Hans Rosling: Let My Dataset Change Your Mindset

“I have a neighbor who knows 200 types of wine. … I only know two types of wine — red and white. But my neighbor only knows two types of countries — industrialized and developing. And I know 200.”

-Hans Rosling

Hans Rosling worked for many years in rural Africa as a tracking paralytic disease and co-founded Sweden’s Doctors Without Borders. He brings data to life in his various presentations and TED talks breaking down generalizations to give his audience a frank and humanizing view of the world. He has been listed as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People where he called himself  ”a very serious possibilist” who “[takes] emotion apart [to]… work analytically with the world.” He has been recognized with several awards for his statistical and medical work.

His non-profit organization, Gapminder, describes itself  as a modern “museum” on the Internet – promoting sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals whose initial goal was to develop Trendalyzer software. The software, which Rosling uses in his presentations, allows for statistical data to be presented in an engaging and animated way. Hans Rosling is currentlly a professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.

Take a look at his TED profile for more information and lectures.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Live Peace with V-Day

“When we give in the world what we want the most, we heal the broken part inside each of us.”

-Eve Ensler

Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, is a playwright, performer, and activist. She received the Isabelle Stephenson Tony Award in 2011 which is awarded to a member of the theatre community  who has devoted their time and effort to a humanitarian cause or organization. After the success of The Vagina Monologues, which was performed in over 140 countries and translated into 48 languages, Ensler founded V-Day, a movement which aims to end violence against women and girls worldwide. V-Day proclaims Valentines Day as a day to celebrate women and work to end violence but extends far beyond the holiday, with multiple growing efforts to spread awareness through art to create social and culture change. As part of the movement, participants can organize a variety of benefit performances including a production of The Vagina Monologues, screenings of V-Day’s documentary, Until The Violence Stops, or workshops for men to include them in the conversation to end violence towards women. All V-Day events donate 10% of net profits to the V-Day Spotlight Campaign and the remaining 90% to local organizations working to end violence against women and girls.

To organize your own V-Day event, attend a V-Day event, donate to the cause, or to receive updates from the V-Day newsletter, visit the V-Day website.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Aimee Mullins and Her 12 Pairs of Legs

“There’s an important difference and distinction between the objective medical fact of my being an amputee and the subjective societal opinion of whether or not I’m disabled. Truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I’ve had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions.”

-Aimee Mullins

Speaking from her wide ranging life experiences as an athlete, model, actress, and activist, Aimee Mullins challenges society’s view on the ideas of beauty and disability. Aimee had both her legs amputated below the knee when she was a year old because she was born missing fibula bones. She broke several world records at the Atlanta Paralympic Games in 1996 as the first person to use woven carbon-fiber prostheses, which were inspired by cheetah legs. Aimee was also the first amputee to compete in the NCAA in US history during her time at Georgetown University.

She has worked with major fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen and starred in movies such as Matthew Barney’s Cremaster 3. Aimee continues to act as a champion for women and the disabled in sports serving on the board of several non-profits and sports foundations such as the Women’s Sports Foundation and the Spire Institute.

Visit her TED profile to watch her other videos and learn more about Aimee’s approach to living peace.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Dancing through the Dark

Photo courtesy of anandashankarjayant.com

Via TED, dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant speaks tenderly and vulnerably about her experience battling cancer with a positive mind, body and spirit.  Her story touches in on the fear we all face when confronted with adversity, what she names an “unwelcome, uninvited, new, life partner.”

Jayant goes on to tell, with extraordinary grace, how she made the choice to stay determined and how she found her anchor in dance.  The video is lengthier than most internet clips, but completely riveting — you won’t be able to stop listening to Jayant’s powerful eloquence and watching her equally powerful performance.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

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