Translator: Denise RQ Reviewer: Lina Ruiz Mingote
"Hola", I should say.
In the next couple of minutes,
I'm going to mispronounce dozens of words
so please, take pity on me;
probably including the word "hola".
You all know about TED.com. You watch videos.
You all know about TEDx. By definition, you are here.
But how many people, by a show of hands, have heard of the TED Fellows Program?
Yep, that's pretty typical.
That's why I'm here.
The TED Fellows Program brings together young innovators to ignite their careers
and make them part of a dynamic peer social network that can save their lives.
They come from all disciplines: technology, entertainment, and design
science, humanities, and the arts, NGOs, venture-backed startups,
Human Rights Organizations, photojournalists, film makers,
and on, and on, and on.
And, in fact, Skylar Tibbits is a Fellow, and Matt Kenyon is a Fellow.
Right now, we have 378 Fellows
over the last six years, from 86 countries,
but only two Spaniards.
So, I'm here to change that.
Let's meet some Fellows.
This is the work of conceptual artist Jorge Mañes Rubio
who is - I can never say this word - "madrileño".
I apologize.
He is here in Madrid. He is amazing.
This is Gabriella Gómez-Mont.
She founded for the Mayor of Mexico City an Ideas and Innovation Laboratory,
and I promise you, it's the only one in a big city in the world.
This is Marcela Uliano da Silva. She is a geneticist.
She is working against a predatory species
that, if it invades the Amazon, will disrupt the entire ecosystem there.
Those are not the kind of mussels you want to eat.
Erika Bagnarello is from Costa Rica. She just released her first featured film.
It's called "Primero de Enero", or January, 1.
It's about Sebastian, the boy on the left,
who is trying to undo a crime he inadvertently set in motion.
Camilo Rodríguez-Beltrán is the Director of the Innovation Laboratory
of the Universidad del Desarrollo in Concepción, Chile.
OK, I got the hard ones out of the way.
(Laughter)
And this is Xavier Vilalta who is an architect.
He draws inspiration
from mathematical fractals and also from extreme environmental care.
So his buildings don't use many resources after they're built.
In fact, let's hear a little bit more from Xavi.
(video)
Xavier Vilalta: To be a TED Fellow is for me
to be part of a community of innovators from all over the world,
where each one of them is pushing the boundaries
of their disciplines, and sometimes, even crossing the limits of them.
Being part of this community, you feel supported and motivated
to keep going with what you are doing.
They support and guide you
to find the best way to make reality your projects,
and you learn how to communicate better your projects to the world.
Going to the TED Conference in California was a great experience,
and I had a lot of fun,
but at the same time I felt really, really small
in the middle of these amazing people.
I'm still staying involved with the program
through our Facebook page
where all the Fellows share
what they are doing and where they are nowadays.
Being a TED Fellow has made me grow personally,
meeting amazing friends from all over the world,
which has opened my mind,
seeing things in different perspectives and from different cultures.
I think more Spaniards should apply for the program
because there is so much talent in Spain,
and I think we should be more represented
in one of the most innovation platforms in the world, if not the most important.
My last advice is that I invite you to be part of the group
because it's a great experience.
(On stage) Tom Rielly: What we are looking for for the program,
is amazing achievement and exemplary character.
What I mean by that?
You can't just have done something amazing.
You also have to be an extraordinarily good person.
And because we've spent so much time working on both of those characteristics,
we have a community that really likes each other,
that really gets along, and really collaborates.
We have 45% women since the beginning of the program,
which is amazing compared to any other program,
but this year, we are able to achieve
more women than men in our class, in 2015,
and we are keeping working on getting to 50-50 all the time.
We are looking for people who are 21 to 45,
although if you are 18, you're good, in the first half of their career.
Folks who are already well-established, we can't really do very much for them.
And what do you get?
A lot of people ask me this question.
OK, you get round-trip, all expenses paid tour to TED in Vancouver
two-day pre-conference.
You get to speak on the TED stage.
You get to be considered for TED.com
Fellow speakers from March, 70% of them, are on TED.com.
That can get you millions of video views, and that can change your life
because people call you and they are like, "How can I help?"
You also get coaching, mentoring, PR counseling,
and being part of an incredible active online network that helps each other.
Let me tell you a little bit about what's happened.
These results - not typical,
but people have gotten millions of dollars in investment in their startups;
millions of dollars contributed to their NGOs because of our program;
millions of dollars in academic funding, prizes, awards, collaborations,
people starting companies together, artistic collaborations together.
And basically, having TED Fellows on your resume means
you can open the door
places where you couldn't open the door before.
So, it's considered very prestigious and will help you in your career.
So how?
I hope I've now convinced you that you want to tell your friends
or apply yourself to be a TED Fellow.
How do you do it?
It's very simple. It's free. It's a very short form on TED.com.
Everybody is welcomed.
And, as I said, we really try hard on being welcoming to everybody.
And so, what's going on right now
is that we actually happen to have a cycle open for next year.
So, if you want to apply, go to ted.com/fellows,
and please tell all your nerdy friends that have inventions and, you know,
really sexy films, and stuff like that.
Please tell them to apply as well.
Oh, by the way, I shouldn't forget.
Two of the other outcomes we've had: two marriages and a baby.
I don't expect that to be the last baby,
but I'm not sure form the same couple.
(Laughter)
OK, and if you have questions about this, it's fellows@ted.com.
You can email us. And we want you to tell your friends.
We want you to nominate folks,
Just email fellows@ted.com with a person,
why are they cool, an email address we will reach out to them,
and of course, we really want you to apply.
So, here's the thing.
This has been open for four weeks now,
and therefore, it's coming to a close very soon.
But I thought I would be really a dick head to come to Spain
and say, "Sorry you only have a tiny bit of time to apply for this program.
So, we've extended it for people who are Spanish and live elsewhere,
or people who live in Spain, you can go up to the 25th of September.
Now, I'm going to show you a video of the cult of the TED Fellows.
It's just an extract, never been seen before,
from our event two weeks ago, our biannual TED Fellows retreat.
It's going to look to you
like it's a combination of a music concert and a really bad talent show,
and it is a really good talent show, and there is quite a lot of drag,
but I thought you guys could handle it.
So, thank you very much. I hope you all apply for a TED Fellowship.
Ask me about it, when I'm out there afterwards, if you have any questions.
Let's play that last clip.
(Video starts)
(Video ends)
Thank you very much.
(Applause)