Edna will be addressing a TEDx conference. Not TED, precisely. Although, it will be hosted by the head of TED Europe, Bruno Giussani.

About TEDx In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world’s leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

There is a glowing tribute to Edna appearing on the TEDx web site.

From rubble and bones, a dream emerges

Several months ago, I couldn’t sleep, so I made a cup of tea and turned on the BBC. Mary Harper from Assignment was interviewing a woman who described herself as a nurse, a Somalilander and a midwife.

There was something so passionate in this woman’s voice, so forceful in her conviction, so resolved in her determination that I stood transfixed in my kitchen. She went on to describe how she gave up her retirement, her pension and her savings to build a maternity hospital on top of a place with a gruesome past – a former graveyard and execution ground. Today, it is a place where lives are being saved and trained medical professionals provide much-needed care to pregnant women, mothers and infants in Somaliland.

The name of the hospital’s intrepid 74-year-old founder is Edna Adan Ismail and she carries some impressive credentials – among them, she was the first Somali girl to study in Britian, the country’s first qualified midwife and the only woman minister to serve in the Somaliland government up until July 2006. She also helped found the Somali Red Crescent in 1963 and was the WHO’s Regional Technical Officer for Mother and Child Health from 1987 to 1991.

Standing there in my kitchen, I thought to myself that her voice, ideas and experience BELONGED at TEDxRC². So, I picked up the phone the next day and called the hospital. The receptionist told me she was traveling and to send an email. Thus began my correspondence with Edna, who immediately and graciously accepted to be one of our TEDxRC² speakers. Recently, we spoke for the first time on a rather dodgy phone line between Hargeisa and Geneva. All I can say is that I can’t wait to see her up on-stage. Hers is the kind of infectious compassion and devotion that simply make our world a better place. She’s also got a big dream and a great idea worth spreading!

We’ve added her profile to the front page, so please check it out. Thanks!

Anna Nelson

TEDxRC² curator

From rubble and bones, a dream emerges

The button links to the TEDx web site. Please go there for more information, particularly about the Live Webcast of the Event.