TED Community » Ithateng Mokgoro

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Ideas, Design, Africa, The Future, Youth, The Universe

An idea worth spreading

Intent + Structure + Exchange = Meaningful Connections

Talk to me about

Speaking at and supporting TEDxSoweto, designing a new future for Africa.

People don't know that I'm good at

I can write a bit, if I have some time, and a decent bottle of red wine within arm's reach.

My TED Story

I was part of the team that worked on bringing TED to Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008. The project had to be cancelled with six months to go, primarily because of fundraising difficulties. I believe the lessons learnt in that process had an influence on the formulation of the current TEDx model. I'm proud to have played a small role in that. I was also fortunate to attend TED2008, the last time the event was held in Monterey. I was in the auditorium when Jill Bolte Taylor delivered what was arguably the greatest TEDTalk ever. Since then, I've been working with my wife and partner, Kelo Kubu, to find local ideas worth spreading. To date we've had the great pleasure of organizing countless TEDx events. We look forward to a myriad more.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +9086.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +2

  A comment on Conversation: The debate about Graham Hancock's talk

  Mar 20 2013: For me this whole thing boils down to process.
  
  Back in 2009, in the spirit of radical openness, TED opened up and created the TEDx platform. As a result, they turned thousands of TED enthusiasts all over the world into TED activists. A mere four years later the conference has become a movement, impacting the lives of millions. The benefits have been self-evident for a while but potential problems are only now beginning to surface.
  
  But how do you maintain innovation of a scale as vast as this? Our experience at TEDxSoweto tells us that there are five important balancing acts that will determine the future success of TEDx, and TED itself.
  
  1. Volunteerism vs. Sustainability:
  TEDx works because good people are willing to become active participants for no apparent financial gain. As the stakes become higher their resources will be put under considerable strain.
  
  2. Independence vs. Accountability:
  While most TEDx organizers are fiercely independent free spirits, they are smart enough to understand that for the big idea to work they will need to allow themselves to be accountable to the broader TEDx community.
  
  3. Guidelines vs. Rules:
  Each TEDx takes place in it’s own unique environment. That requires a fair amount of flexibility in approach to allow for all potential variables. The guidelines and rules that TEDx uses to manage this are sometimes too loose, and other times too rigid.
  
  4. Accessibility vs. Exclusivity:
  TEDx has turned a very exclusive club into a more accessible one. At what point will this runaway success begin to cannibalize the exclusivity that made the original idea special in the first place?
  
  5. Virality vs. Control:
  Ideas want to be free. But are we happy for any idea to be free? Should some ideas be freer than others? How much control do we want to have over which ideas go viral in our name?
  
  Our team at TEDxSoweto grapples with these issues everyday. This debate has made their resolution more urgent.
• +7

  A comment on Conversation: The debate about Rupert Sheldrake's talk

  Mar 20 2013: For me this whole thing boils down to process.
  
  Back in 2009, in the spirit of radical openness, TED opened up and created the TEDx platform. As a result, they turned thousands of TED enthusiasts all over the world into TED activists. A mere four years later the conference has become a movement, impacting the lives of millions. The benefits have been self-evident for a while but potential problems are only now beginning to surface.
  
  But how do you maintain innovation of a scale as vast as this? Our experience at TEDxSoweto tells us that there are five important balancing acts that will determine the future success of TEDx, and TED itself.
  
  1. Volunteerism vs. Sustainability:
  TEDx works because good people are willing to become active participants for no apparent financial gain. As the stakes become higher their resources will be put under considerable strain.
  
  2. Independence vs. Accountability:
  While most TEDx organizers are fiercely independent free spirits, they are smart enough to understand that for the big idea to work they will need to allow themselves to be accountable to the broader TEDx community.
  
  3. Guidelines vs. Rules:
  Each TEDx takes place in it’s own unique environment. That requires a fair amount of flexibility in approach to allow for all potential variables. The guidelines and rules that TEDx uses to manage this are sometimes too loose, and other times too rigid.
  
  4. Accessibility vs. Exclusivity:
  TEDx has turned a very exclusive club into a more accessible one. At what point will this runaway success begin to cannibalize the exclusivity that made the original idea special in the first place?
  
  5. Virality vs. Control:
  Ideas want to be free. But are we happy for any idea to be free? Should some ideas be freer than others? How much control do we want to have over which ideas go viral in our name?
  
  Our team at TEDxSoweto grapples with these issues everyday. This debate has made their resolution more urgent.
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Maz Jobrani: A Saudi, an Indian and an Iranian walk into a Qatari bar �

  Dec 31 2012: Five rainbows for you my friend. Thank you.

• A comment on Talk: Ed Gavagan: A story about knots and surgeons

  Sep 24 2012: This is a truly beautiful story. And Ed Gavagan, you are a big man.
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome

  Dec 24 2011: Beautiful talk. Thank you for the inspiration.

• A comment on Talk: Vusi Mahlasela sings "Thula Mama"

  Aug 7 2011: A great song from a gentle soul.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Trial and error is inefficient

  Jul 17 2011: The reality is that we are all already involved in the biggest trial and error experiment of them all: EVOLUTION. Problems begin when we try to resist this reality instead of learning to work with it in a more umh... intelligent way. Our best results come from the complexity, layering and understanding that is built over countless attempts to find answers. And our worst? When we try to play God of course.

• A comment on Conversation: Is the Internet due for a â��Magna Carta moment?â��

  Jul 16 2011: The Internet is most useful if we see it as a "dumb pipe" that each of us can use in ways that best suit us, whoever we are and wherever we are, in groupings or as individuals. The basic structures that govern the technical aspects and protocols that make the thing work are already in place, even if there is room for improvement. Beyond that, I believe, the Internet is best left alone. Things will sort themselves out.