Archive for the ‘keynote speakers’ Category

MNP Keynote: Louie Schwartzberg - Gratitude

Keynote Speakers : Intellectual Jazz

Richard Saul Wurman, creator of TED, is back with something new, the WWW Conference (18-20 September 2012):

Simply pairings of amazingly interesting individuals prompted by a question, generating a conversation. For 10 minutes to 50 minutes. And so it will go - conversations interlaced with threads of improvised music. An astrophysicist & a microbiologist. An actor & a playwright. A jazz musician & a classical one. An energetic exploration of the lost art of conversing. (Source)

A.J. Jacobs’ year of living biblically

Keynote Speakers : Enrique Penalosa

"If we in the Third World measure our success or failure as a society in terms of income, we would have to classify ourselves as losers until the end of time," declares Penalosa. "With our limited resources, we have toAinvent other ways to measure success. This might mean that all kids have access to sports facilities, libraries, parks, schools,Anurseries." Learn about what Penalosa did by clicking the link below.

.:yesmagazine.org->

Keynote Speakers : Zhengxu Wang

The most effective way to introduce democratic elements under a one-party regime is to allow society greater autonomy in the civil and political spheres, writes Zhengxu Wang, Senior Research Fellow at China Policy Institute in this blog post.

China’s political system is moving in a more democratic direction. The question concerning many now is two-folded: how rapid is this evolution and what is its destiny?

For the second part, the answer is simple: nobody knows. When the British started to build a modern political system in the 17th-18th centuries, nobody knew what form the system would evolve into in the 20th century. The same can be said about China’s political future. Following 30 years of rapid industrialization and economic development, China is in search of a modern and democratic government system.

That system will contain elements including people’s sovereignty, political and civil liberties, government accountability, and the rule of law. It will take a particular shape of democracy, yet nobody knows in what exact form it will be.

.::continue reading nottingham.ac.uk->

Keynote Speakers : Steve Chu

The World’s Energy Problem and What We Can DO About It

I didn’t say all the things I said.

MNP Reports 4/21/08

Here’s a transcript from our ninja down in Philly. She’s currently working to obtain the coveted status of MNP’s first dedicated on-the-scene correspondent.

Laura G. is a body double by day and ninja by night. When not teaching the youth about today’s mathematics she volunteers part-time at Obama’s Philadelphia campaign.

Here’s her short-but-necessary take on what is happening, posted without graphic interruption.

This is an exciting time to be in Philadelphia. Political signs, pins, and t-shirts are infiltrating the streets and people are talking. They are talking a lot. This morning, on my five-minute walk from the train to work, I heard at least three conversations about what was going to happen tomorrow. A woman shouted to a man wearing an Obama hat, a€oeI mean, I respect guy, but he aina€™t got a chance of winning.a€A The man with the hat gave a smirk and continued on, explaining to his friend that Obama understands the larger picture because his heritage embodies the larger picture, that he gets how to deal with a variety of people because he grew up around a diverse group of people. For this reason, he believes in the man. He believes the man will really change the country.

I am not a political person. It is hard for me choose sides, to stand for something, to pick someone based on what say to get votes. I am never quite certain I a€oeknowa€A enough to really choose. And choosing between Hillary and Obama was especially hard because ultimately I wanted to be able to support either of them in November. But for some reason I wanted to be a part of this election. So I did my research. I picked my person and I became an intern in the Obama office two weeks ago. Not because I am necessarily a€oeagainsta€A Hilary but because I am a€oefora€A Obama.

Three days ago, I walked through the city, all the way down to Independence Hall where the Obama rally was being held. I began my journey at the city center, where Hillary supporters were holding up a€oeHonk for Hillarya€A signs and screaming at passing cars. There were about ten people total and they had all lost their voices. Cars were honking, people were cheering and there was a general sense of urgency amongst the crowd. As I continued down to Independence Hall, the clash began to happen-a clash that exist in every pocket of the city right now, a clash that both terrifies me and brings me energy. People with Hillary pins bumping against people with Obama t-shirts, and people with Hillary hats passing people Mamas For Obama stickers; the division is so stark and so charged. Soon, it became Obama territory and the crowd was full of an energy that I have never experienced. It is this abstract a€oehopea€A that people keep on talking about but there really is no other word for what I think (and I only know from the one side) that people are experiencing. Ita€™s why there were 35,000 people out of their homes, waiting for over five hours to see Obama at a last minute rally and why a lady in her seventies, covered in Obama paraphernalia, used all the voice she had left to tell people where to get their red and/or blue tickets. And this hopea€"this overwhelming support for a candidate no one thought would get very far-is, in my opinion, slightly scary. It is scary because it is so easily felt, so accessible, so tangible and if it goes away tomorrow, next week, next month, or even in November, the loss will feel as tangible and it will feel huge. I worry about that.

Today, one day before the election, I sit with seven other people on the a€oeNew Mediaa€A team and blast myspace messages about getting out the vote. In the next room over, volunteers are screaming, every hour on the hour, a€oeFired up and Ready to go!a€A The office is disgusting at this point, empty Starbucks cups and Qdoba wrappers are falling out of the trashcans and fluorescent lights make it look that much worse. But people are ready for something to happen, ready to work all night and keep the vote close because they have to. Because if they dona€™t, they and everyone else theya€™ve convinced, might just deflate, might just fall apart. Ita€™s an exciting time to be in Philadelphia.

Keynote Speakers : Tim Robbins

A renowned actor, director and writer, Robbins used his keynote address at the National Association of Broadcasters conference on April 14 to speak out about the "dangerous lack of diversity of opinion" that characterizes the state of broadcasting today.

MP3

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Keynote Speakers : Barack Obama

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

[in its entirety]