World Peace Is Not a Myth | Rut Yirdaw | TEDxSSE
Summary
TLDRThe speaker, feeling honored to give a TED talk, shares her initial nervousness and how it mirrors her first day at Sweden's leading business school. She expresses her hope for world peace and equality, contrasting the negativity she encounters with her own optimistic belief in humanity's potential for progress. Drawing on Jody Williams' definition, she redefines world peace as sustainable peace with justice and equal access to resources. Citing improvements in poverty reduction and education, she argues that world peace is achievable. She concludes by encouraging a positive outlook and the belief in a better world, emphasizing the power of collective actions to shape history.
Takeaways
- 🎤 The speaker feels honored to give a TED talk among inspirational people.
- 😓 The speaker was nervous before the talk, but relates it to the excitement of starting university.
- 🏫 The speaker was thrilled to attend a leading business school in Sweden, hoping to change the world.
- 🤔 The speaker was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm from classmates about making the world a better place.
- 🌐 The speaker noticed a pattern of negativity and skepticism about world peace being achievable.
- 💡 The speaker argues that if we can achieve things like flying, world peace should also be possible.
- 🌱 The speaker uses Jody Williams' definition of world peace, emphasizing sustainable peace with justice.
- 📈 The speaker points out that the world is already improving in terms of poverty, education, and access to electricity.
- 🌱 The speaker believes that world peace is feasible and we are on the right path.
- 🤷♀️ The speaker admits not having all the answers but aspires to inspire youth to think creatively about world peace.
- 💪 The speaker concludes with a quote by Robert Kennedy, encouraging everyone to work towards changing small parts of the world for the better.
Q & A
What was the speaker's initial feeling before starting the TED talk?
-The speaker was very nervous before starting the TED talk, to the point of feeling like they were going to 'pee their pants'.
Why did the speaker feel nervous?
-The speaker felt nervous because they were about to speak in front of an audience that included many inspirational and driven people, some of whom were their idols.
What was the speaker's reaction when they first attended the business school in Sweden?
-The speaker was very eager and excited to attend the business school, believing they could change the world with the help of their classmates.
What was the speaker's perception of their classmates?
-The speaker initially thought they were sitting next to future leaders and innovators, such as the next billionaire or prime minister.
Why did the speaker feel disappointed with the reactions of their classmates and family?
-The speaker was disappointed because their classmates and family responded with skepticism and counterarguments when they talked about world peace and equality.
What was the common counterargument the speaker received regarding world peace?
-The common counterargument was that world peace is a nice idea in theory but not practical due to human nature and the survival of the fittest.
How does the speaker refute the idea that world peace is not in human nature?
-The speaker refutes this idea by pointing out that many human achievements, like flying, are not natural but are accomplished through human innovation.
According to the speaker, what is the definition of world peace?
-The speaker defines world peace as sustainable peace with justice, where the majority of people have access to enough resources to live a dignified life, and have access to education and healthcare.
What evidence does the speaker provide to support the idea that the world is becoming a better place?
-The speaker cites statistics from Hans Rosling's book 'Factfulness', showing that extreme poverty has decreased by half in the last 20 years, and access to primary education and electricity has significantly increased.
What is the speaker's main aspiration with the TED talk?
-The speaker's main aspiration is to inspire youth to think outside of the box and to show that world peace is feasible.
What advice does the speaker give to the audience regarding world peace?
-The speaker advises the audience to have a positive outlook and hope, and to believe in the possibility of a better world, despite the challenges.
Outlines
🌟 Pursuing Passion and Challenging Cynicism
The speaker expresses their honor in delivering a TED talk amidst inspirational individuals, revealing initial nervousness akin to their first day at a prestigious Swedish business school. They recount their joy in choosing business over medicine and their eagerness to utilize school resources to enact global change. However, they encounter a surprising lack of enthusiasm from peers, who seem dismissive of grand ideals like world peace, viewing them as unrealistic. The speaker reflects on their own past skepticism, acknowledging the cynicism around them but ultimately challenging this mindset. They argue that many human achievements defy 'human nature,' so why should world peace be any different? They advocate for a redefined version of world peace that focuses on sustainable peace with reduced inequality, access to resources, education, and healthcare.
📈 Progress Toward World Peace
The speaker acknowledges the progress already made toward world peace, citing Hans Rosling's 'Factfulness' and its statistics on the significant reduction in extreme poverty over the last 20 years. They highlight improvements in education and access to electricity, as well as a drastic decrease in child mortality. While recognizing that there is still much to be done, they emphasize the importance of maintaining a positive outlook and hope for the future. The speaker, despite not having all the answers, aims to inspire the youth to think creatively and believe in the possibility of world peace. They conclude with a quote from Robert Kennedy, encouraging individuals to contribute to positive change, no matter how small, as these collective efforts will shape history.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡World Peace
💡Human Nature
💡Innovation
💡Passion
💡Survival of the Fittest
💡Resources
💡Dignity
💡Globalization
💡Hope
💡Youth
💡Mental Barriers
Highlights
Honored to start TED talk and be in the presence of inspirational people.
Feeling nervous before the talk, similar to the first day at university.
Accepted to a leading business school in Sweden and found passion.
Eager to meet classmates, thinking they could be future leaders.
Surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for world peace and equality.
People's reactions to world peace ideas were dismissive and negative.
Realized that the speaker had once shared the same negative views.
Questioned why people believe in technology but not in peace.
Defined world peace as sustainable peace with justice and equality.
Cited Jody Williams' definition of world peace.
Highlighted that world peace is about access to resources and dignity.
Mentioned that world peace is already improving with decreasing poverty.
Referenced Hans Rosling's book 'Factfulness' for positive global trends.
Stated that 80% of women in low-income countries finished primary school.
87% of the world population has access to electricity.
Child mortality rate has significantly decreased.
Encouraged not to neglect the progress towards a better world.
Admitted not having the exact strategy for world peace but emphasized the importance of hope.
Called for a positive outlook and hope for the future.
Ended with a quote by Robert Kennedy about the power of individual actions.
Asserted that world peace is not a myth and thanked the audience.
Transcripts
I'm very honored to be starting up here
tonight not only to be able to hold the
TED talk but also for being able to be
in the same presence that so many
inspirational and driven people people
that I truly look up to some of them
being my idols I'm not going to lie
though I was nerve-racked before I
entered the stage I literally felt like
I was going to pee my pants don't worry
I'm good now but my my heart was racing
my stomach was hurting and my body was
sweating and then I realized that I had
felt like this before these feelings
that I had reminded me of my first day
in university you see when I got
accepted to the leading business school
in Sweden last year I was beyond happy
happy that I didn't pursue med school
and happy that I had found my passion I
had heard a whole lot about the school
and I was therefore very eager to meet
my classmates looking around the class
the first few weeks I thought to myself
I'm probably sitting next to Swedish
next billionaire or prime minister so I
better be nice with the help of all of
these contacts and resources I was sure
that I could change the world and make
it a better place however to my surprise
I was not met with the same enthusiasm
as I had hoped for even though these
students were very smart and innovative
because they were they seemed to get the
same response as the rest of the world
it didn't really seem to matter if I
talked to my auntie that a family dinner
or if I talked to sweetest most
brilliant students everyone reacted in
an identical manner it was like when I
talked about World Peace ending hunger
and creating equal opportunities for
every person on the planet
everyone in my surroundings sighed and
looked at me like I was crazy and on top
of that they all had the same counter
arguments Ruth you know world peace is a
nice idea in theory I mean have you
heard about the survival of the fittest
rivalry is kind of human nature you
would think that I understood
them because I've done that too once
upon a time I also lost hope in humanity
I remember laughing at people who
actually thought that the world would
become less barbaric with time and I did
not only laugh I made sure to assure
them that racial prejudice had not died
out the Holocaust was reoccurring with
the or girl Muslims in China and that
resource exploitation in the Middle East
was a fact but still I couldn't help but
be surprised how could so many people be
so negative I couldn't wrap my head
around it I mean they believed in crypto
currencies but God forbid you would go
work for charity electronic cars
smartphones artificial intelligence
everything was possible but equality
peace and understanding only
philosophical so pardon me for not
agreeing with the rest of the world
pardon me for keep talking about world
peace when no one else is agreeing
because the rest of the world doesn't
make sense to me there's clearly a
pattern here we have people arguing that
world peace is not human nature and they
are right but at the same time take for
example flying flying is not human
nature either but we do it every single
day we as humans have accomplished so
much in this world that does not align
with the idea of human nature so why
does the challenge of achieving world
peace frighten us so much I'm going to
use Jody Williams definition of world
peace and maybe then you will agree with
me that it's possible because just as
she said it's not about holding hands
and singing Kumbaya
unfortunately world peace according to
her and me is sustainable peace with
just this inequality it is a sustainable
peace in which the majority of the
people on this planet have access to
enough resources live dignified life
where people have access to education
and health care so that they can live in
freedom from want and a freedom from
fear because we cannot expect people to
believe in peace
when they go hungry when they don't have
jobs when there is such a discrepancy
between developing countries and those
that are already developed it's like
it's like this is the world right now
okay
some of us have it really good whilst
others are living in miserable
conditions this is the goal this is
world peace now if you talk about peace
in this sense the world is already
improving it is already happening we are
breaking through right now Hans Rosling
talked about this in his book fact
fulness which I read last summer and
it's a really good book and I recommend
all of you guys to read it but in his
book he stated that during the last 20
years
the amount of people living in extreme
poverty has decreased in half during the
last 20 years the amount of people
living in extreme poverty has decreased
in half that's amazing that's the goal a
total of 80 percent of the woman living
in low-income countries today finished
primary school and a total of 87 percent
of the world population also have access
to electricity during the 19th century
the amount of children dying before the
age of five was 44 percent today we are
down to four percent now some people
might argue and say that 4 percent is
still too much and I agree trust me I do
but at the same time it's wrong to
neglect the fact that the world is
actually becoming better when it is so
now when I have convinced you guys that
world peace is possible you might be
wondering how to achieve it and that's a
reasonable question but don't look at me
because I don't know to be honest I
don't I'm a 19 year old naive girl who's
barely barely surviving this Bachelor
education and on top of that this is my
first year if I had the answer I would
tell you trust me but that's not the
point of this conversation my aspirin
with this speech is to inspire youth to
think outside of the box my aspiration
with this speech is to show you guys
that world peace is feasible we did not
come this far to only come this far my
aspiration with this speech is to show
you that we are on the right path even
though I don't know the exact strategy
behind creating world peace the world
population is increasing by the minute
simultaneously the earth is becoming
more globalised according to the UN the
world population is projected to
increase by 1 billion people over the
next 13 years so there will be more
cultural clashes which in turn will
become seeds of serious conflicts
because of this I believe that the least
we can do is have a positive outlook
have hope consequently I would like to
finish off with a with a quote by Robert
Kennedy and I want you guys to know that
I truly believe that we can break
through our mental barriers and believe
in a better world
even though electric cars cryptocurrency
smartphones and world peace is not human
nature we as humans always seem to find
a way anyways back to the quote few
people will have the greatness to bend
history itself but each of us can work
to change a small portion of events and
in the total of all those acts will be
written the history of this generation
world peace is not a myth thank you
you
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