What do you do when hundreds of attendees at social entrepreneurship's flagship event - the Skoll World Forum - find themselves stranded in England due to a volcanic eruption? Social entrepreneurship blogger Nathaniel Whittemore got the idea to throw a conference. He contacted TED and, with help from TEDxLondon, The Hub, the Sandbox Network, and many others, TEDxVolcano was happening 36 hours later (yesterday). See some of the headliners here. #
If you only have time to watch one speaker, jump to 31:55 and listen to Larry Brilliant, president of Skoll Global Threats Fund and 2006 TED Prize Winner, who reflects on the interplay between science and policy that we are witnessing over the current flight ban. #
Are we overreacting? Or underreacting? Quite simply, we don't know. Brilliant says that the current air travel crisis highlights 1) how little we still understand about many threats including pandemics, climate change, and the effects of volcanic ash on jet engines, 2) how vital it is to counter the current attack by a "new generation of Luddites" who seek to de-legitimize scientific research when science is more important than ever, and 3) how abundantly obvious it is that we are all in this - the world! - together. #
Congratulations to those who put TEDxVolcano together so quickly. It was my first TED event. A great way to start and a great way to get my mind off of wondering if we'll be stuck in London for a few more days ....or a few more weeks.