Organiser of TEDxLeuven Bruno Delepierre is currently staying in Long Beach, California to attend TEDactive 2012. This is a three day conference designed for the curious, creative and passionate. In short: for those who don’t just want to sit by the sidelines and wish to share experiences and participate in projects that might impact the world. In his blog Bruno tells us about the interesting ideas, fascinating insights and extraordinary people he gets to know there…

TED Active – First impressions

It’s almost midnight. I sit here, baffled with the many big and little truths that were shared with me on the first day of the TED Active conference. I could tell you about cosmology and the existence of a multiverse, eloquently brought by Brian Greene. I could tell you about the value of being introvert, a heart-touching talk by Susan Cain. There was Peter Diamandis, the chair of the X-prize foundation and co-founder of Singularity University that proved there is hope for the future. An example? A machine is out there that converts any fluid into drinkable water for merely 0.015 euro per liter.

The power of Art

There was a tremendous performance by Quixotic , a ballet/laser show ensemble and a truly memorable mix between poetry/video and humor by Billy Collins . The personal cherry on the cake was Jonathan Haidt to talk about dissolving your own ego to become a true member of a group, to achieve a greater goal.
The true value though was not in the tremendous speakers. It was in the audience. The very people sitting next to me in the room. It brought me joy. Joy to see that we are not alone. Joy that many initiatives are being taken to change this world for the better. Joy to see that where crisis looms, there is hope and energy to tackle this. To be fearless.

Big truths in Palm Springs

I had the privilege to hear people like Anwar from Sudan speak about his wonder to meet a gay person for the very first time in his life and how he realized that this was a person just like him. Something we take for granted back at home but is a big insight for someone coming from a different part of the globe.