Mereja

Author: junecohen

  • Chinua Achebe: Some reflections

    Chinua-AchebeThe world lost one of its literary giants today. Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has died at the age 82.

    For Nigerians, Achebe was a national treasure. He was the first African writer to attract international acclaim, and an outspoken leader with far-reaching influence on both politics and culture. Emeka Okafor, who produced the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania 5 years ago and is Achebe’s relative, says, ”He was in many ways the conscience of Nigeria. Unflinching in his critiques, a monumental figure.”

    For me, Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart (1958) was my first real glimpse at Africa beyond the negative headlines (famine, disease, war) and the nature documentaries. His story was a stark portrayal of the devastating impact of colonization on traditional African societies, told through the lens of a single individual. It changed the way I think, helping me see the much bigger picture behind the headlines from Africa (and elsewhere), and understand the true impact of colonization on the continent.

    The young Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie captures this notion beautifully in her TED Talk, given almost exactly 50 years later. As she says, to understand Africa today, you have to begin the story earlier.

    A particularly moving line in this talk: “Because of writers like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye … I realized that people like me, girls with skin the color of chocolate, whose kinky hair could not form ponytails, could also exist in literature.”

  • Vint Cerf: Actually, the Internet’s going to be just fine

    One of the greatest privileges of co-curating TED isn’t just getting to work with incredible speakers, but also talking with those in the audience. Danny Hillis gave a sobering presentation, “The Internet could crash. We need a Plan B,” at TED2013, detailing his concern at the exponential growth of the Internet, and the need for a back-up plan should all else fail.

    Who better to respond to this idea than the system’s so-called “Father,” Vint Cerf, who I knew was in the audience? Vint (who just this morning accepted the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his ground-breaking work on the Internet) agreed to answer a few questions about Danny’s talk from the stage. In the process, he gave the TED audience his perspective on the continued evolution of the system he helped design, and provided us with both a fascinating history lesson and his own manifesto for what to do now. Here’s an edited look at what he told us.