KEYNOTE ADDRESS:BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown was a surprise speaker at yesterday's first day of TEDGlobal in Oxford, and used his talk to call for a reform of global institutions, and for a recognition that this is the first generation for whom technology has made the idea of the global community a reality.
His ideas on how to help the populations of the developing world were not the most innovative on view, but the event’s attendees – informally known as “Tedsters” – are attracted by both idealism and the power of technology and Mr Brown’s message was greeted by a standing ovation by most within the Oxford Playhouse theatre.
Using the examples of Burma, Zimbabwe and Iran – and name-checking Bono and Nelson Mandela along the way – he talked about how much the internet and phones are making it easier for people around the world to mobilise and act.
Foreign policy, he said, can no longer be controlled by elites in the age of the internet, when many bloggers have recently changed their location details to Iran to help bloggers in that country.
However, he said that global institutions such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund need massive reform. Building “a truly global society with truly global institutions is the great project of our generation”, Mr Brown insisted. This would be the only way to tackle financial crises, climate change and security issues, he said.
While his appearance was the biggest surprise on the first day of TEDGlobal, Mr Brown was in the unusual situation of sharing a bill with a quirky list of speakers, including an astronomer on the hunt for supermassive black holes and a micro-sculptor who creates art that fits on a pinhead.
Meanwhile, contrasting with Gordon Brown’s grander vision, one innovator, Josh Silver, showcased an ambitious project that has the potential to change the lives of many in the developing world.
He described how an area of sub-Saharan Africa has only one optometrist for a population of eight million people, and then demonstrated a pair of glasses with lenses that the owner can adjust without the need for a professional.
Silver’s Adspecs are already being worn by 30,000 people use in 15 countries, but at €19 they remain expensive for many on the planet.
“The cost has to come right down because we have to serve populations that live on $1 a day,” said Mr Silver.
“I have a global vision for vision – and that is to try to get a billion people wearing the glasses they need by 2020.”