My first encounter with TED was about five years ago when I first began working with the X PRIZE Foundation and their fascinating and fearless leader, Peter Diamandis. I felt inspired and empowered by the concept then, and I feel even more so now, hours away from the start of TEDx Adams Morgan.
Peter is often quoted as saying “The day before a breakthrough, it's a crazy idea,” and I sense that today’s lineup of exceptional speakers will bring a few breakthrough concepts of their own. That’s the beauty of the concept, and that’s the beauty of this town. We’ll have academics, urban planners (go Brian English, go!), artists, communicators, and activists descending on Adams Morgan to share a range of ideas with no motive other than to start conversations, to see where they lead, to listen, and to learn—with the shared vision of affecting change for the good.
How we connect and communicate is a force of change in itself. Just look at the evolution of how we search for missing children: from black and white pictures on milk cartons, to Amber Alerts on highways and Facebook, and now to apps that engage GPS tracking to help find lost loved ones, used successfully in Japan following the tsunami. Technology is moving fast and changing how we communicate and connect with one another, but the power of sharing stories, and of learning from one another on a human, one-to-one basis keeps us grounded and keeps us growing.
Today, I expect, will be filled with inspired ideas, and absolutely ideas worth spreading. It’s where we take the ideas from here though, that may be the best of all.
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