Ted Talks Videos Brings Inspiring Speeches To The Web

I am addicted to the Ted Talks series on Ted.com.  “Series” is not quite the right word.  Their tagline is “Ideas Worth Spreading.”  Ted.com seeks out the best and the brightest thinkers on everything from science to comedy and beyond to give a 5-to-20 minute “speech of their lives.” The speech, delivered in front of a live-audience, is taped and put on the web.  Ted.com is the mothership but TedX events around the globe allow local communities to arrange and tape their own big thinkers.   My friends at Kornerstone Productions had the pleasure of working on one of the local Washington, DC events.

A couple of my favorite speeches are from comedian Maz Jobrani who offers a humorous look at the challenges of being a Middle Eastern American.  I also found Dan Pink’s speech on motivation very… well motivational, to the point that I booked him as a guest on a television series I was producing called Ideas In Action.  But Hannah Brencher’s 5-minute speech titled “Love Letters To Strangers” really changed my life.  In the three months since watching it, I have dropped at least 100 anonymous love letters in places like coffee shops, dressing rooms and the library.  Some of them have been found and posted on Hannah’s website MoreLoveLetters.com.

Ted Talks is video at its best – simple, varied and inspiring. There is something for everyone.  I challenge anyone to scroll through the selection and not find something to watch.  And if you can’t get enough of the hundreds of topics presented in the videos, you can join one of the online discussions or start one of your own.

As a producer, I am hoping to use the Ted.com model for more streamlined topics. In that way, the very website has inspired me.

For more opinions, visit the Opinion category.

High School Dropout Intervention on Ideas In Action

How often do we as producers get to work on a meaningful project AND get the chance to redo it in an additional version?  I am lucky to have the opportunity to produce a two-part look (each one a half-hour long) for the public television series Ideas In Action with Jim Glassman exploring how targeted middle school intervention and effective school leadership is curbing the high school dropout crisis in America.

I also have the opportunity to turn the content into a 1-hour special that I am working on now. This will allow me to add even more great content that I found it hard to part with during the initial cuts.  Here is a promo for the one-hour version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rISY_IAPgcc

As a mother, I’ve learned so much about how to help usher my children through their educational experiences. As an American, I am hopeful about our ability to educate all children regardless of their backgrounds. As a producer, I am thankful for the opportunity to share stories that may make a difference in someone’s life.

Dalai Lama on “Ideas In Action”

Here is a press release for the Dalai Lama’s appearence on Ideas In Action.  I worked on this episode as shoot coordinator and post production producer.  The Dalai Lama spoke about seeking “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet in relation to China, Middle East uprisings and his decision to step down from political leadership.  Click here to learn more about the Dalai Lama’s interview.

For Immediate Release

DALAI LAMA CALLS CHINESE OCCUPATION OF TIBET A” RULE OF FEAR AND TERROR,” SAYS THERE IS A “SEMI-CULTURAL REVOLUTION” IN TIBET

Annapolis, MD June 1, 2011 – An exclusive thirty-minute interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama will air on public television and the Voice of America over the weekend of June 3-5, 2011 as part of the weekly television series, Ideas In Action with Jim Glassman.

During the interview the Dalai Lama candidly discussed his views on the future of his people, the struggle for freedom by people in the Middle East, how he plans to remain as spiritual leader while giving up his role as the political leader of his people and his desire for Tibet to be an autonomous region within China.

With the increase in Chinese military and security personnel in Tibet, His Holiness commented, there is a “rule of fear, rule of terror there.”

In discussing the systematic efforts by the Chinese government to stamp out the Tibetan culture, the Dalai Lama says local Tibetans tell him that now a “semi-Cultural Revolution [is] returning,” a reference to the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1960’s and 70’s when the communist authorities waged a reign of terror against the Chinese people and instituted a strict regime of political indoctrination.

On the recent wave of Middle East uprisings His Holiness said that he supports the people fighting for freedom, saying that once their goal of changing the system is achieved, they should avoid criticizing each other and “…. work together and build [a] new society.”

The Dalai Lama interview is part of the Freedom Collection, a repository of video histories and documents from the hallmark freedom movements of the twentieth century up to the present that is being created by the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, TX.  Videotaped interviews and important documents will be available at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas and on the Freedom Collection website later this year.

Ambassador James K. Glassman is the Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute, the public policy arm of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.  Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman airs on public television stations across the country.  Viewers should consult their local listings for times, or can visit the www.ideasinactiontv.com website to watch the program or look up program schedules.

Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman is a co-production of Grace Creek Media and the George W. Bush Institute.

ABOUT GRACE CREEK MEDIA (www.gracecreek.com)

Grace Creek Media, Inc. is an independent production and distribution company based in Annapolis, MD that specializes in the development, production and distribution of documentaries, series and educational television programming.

THE GEORGE W. BUSH INSTITUTE (www.georgewbushinstitute.com)

The George W. Bush Institute is an independent, nonpartisan think tank engaged in policy, research, and action guided by the principles of freedom, opportunity, responsibility, and compassion.  Working with philanthropic-minded individuals, social entrepreneurs, other non-profit private institutions, businesses, and international and domestic government agencies, the Bush Institute’s goal is to transform ideas into action, producing results that can be tested, proven, and replicated in the real world.

Press Contact: Christina Mazzanti – christina.mazzanti@gracecreek.com

#####