I also live on this planet | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED
-
0:14 - 0:19A few years ago, I wanted
to get closer to children. -
0:20 - 0:24Not just through my paintings
in toys or books, -
0:24 - 0:26but being there, face to face,
-
0:26 - 0:30giving workshops, painting
with them, seeing them create. -
0:32 - 0:35In addition to this, and for some time,
I wanted to be helpful, -
0:35 - 0:36but I didn't know how.
-
0:37 - 0:41If I should support a NGO
or should work on my own project. -
0:42 - 0:43One night,
-
0:43 - 0:46I was waiting for a bus
that wasn't arriving, -
0:48 - 0:51and suddenly, not thinking
about anything in particular, -
0:51 - 0:54I had a vision of a bright ad
-
0:54 - 0:55that read:
-
0:55 - 1:01"Travel around the world
giving free art workshops for children." -
1:03 - 1:05It was crazy.
-
1:05 - 1:08I didn't know where to start
organizing something like that, -
1:08 - 1:11I didn't have the money,
I had nothing. -
1:11 - 1:13But I thought it was
the best plan in the world. -
1:13 - 1:17By the time I got on the bus,
I already knew that I'd do it. -
1:18 - 1:22I had faith and worked
very hard in this project. -
1:23 - 1:27I decided that I'd design it myself.
-
1:27 - 1:29To imagine and to organize it,
-
1:29 - 1:32I thought about what I would have liked
to attend when I was a kid. -
1:32 - 1:36This way I thought about
every workshop, every detail. -
1:37 - 1:39I'd start from the north of Argentina,
-
1:39 - 1:42and I'd continue through
Latin America, Africa, -
1:42 - 1:44Asia, and Europe.
-
1:44 - 1:49Giving workshops in schools,
children's hospitals, orphanages, -
1:49 - 1:51libraries, markets,
-
1:51 - 1:53and on the streets.
-
1:53 - 1:55In the jungle, in the mountains.
-
1:56 - 2:01In big cities and in very tiny
and remote villages. -
2:02 - 2:05Places that were not even
included in travel guides -
2:05 - 2:07or travel agencies.
-
2:08 - 2:10I feel that we underestimate...
-
2:10 - 2:12that we underestimate children
-
2:12 - 2:16in their abilities
to feel, think, and say. -
2:17 - 2:20We think they are some kind
of container that we have to fill up -
2:20 - 2:23with things and information.
-
2:23 - 2:26Obviously, they are in their early
stage of development, -
2:26 - 2:28but they also have things to say.
-
2:29 - 2:33I feel that generally, they aren't granted
this space where we should listen to them. -
2:33 - 2:35This is my main goal:
-
2:35 - 2:39give children a space
to express themselves -
2:39 - 2:42so that later, children from other places,
-
2:42 - 2:44get to know these other children.
-
2:44 - 2:46From what I have seen, wherever they are,
-
2:46 - 2:47they watch the same movies,
-
2:47 - 2:49the same cartoons,
-
2:49 - 2:50play the same games,
-
2:50 - 2:53but what do they know about each other?
-
2:53 - 2:56What does a child in Argentina
knows about a child in Ecuador? -
2:56 - 2:59Or a child from France
about a child from Kenya? -
2:59 - 3:00The truth is, nothing.
-
3:01 - 3:04Before we start painting in the workshops,
-
3:04 - 3:06we always show them videos of children
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3:06 - 3:08from previous countries we've visited.
-
3:08 - 3:11For example, in an afternoon, in Tokyo,
-
3:11 - 3:16tons of Japanese kids were able
to learn a bit more about Argentina, -
3:16 - 3:18Peru, Mexico.
-
3:19 - 3:21From this same desire
to get them connected, -
3:21 - 3:23we created another part of the project,
-
3:23 - 3:25the gift chain.
-
3:26 - 3:31We create a video where a child
introduce him or herself, -
3:31 - 3:33and tell us something about their lives.
-
3:34 - 3:36About their families,
the place where they live. -
3:36 - 3:40They tell us about their favorite toy,
their favorite food, -
3:40 - 3:42and they tell us about a dream.
-
3:42 - 3:44Then I ask them to pick something
-
3:44 - 3:50from their own things to give
to a boy or a girl in the next country. -
3:50 - 3:51And they also paint something
-
3:51 - 3:54for that child in the next country.
-
3:54 - 3:56The chain started in Argentina,
-
3:57 - 3:59continued in 15 more countries,
-
4:00 - 4:03and there's still a lot ahead.
-
4:03 - 4:06This way, through the eyes
of other children, -
4:06 - 4:08they learn about new realities.
-
4:08 - 4:12It's not the same William's life,
who has 9 siblings, -
4:12 - 4:16compared to Tzo Luo's who is,
like most Chinese, the only child. -
4:17 - 4:20It's very different for Christopher's,
-
4:20 - 4:23who lives surrounded by rabbits and cows,
-
4:23 - 4:27compared to Simone's,
who is growing up in a mega city. -
4:28 - 4:30Life is very different for Mikija,
-
4:31 - 4:34who after school can go
and play with his friends, -
4:34 - 4:36compared to Mario's,
who has to go to work. -
4:38 - 4:41I always develop emotional attachment,
and it's hard to leave each place. -
4:42 - 4:44But I think I have accomplished my mission
-
4:44 - 4:48if I can at least leave a mark,
a small footprint. -
4:49 - 4:50Look.
-
4:50 - 4:52(Video) 1st child:
What I feel when I paint -
4:52 - 4:53is that I'm an artist.
-
4:54 - 4:572nd child: It's when someone
frees their ideas. -
4:57 - 5:003rd child: This way
I can release my feelings. -
5:00 - 5:03All my feeling I express them
through my painings -
5:03 - 5:05and this way I feel better.
-
5:06 - 5:094th child: You are in a world
where you can do whatever you want. -
5:09 - 5:165th child: My paintings express
my happiness and everything that I'd want. -
5:16 - 5:18My paintings are my imagination.
-
5:18 - 5:23Japanese: When I paint,
I feel like I enter a new world, -
5:23 - 5:26where everything that I'm painting lives,
-
5:26 - 5:28and I have a lot of fun in that world.
-
5:29 - 5:336th child: When I drew
the superhero, I felt brave. -
5:33 - 5:35I felt...
-
5:37 - 5:40that I was in the company
of other people. -
5:40 - 5:447th child: We can paint on a tree trunk,
-
5:44 - 5:45on stones, on sticks,
-
5:46 - 5:49on wood, on the sidewalk,
-
5:49 - 5:51anywhere.
-
5:51 - 5:567th child: (Japanese) Sometimes, there are
things that I don't know how to express. -
5:56 - 5:58so I paint them.
-
5:59 - 6:038th child: When I paint, it's a dream.
-
6:03 - 6:05(Applause)
-
6:11 - 6:13I feel that it's a pity
-
6:13 - 6:17that in schools, generally,
art is considered secondary, -
6:17 - 6:18something less important,
-
6:18 - 6:21just for recreational purposes,
-
6:21 - 6:24and not something educational.
-
6:24 - 6:26I wished that at school
they'd dance more, -
6:26 - 6:29sing more and paint more.
-
6:31 - 6:33In all the places we visit,
-
6:33 - 6:37I suggested to the kids to invent
a superhero, something local. -
6:39 - 6:41I encourage them to think
about what they wish for, -
6:41 - 6:44and moreover, about
the needs of their communities. -
6:46 - 6:48In the north of Colombia
-
6:48 - 6:50there was a terrible drought,
-
6:50 - 6:52it had not rained in months,
-
6:52 - 6:54they had lost their crops,
-
6:54 - 6:56and they really needed water.
-
6:56 - 7:00But a boy draw the solution:
-
7:00 - 7:02he created a superhero
who could shoot lightnings -
7:02 - 7:04to the sky,
-
7:04 - 7:06and make it rain.
-
7:07 - 7:09Later, in Ecuador,
-
7:09 - 7:10we went to the Amazon,
-
7:10 - 7:13we were in the jungle,
with a indigenous community. -
7:13 - 7:18It was incredible to see them paint
for the first time in their lives. -
7:19 - 7:22You can't imagine their reaction
when they discovered -
7:22 - 7:25that by mixing blue and yellow
-
7:25 - 7:27they could get the green of their trees.
-
7:29 - 7:32A daily occurrence for some people
-
7:32 - 7:35could be something totally new for others.
-
7:36 - 7:38Then we arrived in Guatemala,
-
7:38 - 7:41and we painted with children
working in the main market. -
7:42 - 7:44Children who don't go to school
-
7:44 - 7:47because they have to work there
helping out their parents. -
7:47 - 7:51Those fruits and vegetables
that were part of their daily duties, -
7:51 - 7:52at least during that afternoon,
-
7:52 - 7:55turned out into characters and animals.
-
7:56 - 7:58It's about giving a new meaning,
-
7:58 - 8:01and that's what I try to do all the time.
-
8:02 - 8:06In Mexico, during the Day of the Dead
-
8:07 - 8:12when all the community gather
to be with their departed loved ones, -
8:13 - 8:15we went to the cemetery
-
8:15 - 8:18and found a lot of children
wandering around. -
8:18 - 8:20We created a group with a few,
-
8:20 - 8:22and I asked their opinions
-
8:22 - 8:25and what life and death were for them.
-
8:27 - 8:31Then, we took out our crayons
and sheets of paper and started to paint. -
8:31 - 8:35They did one drawing related to life,
and one related to death. -
8:35 - 8:37And everything was good,
the way how they flow, -
8:37 - 8:39the things that the children said,
-
8:39 - 8:44that made me think how much
we continue to underestimate them. -
8:44 - 8:46How there are still topics that are taboo
-
8:46 - 8:49at school and even at home.
-
8:49 - 8:53I think it'd be great
to be able to talk to them -
8:53 - 8:55about sexuality,
-
8:55 - 8:57gender violence,
-
8:57 - 9:00-- which was quite present
in all the places we went to -- -
9:00 - 9:02or even death.
-
9:03 - 9:05What we're doing through silence
-
9:05 - 9:07is raising children
-
9:07 - 9:09who will keep on repeating the same model.
-
9:12 - 9:16I'd like to share with you
some of the things I learned. -
9:18 - 9:19From the beginning of this project
-
9:19 - 9:22a lot of people have offered to help me.
-
9:23 - 9:25In every country,
and in every little town we'd go -
9:25 - 9:28they open up the doors of their house,
-
9:28 - 9:30they invite us to eat, to stay,
they give us materials. -
9:32 - 9:36Actually, they make me feel
I'm home even when I'm so far away; -
9:36 - 9:38I'm a little bit at home.
-
9:39 - 9:41But most of the time
I hear people saying the opposite. -
9:41 - 9:45But I don't think the world
is that horrible and unsafe place -
9:45 - 9:48where nobody cares about the other.
-
9:48 - 9:54I also learned that trust is
the most important thing -
9:54 - 9:57that a child needs to be able to create.
-
9:58 - 10:00It's all about giving them trust.
-
10:00 - 10:02So that they can enjoy what they do
-
10:02 - 10:05instead of doing it like a test
and then getting stuck. -
10:06 - 10:09And this is the case
of any artistic activity. -
10:09 - 10:11Even for me, for you,
-
10:11 - 10:14who think that you are no able
-
10:14 - 10:16to paint, to write, to sing, to dance.
-
10:18 - 10:19The children taught me
-
10:19 - 10:23that when they can find
joy in only walking the walk, -
10:24 - 10:27without much judgment or
comparing themselves to their neighbors, -
10:27 - 10:28they are much happier.
-
10:30 - 10:34We know children who have a hard time.
-
10:34 - 10:36Who suffered from abuse, violence,
-
10:36 - 10:38abandonment, extreme poverty.
-
10:38 - 10:40Children who cannot go to school
-
10:40 - 10:41because they have to work.
-
10:41 - 10:44But even so, in our workshops,
when they paint their dreams, -
10:44 - 10:49I find out that they want to be
singers, architects, teachers, doctors, -
10:49 - 10:51like any other child.
-
10:52 - 10:55It's very easy to tag and stigmatize.
-
10:56 - 10:58But no child is born evil,
-
10:58 - 11:01no child is violent per se.
-
11:01 - 11:04All they need is an opportunity.
-
11:06 - 11:09In the jungle, in Peru,
-
11:09 - 11:12we also went to the Amazon,
with the Awajun community, -
11:12 - 11:15and I remember
the school principal telling me, -
11:15 - 11:16"Don't expect great things
-
11:16 - 11:21because these children know
handicraft but they never paint." -
11:22 - 11:26Well, they painted the most amazing
paintings in all my trip. -
11:26 - 11:29It was incredible the power of observation
these children of the jungle had, -
11:29 - 11:33and how they were able to draw
their surroundings, just as they are. -
11:33 - 11:36Every detail, every bird, and every tree.
-
11:37 - 11:40I had a similar experience in a school
-
11:40 - 11:44where there were blind children
suffering from the Down syndrome -
11:44 - 11:46and brain damage.
-
11:46 - 11:48One of the things
we create in the workshops -
11:49 - 11:50are self-portraits.
-
11:50 - 11:53I never thought about
underestimating them. -
11:53 - 11:54We did what we always do.
-
11:54 - 11:58And if someone has any doubts
about their ability to express themselves, -
11:58 - 12:01look at these amazing
drawings they created. -
12:03 - 12:08Just as I feel that I can teach
these children, -
12:08 - 12:10I also learn from them.
-
12:11 - 12:13I also learn from them.
-
12:13 - 12:16Not long ago, in Thailand,
I was walking on the street, -
12:16 - 12:19met with some children,
and we started to paint. -
12:19 - 12:22I met a little girl
I got a special connection with, -
12:22 - 12:24and for a little,
we were inseparable. -
12:26 - 12:29I looked at her painting
and I saw two people. -
12:29 - 12:33I asked her who they were
and she pointed at herself and at me. -
12:34 - 12:38At me, a guy she had never seen before,
someone that she has just met, -
12:38 - 12:40and possibly would never see again.
-
12:40 - 12:44It's incredible how children
can open up so much. -
12:44 - 12:48And so it's our responsibility as adults.
-
12:48 - 12:51Just one word can open them up a lot
-
12:51 - 12:53or close them up a lot.
-
12:54 - 12:57If we tell them that the sun
has to be yellow, -
12:57 - 12:59that grass has to be green,
-
12:59 - 13:01that their characters
need to be leaning -
13:01 - 13:03or otherwise, it'll look
as they are flying; -
13:03 - 13:05instead of helping them to be creative,
-
13:05 - 13:09we are curbing their imagination.
-
13:11 - 13:15In Asia, even with the help
of an interpreter, -
13:15 - 13:18we can't chat like in Latin America.
-
13:18 - 13:20So we use games,
-
13:20 - 13:23songs, videos and, of course, paintings.
-
13:24 - 13:27I think it's key, when you're
in front of a group of children, -
13:27 - 13:29to be able to reinvent yourself,
-
13:29 - 13:33to be creative, to absorb
what's happening. -
13:33 - 13:36Not all the children are the same,
not even among siblings. -
13:37 - 13:40It's the adult who should adapt
-
13:40 - 13:42instead of having a formula
-
13:42 - 13:45and expect always the same result.
-
13:47 - 13:49More than a year ago,
-
13:49 - 13:52I said goodbye to my dog, Tai,
-
13:52 - 13:53and left home.
-
13:53 - 13:57I have already traveled
all Latin America and most of Asia, -
13:57 - 14:00in fact, I just flew here from India today
-
14:00 - 14:02and the day after tomorrow
I'll be going back. -
14:04 - 14:07And there's still a lot ahead.
-
14:07 - 14:10Soon, we will meet with children
from the Gaza Strip, in Palestine. -
14:10 - 14:12With refugee children, African children.
-
14:13 - 14:16ONU and UNICEF invite us
to give workshops, -
14:16 - 14:19something that I'd have never imagined.
-
14:19 - 14:21After these two years,
-
14:21 - 14:27I'd have painted with more
than 10,000 children from 40 countries, -
14:28 - 14:30And there's still a lot ahead.
-
14:30 - 14:32But we'll be back,
-
14:32 - 14:36and we'll do the same here,
in Argentina, from Ushuaia to La Quiaca, -
14:36 - 14:37from coast to coast.
-
14:37 - 14:41We are going to create moving exhibitions
with these children's paintings. -
14:41 - 14:46And a book, full of children's pictures,
stories and of course, paintings. -
14:46 - 14:48We are making a movie,
-
14:48 - 14:53a documentary, so that we can share this
with many more people. -
14:54 - 14:58All of this is called "Small Big Worlds"
-
14:59 - 15:02and what started as the trip of my life
-
15:02 - 15:06turned out to be the project of my life.
-
15:06 - 15:08But it started as a dream.
-
15:09 - 15:12And talking about dreams,
I want you to meet Elizabeth. -
15:12 - 15:14(video) Elizabeth:
When I was small, very small, -
15:14 - 15:17I wanted to be a singer,
-
15:17 - 15:21a sanitation worker, work with my dad;
-
15:21 - 15:25but my dad used to say no,
that the job wasn't for me. -
15:25 - 15:27My father is an engineer.
-
15:27 - 15:31He used to say no,
that I wouldn't know how to do it. -
15:31 - 15:34But I kept on telling him,
again and again... -
15:35 - 15:38My advice to all the children in the world
-
15:38 - 15:40is that they should follow their dream.
-
15:40 - 15:44Don't let anyone get in your way.
-
15:44 - 15:46If your parents don't support you,
-
15:46 - 15:50you should fight for your dreams!
-
15:50 - 15:53What I want now is to be a gynecologist.
-
15:53 - 15:56To help all women have children.
-
15:57 - 16:00But sometimes, I feel
that that's not my dream, -
16:00 - 16:02that I have another one.
-
16:02 - 16:04I don't know what it is.
-
16:04 - 16:06So I have to go searching for it,
-
16:06 - 16:08let it come to me or I'll go to it.
-
16:09 - 16:12Together: Small Big Worlds!
-
16:12 - 16:14Argentina!
-
16:14 - 16:15Bolivia!
-
16:15 - 16:16Peru!
-
16:16 - 16:18Ecuador!
-
16:18 - 16:19Colombia!
-
16:19 - 16:21Guatemala!
-
16:21 - 16:24Mexico!
-
16:24 - 16:26Cuba!
-
16:26 - 16:27Japan!
-
16:27 - 16:30China!
-
16:30 - 16:33Vietnam!
-
16:33 - 16:35Laos!
-
16:35 - 16:38Thailand!
-
16:38 - 16:40Burma!
-
16:40 - 16:42Cambodia!
-
16:42 - 16:45Indonesia!
-
16:45 - 16:48Nepal!
-
16:48 - 16:50India!
-
16:50 - 16:53[Small Big Worlds
pequeniosgrandesmundos.org] -
16:53 - 16:55(Applause)
-
17:06 - 17:10Every day I'm grateful that I got inspired
-
17:10 - 17:11to create "Small Big Worlds",
-
17:11 - 17:15and that I can paint with children
from all around the world. -
17:15 - 17:18The other day, a boy from a village,
in the middle of the mountains in Nepal -
17:18 - 17:20wrapped it up it perfectly.
-
17:20 - 17:22He painted the Earth and wrote:
-
17:22 - 17:24"I also live on this planet."
-
17:24 - 17:26Thank you very much.
-
17:26 - 17:27(Applause)
- Title:
- I also live on this planet | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
What can you learn when painting with thousands of children from all over the world? Ivanke decided one day to travel around the world and give painting workshops to children from the most remote places. Through a small window, he's showing us these small big worlds that he visited.
- Video Language:
- Spanish
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 17:47
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Helene Batt edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Denise RQ approved English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Yo también vivo en este planeta | Ivanke | TEDxRíodelaPlataED |