TED:food for thought

Amid the flurry of depressing news we are fed every day (corruption, incompetence and abuse of power- courtesy of the political and economic elites- unemployment, spending cuts, the ever-growing class gap, wars, drought...) it is almost- or at least it should be- compulsory to find a 'breathing space' against this confusing and terrifying spiral;more than ever, I think that we are desperately in need of reasons to be cheerful and try to keep an optimistic outlook on the world.I often find my share whenever I come across passionate people oozing talent and that 'can-do' attitude; they are the people who make the world go round, to paraphrase The Stylistics.
I was reminded of all that last weekend thanks to the TEDx event organised in London by the UK's oldest Sunday paper, The Observer.
If you haven't heard about TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, it is definitely worth checking their website (www.ted.com);dating back to the mid-eighties, this not-for-profit project aims to spread ideas that are worth...spreading. Hundreds of videos covering an amazingly wide range of topics are available on the project's website so I'll leave it to you to visit it and discover it and hopefully be inspired by any of these videos. A warning though, it may cause addiction...
TEDx organise events throughout the world;one of them took place, as mentioned, in London at the Saddler's Wells theatre (this event could be followed live at the venue, on screens or as I did, online). It was a day packed with presentations and performances by people who coming from different backgrounds presented an array of initiatives and ideas that can only be classed as inspiring, brave and  forward-looking.Speakers and performers included, among others, singer-songwriter Plan B who presented his forthcoming documentary iLL Manors on the grim reality of gun culture, Hackney's community worker and 'heroine' from last summer's riots Pauline Pearce as well as Peter Lovatt and Alvaro Restrepo's work in Bogota's neighbourhoods in which dance is used as a creative tool to build self-esteem and fight exclusion.
In short, this was a day to feel optimistic and enthusiastic;a day where food for thought was indeed served and hopefully digested by the audience.Inspiration met action.