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5 TED Talks for social technological awareness!

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Author: 
Xavi Aranda - Associació per a Joves TEB
  • Pia Mancini and her friends want to update democracy - Photo: Democracy
    Pia Mancini and her friends want to update democracy - Photo: Democracy.
  • Chieko Asakawa developed a web browser reader - Photo: TED
    Chieko Asakawa developed a web browser reader - Photo: TED.
  • Genspace is a set of different spaces for people to learn to “hack” using biotechnology to solve small problems
    Genspace is a set of different spaces for people to learn to “hack” using biotechnology to solve small problems.
  • Kate Harmtan works on different projects, and one of them is to create clothing with wearable technology - Photo: Kate Hartman
    Kate Harmtan works on different projects, and one of them is to create clothing with wearable technology - Photo: Kate Hartman.
  • Massimo Banzi is part of the team that developed Arduino in Italy - Photo: Arduino
    Massimo Banzi is part of the team that developed Arduino in Italy - Photo: Arduino.

TED is a platform that hosts thousands of talks explaining many creative ideas. The present selection of talks explains brilliant ideas to build a better world through technology!

Very often, to raise awareness better, you need a reference or inspiration. This could come from books by authors that give you motivation to solve a global problem. Documentaries are another tool that help generate awareness among those watching them, for a specific problem. And conferences are also a channel that can help disseminating ideas to help others.

Today, we are so deeply immersed in the Society of information, we have turned into beings that consume information and also produce it. We can create a blog to raise awareness on a problem, we can watch documentaries on a video channel or listen to a TED Talk. So, what exactly is TED?

TED is the acronym for «Technology, Entertainment and Design». The acronym is the name of a Non-profit organization in the United States of America that organizes different talk, the «TED Talks», or an annual talk, the «TED Conference». The overall objective of these talks and the conference is to spread ideas to improve our society. You will see many experts from different sectors giving these talks: science, art, design, politics, education, culture, business, globalization, technology, development and entertainment.

Besides organizing these talks and conferences, TED has a digital platform where you can watch and listen to many of these talks. What characterizes these talks is that they last less than 15 minutes, are very entertaining and the person giving the talk uses body language and verbal communication in a very serene way that is easy to follow.

Next we have a selection of 5 TED Talks that could be interesting for you and that have to do with social technology and free software. All of them aim to raise awareness among viewers and encourage them to work towards a fairer society.

How to upgrade democracy for the internet era – by Pia Mancini.

Pia Mancini and her friends want to update democracy. Tired of a political representation elected in democracies that never listens to voters, they developed a free software platform so that citizens could assess and stop government decisions.

Pia Mancini and her friends want to update democracy. Tired of a political representation elected in democracies that never listens to voters, they developed a free software platform so that citizens could assess and stop government decisions.

Biohacking – You can do it, too! - By Ellen Jorgensen

Biologist Ellen Jorgensen started to take an interest in the movement DIYbio, a manifesto that says that biology must be accessible to all. Following this movement, Ellen and her friends created the Genspace community. Genspace is a set of different spaces for people to learn to “hack” using biotechnology to solve small problems in their personal lives.

The art of wearable communication – By Kate Hartman

Kate Harmtan is an artist and teacher of computing. She works on different projects, and one of them is to create clothing with wearable technology to improve communication among people. Many of the wearables she’s created can also be used to overcome communicational difficulties in some people, plants and even glaciers!

How new technology helps blind people explore the world – By Chieko Asakawa.

Chieko Asakawa had an accident in a pool when she was 14 and lost her sight. What worried her the most was losing independence. In the early days of the Internet, Chieko Asakawa developed a web browser reader so that she and other visually impaired people could browse the Internet. Besides this invention, she is currently developing an open source system so she can regain autonomy.

 How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination – By Massimo Banzi

Massimo Banzi is part of the team that developed Arduino in Italy. In this talk, Banzi explains what Arduino is, why it is open software ad many of the projects developed by the community and available to all. Some of the projects are really interesting!

 

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