Which Idea Wins Over 4,000 People? | Amman | TED Idea Search

0:02 I promise by the end of this you're all going to be besties.

0:04 It's just so exciting.

0:06 Everything in my life has led me to this moment.

0:09 Ooh, see I forgot this.

0:11 I feel really nervous for them.

0:12 They're a mirror into the deep inequalities shaping our world.

0:15 This is the time to rethink teleprompters, yes?

0:19 No.

0:19 We have to go wash it off in a river of cheese.

0:22 I love how much fun she's having up there.

0:24 Sorry, emotional again.

0:26 It is wild out there.

0:28 How am I going to go through life again?

0:29 How am I going to move forward?

0:31 I died.

0:32 I died.

0:32 Oh.

0:33 What?

0:38 My name is Reggie Watts,

0:39 and my life changed forever when I got the opportunity to speak at TED.

0:45 Now, TED is searching the globe for ideas that could change everything.

0:51 Nine TEDx events around the world.

0:55 Giving a global voice to the unknown.

0:58 Six minutes that can inspire, motivate, and change their lives forever.

1:04 But that's not all.

1:07 Coached by an expert panel,

1:09 one lucky speaker will be surprised with the opportunity of a lifetime.

1:14 A chance to speak on the TED main stage and have their voices heard by millions.

1:21 This is the TED Idea Search.

1:32 Jordan, a land shaped by ancient civilizations and vast deserts.

1:38 And at its heart, Amman, where modern ideas meet deep history.

1:45 Today, it's home to our final group of TED hopefuls,

1:49 ready to share their ideas with the TED team.

1:53 My name is Deena Halaseh.

1:54 I'm from Jordan.

1:58 I've been a brain trainer for some time

2:00 and I've seen brain training change so many lives.

2:05 I've seen kids struggle,

2:06 parents cry in front of me just worried about their kids,

2:09 not sure what to do with them.

2:13 No one thinks you're born an athlete, no one thinks you're perfect doing sports,

2:18 but somehow when it comes to math, it's either you're good or you're bad.

2:21 No one actually thinks about training that's good.

2:26 So I wanted to make sure to get my idea across to as many

2:30 people as I can that something can be done and the brains can actually change.

2:36 When I found out that I'm going to be

2:38 delivering a TED Talk at this like global stage,

2:42 I I can't tell you the happiness I felt.

2:45 I think I'll be honored, I'll be grateful.

2:47 It's a really big deal for me.

2:48 I really am excited about this.

2:52 I've been trying to spread hope throughout my life,

2:54 throughout everything that I do.

2:56 There is always hope, there's always a better tomorrow.

3:00 I think if you have good intentions and your heart is in the right place,

3:03 things will happen for you.

3:07 With 24 hours until the speakers take the stage,

3:11 they have the opportunity to get invaluable feedback

3:13 from the panel to help them perfect their talks.

3:25 We're going to go through,

3:25 we're going to have everybody run through their talks,

3:27 give a little like last minute feedback.

3:29 You're in good shape now.

3:31 You were selected for a reason.

3:32 You're going to be amazing up there and we are just here to really support

3:36 you and I promise by the end of this you're all going to be besties.

3:40 Let's welcome our first speaker of rehearsal, It was interesting.

3:47 It was hard cuz like I thought I would remember everything,

3:51 obviously brain trainer, I'm good at memory.

3:53 But then, standing there,

3:54 having everyone look at you, it's completely different.

3:57 This is the most important part.

3:59 If I want anything out of this talk, it's for you to remember these three facts.

4:04 Number one, your trade your turn your brain can be trained.

4:09 I was nervous.

4:11 I was nervous cuz not like practicing at your own

4:13 home or when you're practicing in front of family.

4:16 I think it's okay to be shaky and I

4:17 think it's okay to be nervous cuz that's so human.

4:20 And I think what shines brightest is when you

4:23 can tell someone really cares about what they're talking about.

4:26 As many of you know, Saudi Arabia was quite different back then.

4:29 Sports was not accessible to women.

4:32 I felt a strong urge to teach dance classes.

4:35 I didn't have a venue to teach.

4:38 So, my stepfather offered a temporary solution

4:41 using a warehouse in his office building.

4:44 Bless my stepfather, he thought it was a temporary solution.

4:47 Mhm, we ain't going nowhere.

4:49 I really resonated with Nelly's talk.

4:51 I think it really touched my heart.

4:53 I just like the emotional roller coaster.

4:55 Yeah.

4:55 I went up a mountain, down the mountain.

4:58 I danced.

4:59 I I I lived through all the emotions and I think it's wonderful.

5:03 My name is Nelly Attar and I'm from Lebanon.

5:10 The big idea I want to share with the world is only

5:13 by taking risks can you find out how far you can go.

5:17 This idea is so important to me because it's

5:20 my dad's favorite quote and my dad's no longer here today.

5:27 Climbing K2 was one of my favorite moments, standing on top of that summit,

5:32 making history for the Arab region,

5:34 making history as a woman in a male-dominant sport.

5:37 I wouldn't be here today if I didn't take

5:39 risks over and over and over and over again.

5:43 Everyone tries to shy away from discomfort,

5:45 but I think this is where the best things in my life have happened.

5:49 Once you see that there's great things on the other side of fear,

5:53 you never want to go back.

5:55 Move is not just a dance studio.

5:58 It was a national movement.

6:00 The national movement the Saudi needed.

6:03 Imagine I had not taken that risk

6:04 of teaching those horrible classes from the hospital.

6:08 I listened to Nelly Attar talk and she was like, "In Saudi Arabia,

6:12 uh it was forbidden to do like everything about for women like uh dancing,

6:17 uh walking even on the streets." Nelly is kind of born to do this.

6:22 Looking at performance alone, she's definitely top tier,

6:26 but that's not what that's totally about.

6:28 We have to also look at the idea and see if it's strong enough.

6:31 The work that you've done is incredible and I think

6:33 just really making sure that part of it really lands,

6:36 dials up the impact that you've made.

6:39 We have another rehearsal, right?

6:40 Yeah.

6:41 Oh, the TED people have been so helpful.

6:43 This has been a learning journey of its own.

6:46 Just, you know, from delivering a standard talk to, "No,

6:49 Nelly, you know, speak to people.

6:51 It's from human to human." These paradoxes are not just noise.

6:57 They're a mirror into the deep inequality shaping our world.

7:01 Every headline news, a brutal reminder of that.

7:04 One family returning veteran hero is another

7:08 civilian tragedy somewhere in the global south.

7:13 My name is Rima Darwaz.

7:15 I think everybody in our region is going through the same

7:17 this guilt of being able to have a meal and think

7:21 big in the corporate world when really the next door people

7:25 are dying of hunger and there's nothing we can do about it.

7:29 And that paradox of our daily lives is eating us up.

7:34 The minute you start losing empathy,

7:37 that becomes the biggest danger that we have and that is

7:39 the root cause of all injustices from the beginning of time.

7:44 I just want people to dig deep beyond the headlines

7:47 and redefine success to the impact you've done to the world.

7:52 When I teach resiliency in corporate settings,

7:54 this is the first image that comes to my mind.

7:57 Feeling burnt out?

7:58 It's okay.

7:59 Resiliency will help you get back on track.

8:03 Psychological safety in the workplace,

8:05 promoting an environment where people feel safe to speak up and be seen.

8:10 You guys see where I'm going with this.

8:12 I think you could actually dial up the contrast a bit more,

8:16 like by kind of getting a little somber about the image.

8:19 When I'm thinking about um you know,

8:21 resilience in the workplace, this is the image I think of.

8:26 You know, to kind of like and to bring

8:27 us down to like match the tone of the image.

8:30 As an empath, I have like I don't know what my reaction should be.

8:35 It's been challenging in some cases to get speakers to to really

8:39 like dig topics and go super deep on the talks.

8:44 Rima has this like really personal talk that should be a longer in-depth talk.

8:50 Oh, they are clever.

8:51 They know their stuff.

8:53 So, yeah, feedback was so important for us, all of us.

8:57 Words that we use about mental health don't describe reality, they shape it.

9:04 When you use words of dignity,

9:07 you give people voices and you make them feel they are heard.

9:14 My name is Tala Al-Qod and I'm from Amman, Jordan.

9:20 My main idea here is that mental health is not really a foreign idea.

9:25 It's not a western idea.

9:27 Taking care of our mental well-being and mental health is

9:30 rooted in our own culture or faith and our own poetry.

9:34 I've personally worked in mental health for over 20 years and I've

9:38 seen the impact of mental health as a field growing in Jordan.

9:43 I'd like to have people start their discussions and start

9:45 talking about mental health and I really felt like

9:48 mental health has to take stage on a big

9:51 platform like this, especially in our region and our area.

9:55 It's really a universal language.

9:57 I'd sit in meetings where the people discuss bold ideas, strong voices,

10:02 but when you mention mental health, voice drops,

10:06 eyes drop, and the shame sweeps in.

10:11 See, I forgot this.

10:14 Okay.

10:16 Can I stop?

10:17 During rehearsals, the number of speakers still had some work.

10:21 And I think here, people are maybe not used to taking the stage as much

10:25 and the stakes are high for these people and I think they're feeling it.

10:28 See, I'm I'm I'm mixing it up again.

10:30 But, I'm just trying to remember it.

10:32 So, our culture has always known Uh our culture has

10:37 always known hardship and it has always known resilience, right?

10:42 This is this is the time to rethink teleprompters, yes?

10:46 No.

10:47 We don't like teleprompters because you are connecting with us human to human.

10:51 She struggled a bit in rehearsals.

10:54 She was forgetting lines quite a bit.

10:56 Make sure that you pra- like know what's on the slide

10:59 so that you can glance at the slide versus read the slide.

11:04 Everyone on the team has been really great

11:06 in kind of helping us not only tweak our talk,

11:09 but actually get up on stage and be able to do it.

11:12 So, now I'm much more comfortable than I used to be a few hours ago.

11:15 Some of these ideas left me in tears.

11:17 I was so emotional the whole time.

11:19 It's just it's bigger and it made me feel like it's this is real.

11:23 This is the real thing.

11:24 This is where you get your point across.

11:26 It was so real and it was like a a whole different thing.

11:29 A whole different experience.

11:31 One of my first students, the first thing he ever said to me was I'm stupid.

11:35 I won't be able to do this.

11:37 We started working.

11:39 We We started working and we worked on those little skills that he needed.

11:44 And then suddenly, towards the end, he started saying I'm a genius.

11:51 The Woo.

11:54 I lost my track with Sammy.

11:56 Okay, so Oh, time is up.

12:01 All right.

12:02 Dina's trying to pack a lot into 6 minutes.

12:04 I feel really nervous for them.

12:07 Oh, feedback.

12:11 How far off were we on time?

12:13 Like Okay.

12:15 You got a little choked up at the Sammy part,

12:17 which is fine when you do, but I think it threw you sort of.

12:20 I think I can manage to control my emotions on stage.

12:25 Um but I've been waiting for a long time to share

12:28 that message to make sure people can actually hear that.

12:32 I've actually learned a lot about myself.

12:34 I think I've always been a shy person

12:36 trying to avoid the limelight or maybe the spotlight, but I just feel like yeah,

12:41 I do have something to say and I think that's worth sharing.

12:44 I'm believing in our amazing speakers.

12:46 Like it's going to be something really really really really amazing.

12:51 I feel like we have the full spectrum of preparedness

12:56 from people who are pretty much ready to go for tomorrow.

12:59 And there's some people that I feel

13:00 like that didn't have their talk really rehearsed

13:03 at all today that I bet will pull

13:04 it out for tomorrow once they see the audience.

13:07 Some of them as they've heard each other,

13:09 they've been motivated to level up a little bit.

13:12 I would definitely say some people have a lot to do in the next 24 hours.

13:16 I can't wait to see them tomorrow.

13:17 I'm so excited.

13:22 Nothing can prepare our speakers for the red dot

13:25 until they step onto it for the very first time.

13:28 And in this epic 6,000 seat amphitheater,

13:32 composure will matter just as much as content.

13:37 I felt really nice standing on that stage.

13:39 I felt connected to everything.

13:42 Anxiety, I feel like that's going to be the dominant emotion,

13:46 but I think it's it's trying to shift that anxiety into excitement.

13:52 I'll try to control my movements and energy.

13:55 It's just so big.

13:57 It's big.

13:59 Delivering a TED Talk at this like global stage, it's just so exciting.

14:05 It would be a great opportunity for our voices here to be heard.

14:10 Just want to make sure that this idea gets

14:12 to every single person out there because I've seen life-changing results.

14:18 Sorry, emotional again.

14:30 With the desert sun rising, it's show day in Amman.

14:34 In just a few hours, the Roman theater will be filled

14:37 with an audience hoping to be educated and entertained.

14:40 We're going to do a little exercise to help us

14:43 calm the nerves and feel a little bit more present, okay?

14:48 I just want to be myself, to be honest, and I want to have fun with it.

14:52 And I want to see, you know, what the day's going to bring.

14:55 You're in this moment.

14:57 Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

14:59 It is you.

14:59 You're real.

15:00 You're in this place.

15:02 I want to make sure that the voices of the students that I've trained,

15:05 the lives that I've changed, can actually get there.

15:08 Stick out your tongue and say,

15:12 I want people to feel if Nelly could do these things, I could do crazier things.

15:24 I NEVER THOUGHT I'D REACH TO TO WHERE I am right now.

15:27 I want to leave the next 6 minutes with something that's powerful

15:32 and impactful and will help people

15:34 realize that if you're going through something,

15:36 a struggle, know that you're not alone.

15:41 I feel everything in my life has led me to this moment.

15:46 I'm ready for it.

15:51 Final preparations are complete.

15:54 The open-air seats begin to fill.

15:57 And TEDx Amman is just moments away from beginning.

16:01 Let me just tell you how incredible it is to be here in Amman.

16:06 Please help me by giving a warm welcome to our first speaker, RIMA TARAZI.

16:14 ALL RIGHT.

16:15 TEDx Amman, this looks like a massive event.

16:19 I wonder how the speakers are going

16:21 to connect with everyone in a venue this big.

16:24 Well, hello.

16:26 Hello.

16:26 Hello.

16:28 Wow, it is wild out there.

16:30 This This theater is so impressive and so crazy.

16:34 It is 2,000 years old and it's a little tricky because

16:38 the audience is kind of far from the stage and it's just grand.

16:43 We're going to hear from Rima.

16:46 She had a really strong rehearsal.

16:47 She was really well prepared.

16:48 I wonder if there is enough meat to this talk, enough deep substance.

16:54 Yeah.

16:55 I'm interested to see how the audience here will connect to it.

16:59 Yeah.

16:59 Have you ever been stressed out and someone came up to you and said, "It's okay.

17:05 It's about resiliency." Now imagine hearing that standing underneath

17:11 an F-16 firing jet dropping bombs over your head.

17:16 Still feeling inspired?

17:18 You know, it's tricky because I think when you stand up there,

17:22 you feel like you have to kind of project more than normal.

17:26 Mhm.

17:26 Um and so it's like that comes across, too.

17:29 Yeah, I feel like in a space like this, it's really

17:32 hard to make a talk a conversation and it's very much speaker-audience.

17:37 I'm also from the global south of the world, a region too well defined by war,

17:42 displacement, and headline news that reduce human lives to just numbers.

17:48 My people have been dehumanized.

17:51 And yet, here I am teaching resiliency in the workplace.

17:57 So, yes, you might say I have become a little bit of a cynic.

18:04 When I teach resiliency in corporate settings,

18:07 this is the image that always comes to my mind.

18:13 Feeling burnt out?

18:14 It's okay.

18:15 Resiliency will help you get back on track.

18:19 Psychological safety in the workplace.

18:22 Promoting an environment where people feel safe to speak up and be seen.

18:28 You guys see where I'm going with this?

18:30 And rehearsal yesterday, we gave a few notes.

18:33 I think she really did her best.

18:36 Even outside the boardrooms, as I flip through my Instagram feed,

18:40 on one side of my story,

18:43 children in a famine crying out for food,

18:47 and on the other side, AI perfecting my next matcha latte.

18:56 We've all been there.

18:57 I mean, the content is just such a reality for so many people.

19:01 It's a weird duality that's happening in life.

19:04 Like she said, matcha lattes.

19:06 She got an applause when she said that, too.

19:07 Like I think it's connecting because she's not the only one.

19:12 Yeah.

19:12 We don't live on this planet alone, you guys.

19:15 And yet, modern mindsets tell you you do.

19:18 They glorify individualism.

19:21 Be careful from that, because the danger lies is that you start

19:25 to lose empathy for the people around you and the rest of the world.

19:29 And that is the root cause of all injustices since the beginning of time.

19:35 That lack of empathy.

19:39 Global South has always been about the collective.

19:42 And perhaps those learnings are something we

19:45 can share with the rest of the world.

19:46 You can see the way she's moving back and forth.

19:49 There's a lot of ground to cover.

19:51 Yeah.

19:51 With all that said, I mean, her delivery really is on point.

19:54 She is doing a beautiful job.

19:56 I have seen ex-CEOs and ex-world leaders

19:59 doing master classes on leadership who are

20:02 actually on the Human Rights Watch List and the biggest polluters of this earth.

20:07 Where is our due diligence?

20:10 Be conscious of who they tell you your role models are.

20:14 I guess what I'm trying to say is we need

20:17 to fix the systems that imprison us before we fix ourselves.

20:22 And the only way we can do that is in service of others and speaking the truth.

20:27 Thank you.

20:30 She's getting a good applause here.

20:32 I mean, she did a great job.

20:33 I'm pretty sure it did connect with the audience.

20:35 She seemed really happy in that she felt connected from her spot on the stage.

20:40 And I I loved seeing that.

20:43 I'm going back through everything.

20:45 Uh even though I did a slip up, the audience was responsive.

20:48 It resonated with them.

20:50 I'm very proud of myself.

20:51 And I I did what I came to do, so.

20:54 That's relief.

20:56 It's a deep topic, and it's tough to go deep enough and make sure it's deep,

21:03 it's complex, and in 6 minutes, is it possible to go deep enough?

21:08 That's a little it's a little tough.

21:10 Next up, we have Tala, who who's giving a talk about the importance

21:16 of having conversations about mental health in the region.

21:19 I'm really looking forward to this.

21:21 Think of the last time someone asked you, "How are you?" What did you say?

21:28 I'm fine.

21:30 Hamdullah.

21:31 I'm good.

21:32 But if you're really honest, you would say, "I'm tired." Here's the thing.

21:38 We don't know how to talk about our mental well-being.

21:43 Although our culture is packed with words of care and resilience.

21:50 Take this one.

21:51 Ya'tīkum el 'afye.

21:54 You say it to your mom and she softens.

21:58 You say it to your boss and the deadline is no longer urgent.

22:03 You say it to a stranger in the streets and you've earned yourself a smile.

22:09 She is really doing a good job on the stage

22:13 of not stepping too much into the grand place.

22:17 She sounds like herself.

22:18 She really does.

22:20 The words we use about our mental health don't just describe our reality.

22:27 They shape it.

22:29 They label it.

22:31 But that's the thing.

22:33 This is not a new idea.

22:36 Think about Al-Mutanabbi.

22:38 Where he said, "Wounds to the spirit can

22:41 be heavier than wounds to the flesh." Already

22:46 making a distinction distinction between the mind

22:50 and body and saying they are both vitally important.

22:55 Our poets, from Darwish's affirmation of life to Gibran's thread of hope.

23:02 Rumi's metaphor of love and renewal turned our pain into poetry,

23:09 our grief into resilience, and our exile into belonging.

23:15 Mahmoud Darwish I think once people

23:29 in the audience heard the Arabic words come up,

23:31 they probably zoned in quite heavily on her.

23:33 Yeah.

23:34 I think she did such a beautiful job of working Arabic

23:38 into this talk so that it connects easily with the people in the room.

23:42 And if you're an English speaker only, we don't miss a beat either.

23:46 And she's not you know, exactly just translating for us.

23:49 It just works in the two languages.

23:51 Do not despair of God's mercy.

23:58 Our faith also tells us, "Your body has a right over you,

24:04 and your mind has a right over you." Already telling us that mental health,

24:12 or our health in general, has a right over us because it is holistic,

24:17 and it's a balance between both.

24:19 It's really hard when a slide has a lot of words on it.

24:22 And I think this is a really important slide, but I think people's attention are

24:25 probably so divided between reading the words,

24:28 hearing what she's trying to talk about,

24:29 and seeing what they could take with it.

24:31 Mental health is not a weakness.

24:34 It is not foreign.

24:36 It is not a taboo, and it's definitely not shameful.

24:41 It's in our greetings, in our music,

24:43 in our poetry, in our art, and in our faith.

24:48 It is a return to our roots, and it starts with two simple words.

24:59 Thank you.

25:01 Look at that.

25:02 The audience reaction is great.

25:03 They were definitely connected and that's some good strong applause right there.

25:09 Yeah.

25:08 I really enjoyed that.

25:10 It was fun.

25:11 The energy is great.

25:12 The audience is great.

25:13 You know, you're amongst family and friends and it's

25:15 it can't be more beautiful than this, really.

25:18 It's a tricky thing to judge, I think,

25:20 for us because we do talk about mental health pretty openly in the West.

25:27 Like this is a cultural difference that we've

25:29 learned about in the last 24 hours and I

25:32 think the audience is really appreciating the fact

25:34 that she's making a case here to talk about this.

25:37 You know, part of our tour is that we're really getting

25:39 to learn about how differently different parts of the world approach ideas.

25:45 Nelly is really an amazing human.

25:48 I think the way she trains as an athlete, she has trained for this talk.

25:52 She was in great shape in rehearsals.

25:54 She is not feeling well today.

25:57 We saw her backstage.

25:58 She's quite sick.

25:59 So, let's see if we can tell here because that's a tough thing to overcome.

26:04 I love sports.

26:09 Sports has taught me over and over again that only if I risk going far,

26:15 can I find out how far I can go.

26:18 I felt a strong urge to teach dance classes.

26:22 I wanted to move.

26:24 Now, the idea sounded simple, but it was quite a risk.

26:29 Music was not allowed in public venues.

26:33 Organized sports for women was unconventional.

26:37 How will this be received?

26:39 Can I even teach a class?

26:40 Do I know how to teach a class?

26:43 Well, there's only one way to know.

26:45 I risked it.

26:46 You cannot tell she is not feeling well

26:48 and I think she is really bringing the energy.

26:52 So, I started running the classes from the warehouse

26:56 and so many women showed up to my surprise.

26:59 So I quit my full-time job and I focused entirely on this community.

27:04 And I honestly had no idea what I was doing.

27:07 I just took risks and I went with it.

27:09 In a span of 5 years, we went from being an underground community

27:14 at a warehouse to becoming Saudi's first dance studio.

27:23 I love this.

27:24 That is just Yeah, that's an incredible story.

27:27 And it really does exude the main point she's making about taking risks.

27:32 Yes.

27:32 And when I was not coaching and running the studio you'd find me training.

27:38 I immersed myself in sports completely.

27:42 And I wanted to pave the way for women.

27:44 I wanted to show them how they can do outdoor sports in this tricky environment.

27:50 So I went from barely being able to run

27:52 400 m to running marathons around the world.

27:57 Eventually, triathlons.

28:00 In 2019, I found myself standing at 8,848 m above sea level.

28:07 Do you guys know where that is?

28:10 Everest.

28:15 She summited Everest.

28:16 Listen to them cheer.

28:18 Mhm.

28:18 They are so proud of her.

28:20 People are really responding to this.

28:21 You know, they're clapping and really cheering her on along the way.

28:25 That's That's great to see.

28:27 Little did I know what was to come.

28:30 November 2020 my father passed away.

28:39 From top of the world in 2019 to the deepest, darkest rock bottom in 2020.

28:47 How am I going to go through life again?

28:48 How am I going to move forward?

28:51 What would my dad want for me?

28:54 Only those who risk going far can find out how far they can go.

29:02 This is my dad.

29:06 Uh, that's a beautiful moment.

29:09 I love that she said those words along with them.

29:12 And he would want me to take risks.

29:14 So, I took risks.

29:16 A few days after dad passed away, I started an initiative in his honor called

29:20 Sunday Sports because Baba loved doing sports on Sunday.

29:25 So, people all across the world joined me virtually to train with me.

29:29 And 1 year later, I made it to the top of the world again.

29:33 This time around, I made history for the Arab region by becoming

29:38 the first Arab to stand on the world's most dangerous mountain, K2.

29:51 My flex, my biggest flex, is not my grip strength or my lung capacity.

29:58 It's my capacity to take risks.

30:01 And when I hit rock bottom, is when taking risks mattered the most.

30:06 It's when taking risks propelled me the furthest.

30:10 Guys, I really hope that my story today inspires you

30:14 to take a risk towards what you're afraid to do.

30:18 You don't know where it's going to take you.

30:21 Because only those who risk going far will go far.

30:26 Thank you.

30:31 That was just so well delivered.

30:34 I mean, she is just the coolest.

30:39 Uh, I feel great.

30:40 Uh, it's done.

30:42 Oh, I feel awake.

30:43 I feel alive.

30:44 I'm so happy.

30:45 I don't think I could have done better considering especially that I'm sick.

30:48 So really happy.

30:50 Five years later I still cry every time I talk

30:52 about him and I wouldn't want it any other way.

30:55 He was happy with you?

30:56 I hope so.

30:57 I hope he's proud.

31:04 When you have these kinds of talks, they can so easily fall into this trap where

31:08 they're just like your typical motivational speaker type of talk.

31:13 You have to have the credentials.

31:16 She's got that.

31:17 I think she truly brought a unique lens to this topic.

31:21 I feel like I learned something from her.

31:25 Next up, we have Dina who is giving a talk about training your brain.

31:32 She was amazing in rehearsal yesterday.

31:34 She had her entire talk memorized.

31:37 Given the subject matter it'd be kind of embarrassing if she didn't.

31:40 Yeah, that would be ironic and I hope that does not happen to her.

31:44 I know.

31:45 We live in the world of AI.

31:49 Our small devices in our pockets can get any information in a matter of seconds.

31:55 But we were never taught how to use that information,

31:58 how to be creative with it,

32:00 how to analyze it, how to remember it and how to focus.

32:04 So today, I'm going to tell you three facts about your brain.

32:09 Fact number one.

32:10 Are you guys ready?

32:12 You can Yeah?

32:14 Okay.

32:15 Look at her.

32:15 She's like calling to the audience to make sure she's getting their attention.

32:19 I think she maybe felt she was losing them

32:21 but she knows how to get them back in.

32:23 You can actually train your brain.

32:25 All right?

32:26 So to in order to explain that, we're going to try it first hand.

32:31 Let's assume we're going to the store and we have to buy a list of things.

32:36 And I you have 1 minute to remember that list.

32:39 What do you think?

32:40 Is that easy?

32:42 Can you do it?

32:44 Let's try it my way.

32:45 All right, so the first word is milk.

32:48 Let's imagine us We're just pouring milk into a cup.

32:54 The milk splashes.

32:56 One of those splashes turns into an egg.

32:59 Uh the bread feels sticky and sticky,

33:02 and we have to go wash it off in a river of cheese.

33:05 River of cheese.

33:06 Like this is such a fun story.

33:07 It's so visual.

33:08 I love how much fun she's having up there.

33:10 Can you imagine like those apple slices turning into a boat?

33:15 There's a chicken riding the boat.

33:17 And the chicken is just so excited throwing confetti of rice everywhere.

33:22 Rice everywhere.

33:24 The rice hits the tomato, and the tomato explodes into the cup of coffee.

33:29 There's coffee all over the table.

33:32 We just give up, and let's just have some ice cream.

33:35 Now, I want you to try it.

33:37 What was the first word?

33:39 Milk.

33:40 What happened?

33:41 The splashes?

33:42 Eggs?

33:43 Then?

33:45 Bread?

33:46 Cheese.

33:47 Exactly.

33:48 River of cheese.

33:50 Apple?

33:51 All right, what was riding the apple?

33:53 Chicken.

33:56 Rice and where?

33:58 And finally, let's just have a break with ice cream.

34:02 What do you guys think?

34:05 It really works.

34:06 Sometimes when you have some kind of interactive

34:09 element to a talk like that, you know,

34:11 really keeping it simple and straightforward and something that people

34:14 can engage in quickly without a ton of instruction,

34:17 really works, and I think we just saw that.

34:19 I'm impressed with her because this is a hard thing to do in such a big venue.

34:23 This takes me to point number two.

34:25 If you can train your brain, then you can become smarter.

34:29 I'm just going to share a story of one of my students.

34:32 This was like 13 years ago.

34:34 His name was Sami.

34:35 He was only nine and he had so many learning difficulties.

34:39 He couldn't read, write, focus, and do math.

34:42 When he first came to me, the first word he said was, "I'm stupid.

34:47 I can't do this." Can you imagine how heartbreaking that is?

34:51 Can you imagine a mom or a dad seeing their kids say that?

34:57 Sorry.

34:58 I think that moved her cuz you can hear her voice just changed a little bit.

35:02 That kid, we trained every day and towards the end,

35:05 that "I'm stupid" turned into "I'm a genius." A kid that was

35:11 nine turned into a genius and that takes me to point number three.

35:20 May you need to make sure that you treat your brain like a muscle.

35:25 With time, I promise you, your brain will thank you for it.

35:30 Thank you.

35:33 Yes.

35:34 Oh my gosh, look at Let's listen to that applause for her.

35:37 That exercise definitely got the audience engaged.

35:40 It's fun and useful.

35:43 That was amazing, honestly.

35:45 It was scary at first cuz like it it's a lot of people.

35:48 Like the whole place is filled.

35:50 I finished it with 30 seconds left to go.

35:54 Now I can get the energy going.

35:56 I think I need to exercise.

35:57 Where is Nelly?

35:58 Give me Nelly.

35:58 I need to do something.

36:00 When you think about Vancouver, you do have a lot of brain scientists there.

36:04 We're going to have a lot of big,

36:06 hefty ideas and I think this is like it's an incredible tool.

36:10 Is it enough?

36:10 Does it have enough weight for the Vancouver stage?

36:17 And with that, the event draws to a close under the cover of night.

36:22 But there is no time to rest just yet

36:24 as the TED panel have a difficult decision to make.

36:29 You guys, I don't know.

36:30 Everyone was so amazing today.

36:32 This is so hard.

36:34 So hard.

36:35 Oh, it's really a very very very hard choice,

36:38 but for me I'm going to choose Nelarta.

36:42 Okay, Tarek.

36:44 It's your turn.

36:46 It's very hard.

36:47 Talks were amazing.

36:50 I love them all.

36:51 I love Tala.

36:53 They both really actually made me cry and I felt very moved by both of them.

36:57 Dina is amazing.

36:58 Amazing.

36:59 I thought Dina was amazing.

37:00 They did awesome.

37:01 They all went up like two letter grades from yesterday in rehearsal.

37:05 They were just in incredible and I mean I'm like so proud of all of them.

37:10 It's really a hard choice.

37:12 This is so so painful and hard.

37:17 With the local judges' opinions considered,

37:19 it's up to the two Kellys to decide who has

37:22 done enough to secure a spot on the TED main stage.

37:27 Rima.

37:28 She was speaking from her experience here living in the Middle East.

37:31 To talk out of a region that's in conflict, but to me,

37:35 you know, a lot of people around the world can apply Oh, yeah.

37:38 what she said.

37:39 It It matters.

37:41 Uh Tala.

37:43 Tala.

37:43 Tala ruined me today I know.

37:46 way.

37:47 That was by far the best delivery I ever saw her give, too.

37:51 Like she rocked it.

37:53 She was like so powerful.

37:55 You could feel her talk about resilience Mhm.

37:58 like echoing through the room.

38:01 Mhm.

38:00 Nelly.

38:01 I mean, she was so great.

38:04 amazing.

38:03 Yeah.

38:04 Her talk had everything.

38:05 It was powerful.

38:06 It was emotional.

38:06 It was inspiring.

38:08 It's so hard to even imagine Yeah.

38:10 what she overcame.

38:11 She spoke the words that her dad was saying on screen.

38:16 I died.

38:16 I died.

38:19 Dina, I'm going to forever think differently of my grocery list.

38:23 I love Dina so much.

38:25 Yeah.

38:25 Her talk was so interactive.

38:28 She had the whole audience talking with her, which I think is hard to do.

38:31 She really had fun up there.

38:32 I mean, she really had fun.

38:34 This was incredible.

38:35 I'm having a hard time saying cons about anybody.

38:38 Everybody did such a beautiful job today and this is so so painful and hard.

38:49 You guys killed it today.

38:52 You did something absolutely incredible that you should be so proud

38:57 of and I mean that from like the bottom of my heart.

39:01 You guys all gave it your best today and it was

39:04 such an honor to be able to watch all of it.

39:08 All the work that you all have put

39:09 into this and all of the care that you put into it.

39:12 Be really proud of yourselves,

39:14 each one of you, because you are spectacular humans.

39:19 One of you here will go on to take the stage in Vancouver.

39:25 The winner is Nelly.

39:40 I'm in shock.

39:41 I can I I can I give you like an animal I saw you It really feels like a dream.

39:50 So many emotions came out because I was talking about my dad

39:53 and this around this time 5 years ago is when he passed.

39:57 So I felt so much last night and I woke up today

39:59 and I was just like just try to pull through the day.

40:01 Just try to pull through the day.

40:03 And whatever happens, you know, Allah chooses what happens.

40:06 Just do your best and I can't believe

40:08 I really can't believe that I've been selected.

40:10 It's surreal.

40:12 I've always loved Nelly's talk.

40:14 I thought hers was just so powerful.

40:15 She's got the raw materials, she's got the stage presence.

40:18 I think she's going to be spectacular in Vancouver

40:20 and really shine on the stage there, too.

40:23 It's her next mountain.

40:24 Thank you.

40:25 You represent us all.

40:26 Really, thank you guys.

40:27 You will look at her carry the flag.

40:28 Thank you and you all inspired me.

40:30 Seeing you all today, just wonderful.

40:33 Feels emotional to leave Amani.

40:35 You all have just so welcomed us.

40:37 It feels very special here and this feels like a very special community.

40:42 Thank you so much and I'll see you guys in Vancouver.

40:47 A winner is chosen and it's Nelly who is selected as Amani's

40:51 voice and the final speaker chosen for the TED main stage.

40:55 And with that, the TED idea search draws to a close.

41:02 From ancient ruins to modern mega cities,

41:04 it's a journey that took us across the world.

41:08 Different places, different stories, united by ideas.

41:14 Ideas shaped by culture, experience, and change.

41:19 My talk will save lives.

41:21 It's so big.

41:23 This is the real deal.

41:24 It's a really powerful idea.

41:26 It can make so much impact.

41:27 Such an encouraging, warm environment.

41:31 I'm getting goosebumps right now talking about it.

41:33 I couldn't take my eyes off of you.

41:35 You're going to make me cry.

41:37 It's making me emotional.

41:38 I want everybody in the world to feel that.

41:41 Ideas born in homes, classrooms, and conversations.

41:45 Ideas that ask us to look again at the world we think we know.

41:51 The stories we're told don't always match reality.

41:54 What will it be like when we all get involved?

41:57 He pulled it out of the bag.

42:06 Oh, look at this.

42:09 One, two, three.

42:16 Do not be We are just like you.

42:24 What began as a search ends as an invitation to keep listening,

42:30 to keep questioning, and to keep sharing.

42:58 Because ideas left alone change nothing.

43:02 But ideas shared, they have the power to move the world.

43:08 1 2 3 This was the search.

43:17 What comes next is where it begins.