Why I keep speaking up (even when people mock my accent)

A shy animator learns to use his voice ... Open in your browser

This week on TED.com July 9, 2016

Talk of the week Safwat Saleem: Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent 10:48 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted Jul 2016 · TED2016 Artist Safwat Saleem grew up with a stutter -- but as an independent animator, he decided to do his own voiceovers to give life to his characters. When YouTube commenters started mocking his Pakistani accent, it crushed him, and his voice began to leave his work. Hear how this TED Fellow reclaimed his voice and confidence in this charming, thoughtful talk that may leave you questioning your definition of "normal." Watch now »

Playlist of the week Let's turn the political conversation around Insightful talks that might help improve the political debate -- including the debates at your own dinner table. Watch » 7 TED Talks • Total run time 1:17:34

More TED Talks What caused the war in Syria? Oppression, drought and religious differences all played key roles, but Marwa Al-Sabouni suggests another reason: architecture. Speaking to us over the Internet from Homs, where for the last six years she has watched the war tear her city apart, Al-Sabouni suggests that Syria's architecture divided its once tolerant and multicultural society into single-identity enclaves defined by class and religion. The country's future now depends on how it chooses to rebuild. Watch » We are embarrassingly unaware of how divided our societies are, and Brexit grew out of a deep, unexamined divide between those that fear globalization and those that embrace it, says social scientist Alexander Betts. How do we now address that fear as well as growing disillusionment with the political establishment, while refusing to give in to xenophobia and nationalism? Join Betts as he discusses four post-Brexit steps toward a more inclusive world. Watch » John Legend is on a mission to transform America's criminal justice system. Through his Free America campaign, he's encouraging rehabilitation and healing in our prisons, jails and detention centers -- and giving hope to those who want to create a better life after serving their time. With a spoken-word prelude from James Cavitt, an inmate at San Quentin State Prison, Legend treats us to his version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." "Won't you help to sing these songs of freedom?" Watch » "I believe that losing my hearing was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received," says Elise Roy. As a disability rights lawyer and design thinker, she knows that being Deaf gives her a unique way of experiencing and reframing the world -- a perspective that could solve some of our largest problems. As she says: "When we design for disability first, you often stumble upon solutions that are better than those when we design for the norm." Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com Food: Meet a chef who prepared a three-course meal in space So many rules and regulations ... and it must be delicious too Flags: How does a city come up with a terrible flag? The perils of design by committee -- and how to fix it Gallery: Humans come in all shapes, sizes — and colors   One photographer's quest to document humanity

Quote of the Week “ I had no idea that you could suffer in this way and then have your whole experience, your story, denied, buried and forgotten. And it seemed that whenever there was a camera around, or a video or film camera, it was a great deal harder to do -- for those in power to bury the story." Peter Gabriel Fight injustice with raw video

 

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