The TED talks are a well-known forum for people with both topic expertise and the ability to communicate their message well. A recently published talk by Kakenya Ntaiya is one of the best I've seen in a long time. The reason is that her story is a testimony of her personal journey of sacrifice and gain in the pursuit of education. Then once she was educated she returned to her home to share her knowledge by opening a school for girls. In her journey she worked within existing cultural boundaries of decision-making that rested in the hands of men, and pushed these cultural boundaries by asking for decisions that favoured her and then many girls. By doing so she demonstrated that culture is not static and that the education of all children and young people is central to cultural vitality. She also shows how to then give testimony that is honest, respectful, at times humorous, and always hopeful. Related postsTestimony, 4 April 2013 Testimonies of forced removal, 16 April 2013 Oral Testimony Project, Panos Institute, 17 May 2013 Testimony and Human Rights, 18 June 2013 'Village Journey' - testimonies of assimilation by legislation, 10 August 2012 |
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