Direct brain-to-brain communication: How it works

You may remember neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis — he built the brain-controlled exoskeleton that allowed a paralyzed man to kick the first ball of the 2014 World Cup. What’s he working on now? Building ways for two minds (rats and monkeys, for now) to send messages brain to brain. Watch to the end for an experiment that, as he says, will go to “the limit of your imagination.”

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Bassam Tariq is a blogger, a filmmaker, and a halal butcher — but one thread unites his work: His joy in the diversity, the humanness of our individual experiences. In this charming talk, he shares clips from his film “These Birds Walk” and images from his tour of 30 mosques in 30 days — and reminds us to consider the beautiful complexity within us all. Watch »

Severine Autesserre studies the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is in the middle of the deadliest conflict since World War II; it’s been called “the largest ongoing humanitarian crisis in the world.” The conflict seems hopelessly, unsolvably large. But her insight from decades of listening and engaging: The conflicts are often locally based. And instead of focusing on big-picture solutions, leaders might be better served solving local crises before they ignite.

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Khadija Gbla grew up caught between two definitions of what it means to be an “empowered woman.” While her Sierra Leonean mother thought that circumsizing her was the ultimate form of empowerment, her culture as a teenager in Australia told her that what happened to her was called “female genital mutilation.” In a candid and funny talk, she shares what it was like to make her way in a “clitoris-centric society,” and how she works to make sure other women don’t have to figure this out. (Warning: This talk contains hard-to-hear details.) Watch »

Morgana Bailey has been hiding her true self for 16 years. In a brave talk, she utters four words that might not seem like a big deal to some, but to her have been paralyzing. Why speak up? Because she’s realized that her silence has personal, professional and societal consequences. In front of an audience of her co-workers, she reflects on what it means to fear the judgment of others, and how it makes us judge ourselves. Watch »

*January 31, 2015*
	Fahrudin Memic on Severine Autesserre: To solve mass violence, look to locals This is a very good talk that basically opens discussion about the crisis of the general management within the UN system. The UN system simply is unable to think locally — not only in the solving of armed conflict but as well in poverty reduction and other social and economic issues. The UN is not able to see the trees because of the forest (administrative burden of local UN officers, global paradigms, global agendas, donors agendas etc. …) leading to the focus on internal UN mission issues rather to quality problem-solving in the field.”