Silicon Valley is a great place to live – full of people (of all ages) who display a youthful spirit of inquiry and innovation when it comes to the world. The annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference: Ideas Worth Spreading brings “fascinating thinkers and doers who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).”
TED has uploaded about 200 of their talks for the public to peruse for free, and I’ve been waiting for the talk by 2008 TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong to be uploaded for the past few weeks. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak in San Francisco just before she attended the conference and am always impressed with what an ardent ally she is of Islam and Muslims. She calls her striving to bring balance to Islam’s perception in the West her “personal jihad.”
Each year the TED prize winners make a wish. Armstrong’s TED Prize wish asks us to help her assemble a Council on Compassion, where religious leaders can work together for peace.
Listen to her call for a charter for compassion, and do check out the archives for other great talks too.
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“I say that religion isn’t about believing things. It’s ethical alchemy. It’s about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness.”
- Karen Armstrong
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April 13, 2008 at 11:46 am
Kate
I enjoyed watching and listening to Karen Armstrong’s speech. I find her a very intriguing person, someone I’d like to sit next to on a plane. I just finished her most recent book, The Bible, A Biography.
Kate
April 15, 2008 at 11:44 am
Baraka
Salaam dear Kate,
So good to see you again!
I have long loved her passion, wit, and knowledge, and would love to be stuck next to her on a long-haul San Francisco-London flight too!
Warmly,
Baraka