Filed under: Africa, Nike Foundation | Tags: Africa, Nike Foundation, TED
Next weekend it’s TEDx Addis. I’d love to be there. It’s extraordinary to see the effect that the TED brand is having in developing countries – none more remarkable than TEDx Kibera, held in a shanty church building in the middle of Africa’s biggest slum. Far from being an elite talking shop, TED has becoming a way of focusing disparate creative energies on tangible problems.
Ethiopia certainly has a vibrant and growing creative community to draw upon, as I found on my Nike Foundation visit:
- A fast-growing film industry, led by the Ethiopian Film Initiative.
- Addis recently hosted the first Hub of Africa International Fashion Week – textiles is a big export for Ethiopia.
- A proud and diverse music industry, from “Ethiojazz” to Ethiopian Idol (yes, really).
- A growing commercial creative industry, led by the smart folks at Astar Advertising.
Interesting to see Hillary Clinton taking a break from chasing down Julian Assange in order to address last week’s TEDWomen conference. She talked a lot about the Girl Effect – it’s increasingly becoming a core agenda item. As Clinton told the conference, “the rights and the roles of women and girls will be a central tenet of american foreign policy, because where girls and women flourish our values are also reflected”. She went on to say,
Send a girl to school even just for one year and her income dramatically increases for life, and her children are more likely to survive and her family more likely to be healthier for years to come. Give women equal rights and entire nations are more stable and secure. Deny women equal rights and the instability of nations is almost certain.
So the Girl Effect isn’t just about beating global poverty, it’s also about world peace. Who would have thought. Anyway, it’s a great talk (aside from the slightly daft cow anecdote at the end):
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