And, in addition to their generosity in arranging the Wi-Fi connection, they also sponsored the afternoon tea, making sure that our attendees were fed and watered and powered up to face the rest of the afternoon.

Gen-i is an Australasian company that brings together IT and telecommunications services to provide converged ICT solutions for businesses across New Zealand and Australia.

What gets them out of bed in the morning? It’s knowing that they are making a real difference to Australasia’s best and brightest (like TEDxChCh)!

They say, “Our goal isn’t to achieve the predictable – it’s to redefine what’s possible for organisations on both sides of the Tasman.”

We’re delighted that they chose to redefine what’s possible for us in Christchurch and for the global TEDx community. Thanks, Gen-i!

The Institute’s work is focused globally. Every year, its international board of governors selects a Laureate, a leading social entrepreneur who also embodies the humanitarian commitment of Sir Ed. The 2010 Hillary Laureate is TEDxChCh speaker Peggy Liu. Every four years, the major Hillary Step award (USD100,000) is bestowed. The area of Leadership focus 2008-2012 is Climate Change Solutions.

TED devotees may be interested in exploring the parallels between the Hillary Institute’s awards, the TED Fellows Program, and the TED Prize.

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
Sir Edmund Hillary

Bruce McIntyre bought Macpac in 1973 when he was 19. Living the classic entrepreneurial narrative, he dropped out of university in his first year and purchased Macpac with money his parents raised by putting their own house up as collateral. After making design partners out of a group of Canterbury men venturing into Andes, the company flourished on the back of their customer-centric pack, and export orders poured in.

But by the late 1980s, Bruce was disillusioned with traditional business culture and instigated a prolonged cultural and organisational reform project which transformed the Macpac workplace into an open, highly participative, team-based, human-focused environment.

A journey of hope, a journey to brilliance. Years ago a father watched his son looking at himself in the mirror, pulling faces. When asked what he saw in his eyes the boy said he saw God. McIntyre learnt to close down his feelings from a society hat taught him that big boys don’t cry, that people need to be tough and that emotions can’t be shown.

Macpac begun McIntyre on a journey, a journey where people can work together, share their skills and share empathy. We’re born with an innate ability to perform wonders, and yet as adults we use only a portion of our abilities. This is great news, as McIntyre says “if we’re working at our full potential and making such a bad show of things, that would be a tragedy”. Given our potential all we need to do is find ways to turn on the ability, the skills and the potential of our entire being – and the way to do that is through education. Education reaches us at the most formative time in our lives.

But education was developed 500 years ago and was all about literacy and numeracy – tasks that involve only the left hemisphere of the brain, logical and linear. So how do we move on and use all parts of the brain, the right hemisphere that is the world of here and now – the whole of life. The limbic system that’s emotional. The reptilian brain, the frontal lobes…

How do we upgrade ourselves? It’s no wonder our kids find school boring and irrelevant – authoritarianism, lack of respect and rote learning don’t let them develop the whole of themselves.

Imagine brilliant education…

McIntyre gathered together a group of ex-educators to imagine a vision for a new education based on three main principals. A supporting operating system, a restoration of personal software and plugging the students into the entire global village. 18 months ago the first school, Seven Oaks, was opened and is delivering students with enthusiasm, personal growth, social abilities, creativity and a connection with nature.

Rob Hamill made sporting history as a New Zealand International rowing representative for 16 years, with accomplishments that include World Championship silver, Commonwealth gold, and a world record on the indoor rowing machine. In 1978, a charter yacht under the command of Rob’s “brother number one” Kerry strayed into Cambodian waters. Kerry was subsequently imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the Khmer Rouge. Rob has since travelled to Cambodia to find answers for his family and, reaching beyond personal pain, for Cambodia. In July this year he watched as his brother’s jailor was sentenced to 35 years in prison. “I just want to understand him”, says Rob.

Rob consistently demonstrates discipline and mental focus; he represented New Zealand at the Atlanta Olympics and published ‘The Naked Rower’ on how he and Phil Stubbs captured headlines around the world winning the grueling and inaugural Atlantic Rowing Race in 41 days. Sir Peter Blake described their incredible achievement as “an extraordinary mental and physical effort – something very, very special.” Rob went on to lead successful defences of the title in 2001 and 2003 and helped the 2005 entry that withdrew after a shark attack and boat capsize.

A story of anger, of grief and hopefully of forgiveness. When competing at the Atlanta Olympic games, Rob Hamill heard about the Atlantic rowing race, a 4500 kilometre ocean rowing race. Hamill and Stubbed rowed, 24 hours a day for the entire distance. While rowing the event, Hamill felt a connection with his brother. Hamill grieved for his brother while he was at sea and felt pulled to find some closure. Hamill recounted the history of the Khmer Rouge and the processes used in he prisons of the regime.

Communication from Hamill’s brother topped and it wasn’t until 16 months later hat a newspaper article told them of his brothers fate.

Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation – Viktor Frankl, Auschwitz survivor

In his confession, Kerry Hamill used the names of his family and friends as the alleged trainers and commanders in the CIA. In his confession he was sending a message of love to people whom he would never see, and who would never see him again.

Hamill attempted to meet with Viktor Duch, the commander behind the jails, the tortures and the executions – his invitation however was unsuccessful. Hamill however was successful in speaking to a soldier who, he feels, was one of those who tortured his brother. How did that make him feel? Revengeful? Angry? Understandable but no. Violence met with violence is not a viable approach. Forgiveness, empathy and moving on are important.

By telling his story, Hamill is honouring the memory of his brother. The legacy remains, in the telling of his story that we can stop it happening again.

As a professor at the University of Canterbury, Ian researches our future ability to procreate and prosper from the angle of endocrine disrupting chemicals in food. He says, “I am particularly interested in how these chemicals, which mimic hormones, affect human growth and development. Specifically, how bisphenol-A (used in plastics manufacture) may affect babies.”

You may not yet be outraged at chemical-related occurrences such as the shrinking size of alligator penises (due to plastic factory contaminants in lake habitats) and the reduction of human sperm counts (linked to food and beverage packaging), but we’re betting you will be by the time Professor Ian Shaw is done speaking. It turns out our reproductive end may come in the form of plastic water bottles or tin cans, a far cry from a smoke- and fire-filled apocalypse!

So. Alligator penises are getting smaller, girls are reaching puberty earlier and human sperm count is decreasing. What the hell is going on? In an answer hormones. Estrogen, the “female” hormone is mimicked by a number of chemicals used industrially. When pre-pubescent girls and men ingest these chemicals, the female aspects of their cells can be turned on – causing unnatural changes.

Bipshenol-A has this effect and is (worryingly) used to line the inside of tin cans. Similarly Genistein, ingested from soybeans, can have this affect on cells. 4-Nonylphenol is used in many industrial chemicals and is also estrogenic. So why does the estrogen receptor display such promiscuity? Biology always has a purpose. It may be because of natural triggers in the environment – a plant produces an estrogenic compound the year before it has a heavy seeding year. Potentially an animal ingests the compound and the estrogenic molecule triggers ovulation – poetry in motion.

US-based John Marshall Roberts has crafted his career around converting corporations and communicating with cynics. In an interview with Planet Shifter magazine he said, “Corporations are becoming a force for good. I’m doing what I can to help that process, that transformation, move forward.” Through strategic communications and values-based messages, John coaches leaders on inspiring positive, lasting action by those they rely upon. His recent book Igniting Inspiration: A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries draws on his knowledge of systems theory and developmental psychology to enable socially conscious marketers, business leaders, and activists to win over objectors and arouse collaborative behaviours.

A former psychology professor (with a M.A. in Psychology and Organizational Development), John’s expertise has been applied to numerous commercial and community projects including designs for a $200 million dollar Museum of World Mythologies based upon the work of renowned scholar and storyteller Joseph Campbell.

The era of empathy is upon us – the ability to see, feel and understand from the perspective of others will be the most important psychological skill if we wish to survive and thrive in the decades ahead. Without this we’ll be left carrying the bag of a decimated earth and society.

Tension happens everywhere – families, businesses, nations. Let’s take a minute and step back and look at this. The scale may be different but the cause is the same – blame and a distinct lack of empathy. What is the real cost of this blindness to others? Roberts draws parallels between the shrinking of the polar ice cap and a lack of collective human empathy. Who’s to blame? We are, we’ve created this problem and continue to do so.

Roberts contends that empathy is the key – ranting doesn’t work, denial, complaining, manipulation doesn’t work. When cynicism is everywhere, it is empathy that can be the catalyst for change. Empathy is the antidote to cynicism. So how can we define what this empathy thing really is? To step into another existential shoes and experience the world from their worldview lens – no matter how much their beliefs differ from ours.

Roberts explained how empathy had no real purpose in ancient history. Empathy has never been a primary survival tool for the entire human race. Today, with 6.8 billion people living on planet earth, it will be empathy that allow us to survive. Empathy, a luxury and sometimes burden in previous times will be the only way to stop destroying ourselves and our planet.

Want to make the world a better place? Fix yourself – then there’ll be one less scoundrel among us

Embrace the global urgency for empathy…

John Hutchings, GM of sustainability for Fonterra is committed to further embedding sustainability concepts into Fonterra’s decision making. He prioritises carbon footprint/climate change and water quality issues by focusing on-farm. John was a key contributor to Fonterra’s 18-month Carbon Footprint study with the University of New South Wales. John has primary responsibility for the “Dairying and Clean Streams Accord” which has been the main instrument in keeping stock out of streams and generating better farmer understanding of how to reduce nutrient losses to streams.

John was previously an advisor to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on sustainability and local government. His early career was in senior management positions within local government. He has a Master of Public Policy degree from Victoria University.

What the hell is sustainability anyway? Hutchings asks. Fonterra is New Zealand’s business company, making up 3% of New Zealand’s total GDP. Owned by it’s own suppliers it has 16000 employees worldwide and collects 14 billion litres of mile per annum.

Challenges – growing populations, increasing demands for dairy products and the need to produce in decreasingly impactful ways because of consumer sentiment and the move towards buying locally.

So how does Fonterra respond to this. Hutchings says Fonterra is all about showing leadership and putting sustainability foremost on the strategic priorities. They’re assisting their farmers to meet targets and developing tools to reduce their impact and actively engaging with producers and other stakeholders to collaborate on reducing the impacts of dairying.

Fonterra has studied the carbon footprint of their own product – 85% are on-farm, 10% are processing generated and 5% are distribution – making a nonsense of the food miles argument. They’re aiming to first hit the low hanging fruit – trim environmental footprint where it is most achievable initially.

Sebastian Sylwan is Chief Technical Officer at Weta Digital. His role takes him from internal R&D discussions that will drive the future of film making to industry events where he swaps ideas with some of the world’s top creative professionals.

He has a superb, TED-like outlook on life, saying “I have been successful in applying my intuition, creativity, experience, and tech knowhow to the fields I love; telling some fantastic stories along the way. I’ve been handling projects beyond the established boundaries and I’m always trying to push forward the limits of ‘what can be done’. I like to experiment and rationalize. I look to understand processes and improve the usual way of doing things. I am focused on integration…and becoming a better human being.”

Sylwan says he loves working on visual effects – the perfect intersection between art and science – both of which are lenses though which we interpret reality. We need stories in order grasp what scientists discover, Sylwan gave the example of the picture below painted to give a pictorial representation of Einstein’s theory of relativity;

The stories well tell define us, we are the stories well tell, even more so with the mass distribution that modern media offers. Digital technologies are the best way to create suspension of belief. Weta creates an environment where they model the fundamental rules of the things they observe – understanding physical phenomena at a very deep level and extending that reality. Sylwan shows videos that Weta use to see how skin, muscles, bones, hair all work in the real world and use the findings from that research to make their animations hyper realistic – even going so far as to partner with scientific institutions to built the best possible starting model.

Digital tools however are not only changing the images we see, but also changing the process to create those images – the create environment is becoming much more collaborative, iterating across a myriad of different functional roles. Collaborating around the central role of the director helps to create progressively refined wonders like Avatar and LoTR.

The next generation of film makers however will help us push the boundaries of storytelling even further. Building on the shoulders of giants, we all have the responsibility to build the ladders that let us reach the shoulders of those ahead of us.

Paul Dunn is chairman of Buy1Give1 and a former business heavyweight. He’s also passionate about making and sharing money. “Businesspeople are in a unique situation to make a huge difference,” he says. “Buy1Give1 was created to help them change the world.”

To combat the fact that “guilt-based tin-cup rattling is an unsustainable way for non-profits to raise money,”Buy1Give1 created an alternative: a transaction-based giving model for its corporate members that facilitates a charitable donation with every purchase. B1G1 members have taken that model and implemented it with extraordinary impact, like Christchurch-based Falcon Training, which gives financial support to schoolchildren in Peru every time someone enrolls in a course.

62 days ago, Dunn presented at TEDx Singapore saying that we’re all drowning in a seam of sameness. Now he says we’re connected in a world of wonder. Over the past 30 years, Dunn hasn’t seen the waves of change he’s seen in the past three or four years. He’s seeing the WOW wave – eighteen seconds when we meet someone or see something within which we can connect. But also moments, the WOOW wave, times when if we’re quiet enough to see them, things happen that can change us and our world – moments of connection.

In April 2006, Dunn was in Australia heading to Bangalore to run a programme. Going out to dinner with  friend, who bought along Pastor Selva. Four years before he was asked to go to an island in the Indian Ocean to serve a parish there. Soon after the Tsunami struck and the Pastor held hands with the children and ran to high ground. Standing on the high ground the Pastor and the children watched as the church, and their parents, were washed away.

Through their serendipitous meeting, Dunn was able to provide Pastor Selva with a new church. It made Dunn aware of why he’s here and, more broadly, why we’re here. Through another serendipitous meeting, Dunn connected with the Buy1Give1 concept. Rather than giving being one off and ad hoc with no real connection, what would happen if giving happened because we felt joy at the act of giving, if it was habitual.

That’s why Buy1Give1 came about – to allow people to become accustomed to the act of giving, in a connected and purposeful way. Embed the giving…

Grant Ryan, the creator of the YikeBike an electric bicycle that weighs just over 10kg, folds into itself in 15 seconds, and goes 25kph. If you are seduced by words, you’ll enjoy UK Journalist Simon Usborne’s description of the YikeBike as “the extraordinary lovechild of a Segway and a Penny Farthing with dwarfism.”

Grant has been featured in Time, Wired, and our own Unlimited magazine which reported that Grant’s ‘big, hairy goal’ is for the YikeBike to be the most popular mode of transport in the world. Grant’s no stranger to big shifts; he sold his ‘thought-up-while-on-the-couch’ Internet search company Global Brain to an American news organisation for US $32 million, one of the largest NZ tech deals ever done. After the dotcom bubble burst, Grant and several investors bought back the company at a bargain price and are now making $10 million a year in revenue.

Three od things about bold new ideas:

1. It’s impossible to tell how good they are when they come out
2. There are a number of unappreciated heroes
3. There’s no such thing as a good idea

Ryan gave an introduction to the YikeBike – increasingly populace cities, a desire for security and ease of use are all coming together to make the timing perfect for the YikeBike, despite it being a little absurd to replace the bicycle, the most popular transportation device by numbers over the past 120 or so years.