Words Worth Spreading at TEDGlobal 2012

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TEDGlobal 2012 name tag and Program Guide

What if each attending translator graciously handed out a word worth spreading to their neighbour at the beginning of the conference every day?

That was the idea the TED Translators had in Palm Springs, early March 2012. TEDx organizers were quick to pick it up. On 29 March, at TEDx Leuven, the idea was launched on stage. The TEDxLeuven social media team created a Facebook page. All over the world, TED translators started to collect words worth spreading.

Kristin Windbigler, TED’s Translation Project Manager, brought in Swedish designer and TED Translator Dick Lundgren. He designed a beautiful gift, proudly presented to the world by the TED Translators and TED curator Chris Anderson. June Cohen, Executive Producer of TED Media, tweeted: “22 of our amazing #TED Translators are at #TEDGlobal. Here’s a gift they got, with 21 untranslatable words”.

At TEDGlobal, the spreading goes on by means of small stickers that fit perfectly on people’s name tags. Yesterday I realized that one of the first people I gave one to, was Don Tapscott, the opening speaker of TEDGlobal 2012. He was with us on the Edinburgh Literary Tour last Monday. On that same tour, TEDx organizer Saad Hamid of TEDxMargalla pointed out the Urdu word for happiness to me on a sign in the streets of Edinburgh. TEDx organizers from all over the world, including TEDxRainier’s Phil Klein and Daniel Cerventus of TEDxKL help spread our words.

At the Edinburgh Castle party, Senior TED Fellow Manu Prakash, who gave a truly brilliant TED University talk, contributed a word, which will be shared with you soon on Facebook.

Among the words worth spreading enthusiasts is TEDGlobal donor Lee Larson. I gave him a sheet of stickers on day 1. When I met him again on day 2, he told me he was out of stickers, so I gave him a new set.

TED Speaker Jon Drori not only handpicks stickers to put on other people’s name tags, he also has two words to contribute (keep an eye on that Facebook page).

I just noticed this in the comments to the TED Blog: “Thank you for this beautiful, inspirational list! I would like to share another word, which I discovered through Ridley Scott’s Life in a Day documentary film. It’s the word “mamihlapinatapai”, from the now almost extinct indigenous Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, which means 'that moment or feeling when two people both want to initiate something but neither wants to be the one to start it.' I find it very moving”.

As TEDU speaker Gareth Kay said yesterday, we do not always need to think big. Sometimes small efforts can be very effective. Here at TEDGlobal, we spread your words one at a time. I find it very moving indeed.

--User:ElsDK 07:07, 27 June 2012 (UTC)