part of it.
Jacqueline,
I commend Acumen for initiating this blog to improve communication and open a dialogue with the many people who are interested in innovative approaches to development. You and others may be interested in our experience with a similar effort, at http://www.nextbillion.net, which is focused on private sector approaches to development and has frequently highlighted achievements with the Acumen model. Such is the hunger for information and the lack of traditional sources for it that we now have more than 150,000 unique visitors a month. We wish you a similar experience.
Great job!
It is great to hear about these efforts and the work of Acumen. Glad that I checked out this blog. After reading, I am sure that I will know more! Thank you!