#tedxdiliman

Juan Miguel Severo at #TEDxDiliman

Nasa isip kita.

Sa umaga, kapag nakita ko kung anong oras na, iniisip ko kung nakarating ka na ba sa opisina. Nasa isip kita.

Sa tanghali, alam kong nagtitipid ka, pero kumain ka naman ng sapat para di ka nagugutom sa trabaho, ‘di ba? Nasa isip kita.

Sa hapon, malamang ay pagod na pagod ka nanaman sa dami ng pinapagawa nila sa’yo na hindi mo kayang tapusin bago mag- dilim at nasa isip kita.

Sa…

The TEDxDiliman Experience

TED events are known around the world for its ability to create venues where the brightest, quirkiest and innovative minds could stand on a podium and share their crazy ideas to an eclectic audience composed of artists, professionals, creators, and innovators. Through the years, it has invited luminaries who speak for around 15 to 20 minutes to talk about their passion for what they do and who they are. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and its main principle is to share “ideas worth spreading.” As such TED events around the world are rare and worth the time of anyone interested in creating impact.

Yesterday was the fifth time TEDxDiliman was held, with the theme PathsXLess Traveled. I was privileged to be one of the few who passed the strict screening of participants, as TED events are rare in this part of the world. I’ve heard that there’s a TEDxManila in years past, but TEDxDiliman, hosted by Canvas.ph (an NGO promoting “children’s literacy, explore national identity, and deepen public appreciation for Philippine art, culture and the environment”) exuded with energy and passion as each speaker brought to the fore social issues, and nerve-wracking and out-of-this-world solutions. It wasn’t the first time I attended a TED event. The last was the TEDxDiliman of 2011, and even that blew my mind away at the time.

The speakers who spoke were from different walks of life, those who made an impact in society by the use of culture and arts, and by thinking out of the box. From a heritage conservator, to a rapper/instagrammer, passionate poet, cool medical doctors on social media, lawyer/musicians, historians, cultural workers, and even plane hijackers! This line-up of speakers is quite nuts, and pushes ones imagination as to how to make a lasting impact in our society and country.

I won’t attempt to describe all I have heard from these wonderful and amazing speakers (since Canvas will soon upload the videos of the talks soon), or to even describe the feeling I felt when many of the messages they delivered truly moved me, but after leaving the event, my head was reeling with ideas that I quickly scribbled on a notebook TEDxDiliman gave me. What a privilege to be one of the people who heard their messages first hand.

So here’s what I did to order my thoughts. My lens is from a historian’s point of view, and from there I worked up all the things I’ve learned from the speakers.

Conrad Alampay (Heritage Advocate)

“We are losing heritage faster than we can restore them.”

I was blown away by his 3D Laser Scanning technology that reconstructs a 3D design of a heritage site/building in focus. Imagine the Manila Cathedral, the BGC underground tunnel system that dates back to World War II, all reconstructed in 3D programming in stark detail. But what strikes me most about his talk was his desire to overtake time and preserve these structures that make and define us as a people. Being a history researcher, I not only delve into the past, I try to overtake the past. Time is historians' ultimate enemy—it eats up human memory (gets frail through old age), erases inks on very old documents, etc. This race was that one thing I saw in Alampay’s talk.

Vin Dancel (Lawyer/Musician)

From law school to 90’s alternative music? Why not? Dancel found his small corner and contributed as much as he can, merging all he’s seemingly unconnected passions. And the result was fun—fun at what he does and what that creates. One of the highlights of his talk: 

“Do not be afraid of the unknown. Roads end… (pag wala nang semento), and you have a choice if you want to keep moving forward.”

Mike Swift (Rapper and Instagrammer)

It’s weird that I, a history researcher, picked up something from a rapper. Swift’s passion by talking in straight free verse rap was breathtaking. I found myself smiling while he was talking. Who wouldn’t, when you see someone so passionate? He loves what he does, and he’s good at it. The motivation? “I fight for them (people in Tenement).” What gives anyone the drive to pursue things is that urging to fight not only for yourself but for others. In my case, I wanted to give voice to those on the fringes of history, those who are in danger of being forgotten. Swift’s message confirms this resolve of mine.

A video posted by Kristoffer Pasion (@panalongindio) on Oct 11, 2015 at 12:00am PDT

Iris Isip Tan (Medical Doctor in Social Media a.k.a. Doc Bru)

Learned from Dr. Tan the power of social media and simple memes to combat ignorance. Her fight against health illiteracy made her venture into blogging and facebook-ing, and thereby found her place in the World Wide Web. She admits that she never knows what happens after people online are informed. And yet she does it still. Isn’t that the risk we all take whenever we blog? Thus, there is always a way to get the message across, even when you don’t see its direct and immediate effects. Always.

Arnold Arre’s (Self-taught Animator)

From an image of a Tikbalang in childhood, to Star Wars, and then to rediscovery of his roots, Arre has fused his artistry with Filipino mythology by creating awesome graphic novels that has a Filipino heartbeat at its core. What compelled him to make these works are the stories he still longs to tell. It reminds me of all these blog post ideas, and publications that I long to write and share. Arre’s spirit inspires, and invigorates dreams long forgotten.

Video above: Arnold Arre’s work: Lupang Hinirang (Philippine National Anthem) in Animation

Waya Araos-Wijangco (Chef)

“We cannot engage and walk away unchanged.”

This passionate chef with a heart for special kids showed me what it means to find a need and fill it. Chef Wijangco’s “Open Hands School” gave opportunity to people with special needs to work in a real work environment. Her principle was that work has the power to transform. As such, it is a human right—it gives dignity to people, especially those with special needs. This awesome lady has a big heart for the misunderstood people.

Juan Miguel Severo (Spoken Word Poet)

It is true that in order to gain confidence in public speaking, there’s this advice to “imagine your audience naked.” Severo’s powerful message of the statement’s truth makes this poignant, and real. He shared, how nervous he was before delivering his spoken word poetry at Sev's Café, but found himself shocked at how his fellow poets, while delivering their pieces, have already laid bare their bruises, wounds, and scars, in effect, making themselves naked before him. It was that truth that gave him the courage to also strip, removing all pretensions and sharing his experience to people. Tears.

(Was also privileged to watch his piece in Virgin Lab Fest entitled Hintayan ng Langit, chosen to be one of the Revisited plays of VLF next year.)

Soe Myint (Burmese activist, a.k.a. Thai Airways hijacker)

This Burmese activist, who hijacked a Thai Airways plane in 1990, just wanted a press conference to be given to his people in Myanmar, a country under martial law. Myint wanted the world to know the human rights violations Burma underwent. With a fake bomb in hand, he, together with an accomplice, assured the passengers that they don’t want to harm them. Surprisingly, the passengers cooperated, since most of the passengers were Burmese, and Thailand and India were sympathetic to Myint’s cause. Thus, they succeeded in assembling a press con in India to hear Myanmar’s plight. This crazy idea of hijacking a plane would not have worked in a post 9/11 world, but at the time, there were still great risks. Myint was ready to die or go to jail for life. But he and hos friend were acquitted immediately, making headlines around the world. Doing insane things for the ultimate good, for one’s own people, is indeed a story worth telling.

Raymund Narag (Criminal lawyer)

Being accused of a crime you didn’t commit, spending seven years in Quezon City jail, would have driven anyone to depression and inactivity, but this person resolved to turn “lemons to lemonade.” He was acquitted of all charges after 7 years, being proved innocent, and was given a Fulbright scholarship. Now he is a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Southern Illinois. The secret: “I came in clean, I will go out clean.” He became a spokesperson for the forgotten and the downtrodden, and was made a Supreme Court consultant by Justice Davide.

Ambeth Ocampo (Historian and Columnist)

Historian Ambeth Ocampo simply stated that to liberate ourselves from the Past, we need to confront the past head on. One line that struck me was when he said: “History doesn’t repeat itself. WE repeat history.” I remember one facebook user’s comment, when he said “Why can’t we get over the past. Past is past.” And that was in the context of posts that tell of the evils of Martial Law under the Marcos regime. It just shows that historians still have a lot to work to do. We will never stop, until we get people to remember. We owe it to the victims pf atrocities in the past, to the people on the fringes, to the voiceless ones. Historians must and should stand up for them.

Loren Legarda (Senator and Filipino Cultural Advocate)

Senator Loren Legarda’s passion for the Philippine comeback to the prestigious international art fair, the Venice Biennale, is contagious. She was disturbed and saddened at how small nations like Tuvalu and Maldives, small nations, have representation in the art festival, but not the Philippines–a country of 100 million with a long artistic tradition. And thus, after 52 years of being absent in the Venice Biennale, the Philippine Pavilion was assembled in May of this year, curated by Vargas Museum’s Patrick Flores, earning accolades of art critics around the world–something that gives tremendous pride to the nation.

Wrapping up all these IDEAS

While lining up for food in the event, I saw this person beside me texting her friend “I am now here were my dreams all came to die because they all became real.” I still wonder at how the selection of participants happen in TEDxDiliman. But all I can say is, I came in, thinking I’m already brimming to the full, but came out bursting with ideas and optimism. What thinking out of the box? There is no box! I have to say that TEDxDiliman this year was way better than when I attended last 2012. The talks were more pointed and it stuck to its theme, Paths Less Traveled. For, aren’t innovators tread the mud and create walkable paths for others to follow?

There is so much to do, and so much to be, after TEDxDiliman. I’m reminded of this blog’s advocacy, and that when heart and passion go hand in hand, everything follows. Grateful for Canvas.Ph and the insane and awesome speakers. It was a privilege to listen and to take in everything.