Meet 6 Social Activists Fighting for Justice Around the World
These TED2016 Fellows are doing the right thing on behalf of antebellum culinary history, the rights of sexual assault survivors, equitable livelihoods for gemstone miners and more. Meet them below.
Amanda Nguyen, policymaker — US
In the United States, sexual assault survivors must navigate bewildering legal labyrinths that differ from state to state, often leaving survivors further traumatized. In some states, for example, rape kits — crucial evidence of the crime — are destroyed long before the statute of limitations runs out. Herself a sexual assault survivor, Amanda Nguyen created nonprofit organization Rise to help fix the fragmented system, and will soon introduce a bill on Capitol Hill. The Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights calls for a common-sense, unified approach to protecting the rights of rape survivors — including informing survivors what resources are available to them, preventing the destruction of evidence and creating a task force to test the efficacy of policies. If the bill passes, it will help create comprehensive safeguards for the country’s 25 million to 30 million rape survivors.
Bektour Iskender, independent news publisher — Kyrgyzstan
Bektour Iskender founded youth-led journalism school and news site Kloop, now the fifth most popular website in Kyrgyzstan — particularly remarkable given that its content is generated by its students, between the ages of 14 and 25. In 2010, for instance, an 18-year-old Kloop journalist broke a story of corruption implicating Kyrgyzstan’s president’s son. The site’s honest investigations and coverage have garnered a wide audience, cementing its reputation as a trusted news source. Today, Kloop’s journalists carry on uncovering government policy and corruption, making Kloop one of the most successful youth media organizations in the world. More importantly, they are leading the way for a post-Soviet generation free to know and stand up for its own rights—unthinkable 30 years ago.
Jessica Ladd, sexual health technologist — US
A shocking statistic: 90% of sexual assaults are committed by repeat offenders. To address this problem, infectious disease epidemiologist Jessica Ladd created Callisto, a platform that allows rape victims to report assaults in their own time, preserving evidence safely and confidentially without having to decide whether to press charges immediately. Callisto allows electronic reporting, secured with a time-stamped document and crucially, it also provides the option to release the information only if another victim later names the same assailant. Currently, Callisto is being piloted on college campuses in the United States. If it works, it could apprehend repeat offenders, preventing the majority of sexual assaults from happening in the first place.
Majala Mlagui, gemologist and mining entrepreneur — Kenya
Small miners produce more than 80% of the world’s colored gemstone output, yet they see very little share of the profits generated by the international market. In Majala Mlagui’s native Kenya, miners not only face difficult physical conditions, but they’re also often exploited by unscrupulous brokers who trade the stones in the international market. A love of gemstones and compassion for the miners’ plight prompted Majala to form a social enterprise Thamani — a Swahili word meaning “value” — which aims to educate miners on how to source fair and stable markets for East African coloured gemstones and how to process stones to add value. Meanwhile, Majala urges all who purchase gemstones to question their provenance, believing that doing so will help convince those in the supply chain to be more conscious and responsible, which in turn will improve conditions for miners.
Trevor Timm, free speech and privacy advocate — US
Under the First Amendment, says Trevor Timm, the press has the right to publish secret information if it’s in the public interest. But it’s nearly impossible to exercise this right if journalists can’t gather their information and protect the identity their sources. In the past, the government could easily catch whistleblowers and journalists by gathering data from tapping emails and phones, and accessing their financial and travel information. Today, Timm says, communications software now exists that makes it easier for journalists to protect their sources. Take Secure Drop, an open source whistleblower submission system invented by Aaron Swartz and now developed by Freedom of the Press Foundation, where Timm works. It allows whistleblowers to upload information via a news site’s protected web browser, from which it’s encrypted and stored on a server. Why do technologies like this matter? Whistleblowers are vital watchdogs protecting public interest — whether they’re warning us about the next Flint water crisis, financial meltdown, or public breach of privacy.
Michael Twitty, culinary historian — US
What is culinary justice? According to culinary historian Michael Twitty, whose great-great-grandparents were enslaved ancestors of the American South, culinary justice is the idea that “historically oppressed peoples and people of color should have the right to be recognized for their gastronomic contributions, and derive from them empowerment and uplift.” It is through this lens that Twitty approaches his work as the first black antebellum chef since the Civil War. His project The Cooking Gene teaches classes about the gastronomical culture of the American slaves, teaches young people to grow food and demonstrates historical cooking on plantations. “Food has the power to transcend difference,” Twitty says, describing an event at which people of different backgrounds — Southern whites, blacks, and others — sat down in a slave cabin at a plantation to eat a meal he’d cooked. “Our ancestors could not have imagined sitting down at the same table with respect, as cousins rather than as combatants.”
The TED Fellows program hand-picks young innovators from around the world to raise international awareness of their work and maximize their impact.
