Welcome, everybody. I'm Doug Chilcott.
Welcome to the Open Translation Lounge here at TEDGlobal, 2013,
in Edinburgh, Scotland.
This is one of several sessions we're doing all week,
inviting TED speakers and hosts to the translation lounge
to talk about their talks or sessions with an audience from around the world,
translators both here in Scotland, as well as others joining us via Skype.
In today's session we have Erik Hersman, who just left his session.
And here on site we have Khalid from Morocco.
Anwar from Sudan, and Bandi from the Congo.
Joining us via Skype is David from Tanzania, welcome, David.
Anja from Slovenia,
and Falguni from Bangladesh.
Welcome to all of you.
So, we'll just start with this session, Erik. Amazing session.
Talk a little bit about your vision for the session and how it came together.
- Adrian and I, we were looking to do a session that really talked about
that there's a lot going on in Africa and the Middle East and Asia,
that a lot of the world doesn't know about
but is going to have a huge impact in the years ahead.
So, we were looking for the people
who could tell those stories in a good way.
It came out in the music where people expect a certain type of music,
because you're coming from Africa.
Let's do something that's not expected.
And, so, Forces Of Change is about talking about there's a lot of unrest
happening around the world, a lot of disruption.
Africa and the Middle East, quite frankly, are leading it,
and Asia, are leading in a lot of the changes that are happening.
What will it look like ten years from now, we don't know,
but we think that Africa, Asia and the Middle East
are going to have a huge impact.
It might be part of the solution to the problems
we face endemically around the world.
- What was your impression of the session?
- The session was really great.
It was so positive that one feels proud of Africa
and looking forward to seeing what will happen in the near future.
And also it gives you the other side of the coin.
That people won't expect [this] to come out of Africa.
Me, personally, I'm so proud of this guy, Erik, and what he does in Kenya,
and in the near future, I'm going to Kenya to observe the Ushahidi, AIHD,
and take [that] back to Khartoum.
Instead of going to United States or, you know, into Europe to learn,
now I have something inside Africa, nearby me where I can learn.
- How about you, Bandi?
- Well, I did find it was very powerful because I would say it's very rare
that Africa is spoken about the way it was spoken about today.
You know, full of hope, but also full of opportunities,
showcasing what Africa is already doing.
The development, the role technology's playing,
and really showing that, actually,
there are certain things the world can learn from Africa
in terms of technology.
Not just the other things, but in terms of technology.
I thought that was very powerful.
And it was also good to listen to Dambisa,
looking at another way of looking at Africa,
and even doing the development of Africa.
I did find that very powerful.
And, you know, it was very representative of Africa,
and the music was also equally as good.
- I want to bring in somebody from Skype.
David from Tanzania.
What were your impressions of the session today?
- What Erik was saying that there's so much disruption
happening in Africa and the continent
and, of course, in other parts of the world is an issue,
I think it's true,
and if you can have a better way of representing all the efforts
that are happening in Africa, I think it would be a very good thing.
- One of the things we're trying to do,
and you know, there's two things you can tell by the story of Africa.
There's one which is the narratives,
the anecdotes, the stories of interesting stuff.
And you do actually see more of those happening today.
But what was really important for us
was to bring on some of the people who do their research
and understand the science about what's going on behind the numbers.
And, so, to have two economists up there was very important for us
to say this isn't just a story, a feel-good story,
about a couple of things happening.
There's a trend here.
And there are indicators that you can't ignore.
So, to have that lay the foundations and say, hey, this is legitimate stuff.
- Khalid, we haven't heard from you.
A question for Erik or a reflection on the session?
- Sure. The session, I really enjoyed it as an African,
although we're not really considered as African.
We're more categorised as Arabs of Africa.
What's going on in Sub-Saharan Africa is not reaching us.
What's going on in Europe is far from us
and Sub-Saharan Africa is separating itself from North Africa.
Just recently we have started the first Hackerspace in Morocco,
and the trend is catching, but it could have been faster and smoother
if Sub-Saharan Africa actually helped us to do that.
So, I'm hoping for more collaboration between North Africa
and Sub-Saharan Africa, and not only categorising Africa as Africa,
but only speaking about Sub-Saharan Africa, instead of the whole of Africa.
- But I also think that shows the diversity of Africa.
And, yes, you can get into that trap
of thinking that Africa is the same everywhere.
For instance, although Africa is rapidly developing,
there are also areas where development is not reaching,
for instance, the Congo. Terrible problems there.
But it is true that when you look at Africa globally, it is rapidly developing,
but there are still pockets where it's still lagging behind.
And it's also true that sometimes there is no strong connection
between certain parts of Africa, for instance, what you've just highlighted
the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa,
South Africa also has a different kind of system and flavour.
Different kind of technology.
Kenya also has a different kind of hub,
businesses, ingenuity, all those things.
So, yes, I think, to some extent, you're right,
although, I think in this session we also had Mustafa
who addressed another dimension of Africa
which I did find it was really,
you know, well thought because it helped us understand
the complexity of Africa,
the political growth of Africa, which I find very positive and hopeful.
(Erik Hersman) What Bandi is saying is exactly right.
I think there might be some things on the technology or entrepreneur front
that would be really great to see up in the northern part of Africa,
from some of the Sub-Saharan African states, but there is some stuff
happening politically in the North that we wish would become South, so...
- Then let's collaborate!
Let's exchange.
- You should export it!
(Laughter)
(E.H.) There's something else interesting.
You're talking about the first Hackerspace in Morocco.
So, there's a trend now, happening over the last couple of years,
where we're seeing these tech shops, tech spaces, tech labs,
hubs, whatever you want to call them, proliferated.
If you go back even three years ago,
there was a handful, three or four tech incubators and spaces
across the whole continent.
Now we have 50+, and some of these are just kind of co-working
or hot-desking spaces.
Others of them are incubators and others of them are hacker spaces,
where people are making physical stuff with big tools.
And it's this kind of diversity and even the tech shops
and tech spaces of Africa that I think is so fascinating.
And the growth and exhilaration that will come because they exist
is yet to be seen.
(Doug Chilcott): It's interesting, the idea of Africa being--
I think we talked about it in this aggregate,
in the way we never do with Europe.
No-one says "How are Europeans doing this?"
Which invites me to invite Anja to talk about this idea,
a collective continent having a mindset.
Africa doesn't have one either.
It has very distinctive cultures and languages,
in the same way Europe does.
Anja, could you reflect on that observation?
- Where I come from, Slovenia, there are a lot of start-ups,
but mainly they're focusing on the US,
not that much creating a European start-up culture or anything like that.
But I really loved this session, and it brought something--
a new perspective to looking at Africa.
Because I loved Toby Shapshak's interpretation of the map.
Innovation doesn't come from conformity,
and if you're challenged with real problems, you begin to think,
to innovate, to be creative,
and I think that's a really good point for Africa,
to be innovative.
But for Europe, I guess we're a bit too conformist.
We have a lot of good things and that maybe keeps us from tackling
with the real problems
and just looking for the next big app for iPhone or Android.
- One thing that Erik started the session with
was the troubleshooting aspect of the African average.
The day before I came here,
we had lunch with the British ambassador in Khartoum,
and then he asked the people
ten things that every British diplomat should know about Sudan.
And I shared with him the fact
that everyone in Sudan is a trouble-shooter.
That you have very unique problems you have to overcome.
Electrical cut, water cut and then, you know, car problems,
and malfunctioning here, you go to the hospital.
So, it's very complex and you have to overcome.
You complain for ever, but the only solution for you is to overcome.
So, whenever you go outside the continent,
you become super, super effective to the that community you join.
The challenge is, I guess,
is to get back from where you are and to bring back the local community,
and I guess the TEDx phenomenon is reflecting now
of what's happening there, right?
(Erik Hersman) A more bottom-up approach.
- And especially, I have to say, the Open Translation because,
you know, people like my family, who are in the Congo,
they can't hear English, and most of the conversation,
or many conversations are happening in English, and they're missing out.
But with the Open Translation, they are able to follow it.
In fact, because I spoke before and it was on TED.com,
it allowed them for the first time to understand what I say at TEDx,
which, thankfully, was featured on TED.com.
- Isn't it crazy that you had to have your mum and dad
see your talk online before they understand what you do?
(Laughter)
It's a human problem!
- But it was translated in French, whereas before it wasn't.
And that's something to be celebrated
because it connects them to the outside world,
which maybe before they were not able to connect to.
- Thanks to the French translators.
- Yes!
So, thank you to all the French translators out there!
(Applause)
And, hopefully, there will also be some--
Local languages, like Swahili.
- So, this is an interesting thing.
My parents were linguists, they were translators.
That's what we were doing in South Sudan,
that's what we were doing in North Sudan, and everything.
But it's actually true.
There's over 2,000 languages in Africa.
And the big languages, Arabic, French, English...
(Anwar Dafa-Alla) Swahili.
Swahili, to a certain level, are already done.
But getting something in your mother tongue
it takes it so much further,
it makes it so much more--
You really hear things then.
And, so, the idea of an Open Translation Project for TED is a fantastic one.
I think the mission now should be, we've done some of the big languages,
let's drive down.
There's a lot of languages out there that still need some work.
- That would be fantastic,
because the quality of the talks that you get at TED
translated in very local languages and teachers would be able to plug it in
and be able to follow it, free.
It connects you in a way that, you know, 20 years ago,
it would have been unheard of.
And you couldn't even have imagined that would have been possible,
to get access to that kind of information.
We'll have to end, we're running out of time and the next session's starting.
So, thank you, Erik, for joining us,
thank you all of you here as well.
There's one more session tomorrow morning after the first session.
So I hope to see you then. Goodbye!
(Applause)