TEDx at CERN: innovation in action

There was a superb TEDx event this week at CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva. Attendance was free – thanks to excellent support from Rolex. The topic was “Forward : charting the future with science” and the big questions being asked were around “What are the big ideas in science that will help us address tomorrow’s major global challenges?”.

Now, I am not a scientist but I do enjoy learning. There was a lot of that – mostly delivered in an interesting and easy to understand way. There was inspiration from young entrepreneurs who are making contributions to global health, saving the rainforest and finding new ways to deal with the looming problem of providing enough energy to power our needs; I was asked to consider how genetically modified crops will play a major role in feeding a planet with 10 billion people and to ponder the secrets of the universe; there was innovative music and story-telling with tap-dancing; and I am starting grasp just a little bit the implications of nanotechnology and the exciting innovations that are in the pipeline.

It was also wonderful to hear that many of themes we address in “Coaching for Innovation” are not just abstract ideas but real drivers for making a difference – doing things differently (Chapter 9), thinking big (Chapter 8) asking powerful questions (Chapter 4) and perhaps just simply having the right attitude and being determined to make innovation happen (Innovator Behaviours discussed in Chapter 1). Videos from this event are not yet available but when they are, I will post a link so that you can enjoy them for yourselves.

Meantime, check out some great animated films at TEDEd, some of which shown at the Tedx at CERN- if you though science was beyond you, then think again!