In a year with lockdowns and border closures, TEDx Skoll Conversations took us around the world to hear how frontline workers and community leaders are responding to the pandemic. Virtual conversations from 17 local TEDx teams across 15 countries focused on public health, impacted socio-economic systems, and how to care for each other amidst crisis.
Across communities, the pandemic “exposed the fragility of our systems” as Sartaj Anand, TEDxBangalore organizer, put it. While we have different experiences of this fragility, we share a need for knowledge and connection. We observed connections and themes across geographies, and you can explore the growing playlist of TEDx talks below, and share.
TEDx is a global grassroots network for sharing ideas. As the COVID-19 crisis cancelled in-person gatherings around the world, TEDx and Skoll teamed up to support 17 independent TEDx teams in countries affected by the pandemic to help elevate local voices and innovations. Four TEDx teams produced virtual TEDx events directly responding to the pandemic. Kicking off in November 2020, TEDx Skoll Conversations invited a global audience to hear from speakers in Brazil and India (consequential COVID-19 epicenters) and then later, South Africa and Nigeria (important centers of social innovation on the African continent).
TEDxSãoPaulo focused on two themes in two events: public health and wellness. “One of the highlights was renowned Brazilian composer, singer and songwriter Gilberto Gil, known for his contribution to Brazilian music with more than 69 albums released and nine Grammy Awards,” said TEDx organizer Elena Crescia “He had a candid conversation on health and medicine with his doctor Roberta Saretta and shared memories of his father, who was a doctor in a rural area in the state of Bahia in Brazil. We also had the honor to learn from Marlo Libel, a Brazilian MD working as a researcher at Ending Pandemics.”
Conversation themes in São Paulo echoed across geographies in the series: the experiences of frontline workers, the need for transparency and coordination in pandemic response, and the potential for our education system to support public health.
TEDxBangalore focused on two systems under intense pressure in India from national lockdowns: education and mental health. In a series of interviews, TEDxBangalore organizer Sartaj Anand talked with Puja Marwaha, CEO of Child Rights and You. In the interview, Sartaj & Puja contextualize the scale of the problems Indian children across the economic spectrum face. Watch their discussion on the critical issue of mental health across the subcontinent in a conversation with Manoj Chandran, CEO of White Swan Foundation.
Describing the current state of mental health in India as the nation’s “Achilles’ heel,” we learned that India has only 9,000 psychiatrists to serve its 1.3 billion citizens—an alarming deficit.
TEDx Johannesburg organizer Kelo Kubu tells us, “COVID-19 has exposed an apparent need for the people of Africa to strengthen their capacity to collect data, innovate appropriate solutions, and support programs that address the shortcomings.”
TEDxJohannesburg speakers examined the region’s information systems and the role of the media and data in combating COVID-19. As in Brazil and India, the connection between education and public health was also a key focus.
TEDxPortHarcourt in Nigeria hosted a weeks-long ideas search and conversation series that led to “Light bearers,” a virtual TEDx event highlighting bright new solutions during a dark time for the Rivers State region. Considering the health crisis and social unrest across Nigeria, TEDxPortHarcourt explored frontline worker experiences, issues of affordable housing and food security, and the interconnectedness of the region’s public health systems.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control virologist Celestina Obiekea noted that the African continent’s experience with infectious diseases should be remembered as communities implement COVID-19 responses, a sentiment shared in Johannesburg.
– Elena Crescia (Organizer, TEDxSãoPaulo)
Through thoughtful talks and inspiring artistic performances, the 2020 TEDx Skoll Conversations series demonstrated exactly what can happen when local communities gather, even virtually, around powerful new ideas. And despite the many challenges that remain, these ideas provoke a critical ingredient for social innovation: hope.
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