>I was recently pointed to this collection of videos on the web that are not just entertaining, but also INSPIRATIONAL. There is so much to be done in the world, so many problems, so many suffering – but there is also people who make a difference in their communities and who were invited to TED to share their experiences.

TED is an annual forum bringing together the best speakers in the world to speak for 18 minutes each, charging a shitload for those who go there and use the money to broadcast what has been said online.

For you, I have posted two of my favorite (Ghanarelated) speeches below.

The first talk is the Swedish professor in Public Health Hans Rosling talking about what statistics can tell us about development, health and change (I earlier wrote about his initiative Gapminder here) Prof shows that Sweden 1891 had the development of Ghana today and that development is a possibility for Africa.

The second speaker is Ghanaian Patric Awuah who left a comfortable life in the US working for Microsoft to go back to Ghana to start up Ashesi University, a liberal arts college to educate future leaders. Mid speech he talks about the empowering effects of being able to create, something wich tangents the WORLDwrite documentary from yesterday.

Both these speakers have recieved a lot of attention and praise on the net – and that is no coincidence, they are simply great. So leave the laughs at YouTube behind and invite some friends over to together be entertained AND inspired.

> Here’s an interesting short documentary about visionary people in Ghana with plans on how to advance their country without foreign aid. The eight minute producation was made by WORLDwrite a charity who through film, exchanges and education of young people seeks to “challenge prejudices and stereotypes”. This film does just that, showing an Africa that is expanding by its own force contrary to images of despair.

Their other short films from Ghana all succed with asking important questions (like are the NGO’s in Africa just modern missionaries telling poor people what to do? and why is Africa urbanizing with such a speed? ) as well as showing very true footage of Ghanaian everyday life.

I highly recommend a half an hour with these snippets from Ghana.