| Well , as Alexander Graham Bell famously said on his first successful telephone call , " Hello , is that Domino 's Pizza ? " ( Laughter ) I just really want to thank you very much . As another famous man , Jerry Garcia , said , " What a strange , long trip . " And he should have said , " What a strange , long trip it 's about to become . " At this very moment , you are viewing my upper half . My lower half is appearing at a different conference -- ( Laughter ) in a different country . You can , it turns out , be in two places at once . But still , I 'm sorry I ca n't be with you in person . I 'll explain at another time . And though I 'm a rock star , I just want to assure you that none of my wishes will include a hot tub . But what really turns me on about technology is not just the ability to get more songs on mp3 players . The revolution -- this revolution -- is much bigger than that . I hope , I believe . What turns me on about the digital age , what excited me personally , is that you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing . You see , it used to be that if you wanted to make a record of a song , you needed a studio and a producer . Now , you need a laptop . If you wanted to make a film , you needed a mass of equipment and a Hollywood budget . Now , you need a camera that fits in your palm , and a couple of bucks for a blank DVD . Imagination has been decoupled from the old constraints . And that really , really excites me . I 'm excited when I glimpse that kind of thinking writ large . What I would like to see is idealism decoupled from all constraints . Political , economic , psychological , whatever . The geopolitical world has got a lot to learn from the digital world . From the ease with which you swept away obstacles that no one knew could even be budged . And that 's actually what I 'd like to talk about today . First , though , I should probably explain why , and how , I got to this place . It 's a journey that started 20 years ago . You may remember that song , " We Are the World , " or , " Do They Know It 's Christmas ? " Band Aid , Live Aid . Another very tall , grizzled rock star , my friend Sir Bob Geldof , issued a challenge to " feed the world . " It was a great moment , and it utterly changed my life . That summer , my wife , Ali , and myself went to Ethiopia . We went on the quiet to see for ourselves what was going on . We lived in Ethiopia for a month , working at an orphanage . The children had a name for me . They called me , " The girl with the beard . " ( Laughter ) Do n't ask . Anyway , we found Africa to be a magical place . Big skies , big hearts , big , shining continent . Beautiful , royal people . Anybody who ever gave anything to Africa got a lot more back . Ethiopia did n't just blow my mind ; it opened my mind . Anyway , on our last day at this orphanage a man handed me his baby and said , " Would you take my son with you ? " He knew , in Ireland , that his son would live , and that in Ethiopia , his son would die . It was the middle of that awful famine . Well , I turned him down . And it was a funny kind of sick feeling , but I turned him down . And it 's a feeling I ca n't ever quite forget . And in that moment , I started this journey . In that moment , I became the worst thing of all : I became a rock star with a cause . Except this is n't the cause , is it ? Six and a half thousand Africans dying every single day from AIDS -- a preventable , treatable disease -- for lack of drugs we can get in any pharmacy . That 's not a cause . That 's an emergency . 11 million AIDS orphans in Africa , 20 million by the end of the decade . That 's not a cause . That 's an emergency . Today , every day , 9,000 more Africans will catch HIV because of stigmatization and lack of education . That 's not a cause . That 's an emergency . So what we 're talking about here is human rights . The right to live like a human . The right to live , period . And what we 're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality . The next thing I 'd like to be clear about is what this problem is , and what this problem is n't . Because this is not all about charity . This is about justice . Really . This is not about charity . This is about justice . That 's right . And that 's too bad , because we 're very good at charity . Americans , like Irish people , are good at it . Even the poorest neighborhoods give more than they can afford . We like to give , and we give a lot . Look at the response to the tsunami , it 's inspiring . But justice is a tougher standard than charity . You see , Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice . It makes a farce of our idea of equality . It mocks our pieties . It doubts our concern . It questions our commitment . Because there is no way we can look at what 's happening in Africa , and if we 're honest , conclude that it would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else . As you heard in the film , anywhere else , not here . Not here , not in America , not in Europe . In fact , a head of state that you 're all familiar with admitted this to me . And it 's really true . There is no chance this kind of hemorrhaging of human life would be accepted anywhere else other than Africa . Africa is a continent in flames . And deep down , if we really accepted that Africans were equal to us , we would all do more to put the fire out . We 're standing around with watering cans , when what we really need is the fire brigade . You see , it 's not as dramatic as the tsunami . It 's crazy , really , when you think about it . Does stuff have to look like an action movie these days to exist in the front of our brain ? The slow extinguishing of countless lives is just not dramatic enough , it would appear . Catastrophes that we can avert are not as interesting as ones we could avert . Funny , that . Anyway , I believe that that kind of thinking offends the intellectual rigor in this room . Six and a half thousand people dying a day in Africa may be Africa 's crisis , but the fact that it 's not on the nightly news , that we in Europe , or you in America , are not treating it like an emergency -- I want to argue with you tonight that that 's our crisis . I want to argue that though Africa is not the front line in the war against terror , it could be soon . Every week , religious extremists take another African village . They 're attempting to bring order to chaos . Well , why are n't we ? Poverty breeds despair . We know this . Despair breeds violence . We know this . In turbulent times , is n't it cheaper , and smarter , to make friends out of potential enemies than to defend yourself against them later ? The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty . And I did n't say that . Colin Powell said that . Now when the military are telling us that this is a war that cannot be won by military might alone , maybe we should listen . There 's an opportunity here , and it 's real . It 's not spin . It 's not wishful thinking . The problems facing the developing world afford us in the developed world a chance to re-describe ourselves to the world . We will not only transform other people 's lives , but we will also transform the way those other lives see us . And that might be smart in these nervous , dangerous times . Do n't you think that on a purely commercial level , that anti-retroviral drugs are great advertisements for Western ingenuity and technology ? Does n't compassion look well on us ? And let 's cut the crap for a second . In certain quarters of the world , brand EU , brand USA , is not at its shiniest . The neon sign is fizzing and cracking . Someone 's put a brick through the window . The regional branch managers are getting nervous . Never before have we in the west been so scrutinized . Our values : do we have any ? Our credibility ? These things are under attack around the world . Brand USA could use some polishing . And I say that as a fan , you know ? As a person who buys the products . But think about it . More anti-retrovirals make sense . But that 's just the easy part , or ought to be . But equality for Africa -- that 's a big , expensive idea . You see , the scale of the suffering numbs us into a kind of indifference . What on earth can we all do about this ? Well , much more than we think . We ca n't fix every problem , but the ones we can , I want to argue , we must . And because we can , we must . This is the straight truth , the righteous truth . It is not a theory . The fact is that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye , look across the ocean to Africa , and say this , and mean it . We do not have to stand for this . A whole continent written off -- we do not have to stand for this . ( Applause ) And let me say this without a trace of irony -- before I back it up to a bunch of ex-hippies . Forget the '60s . We can change the world . I ca n't , you ca n't , as individuals , but we can change the world . I really believe that , the people in this room . Look at the Gates Foundation . They 've done incredible stuff , unbelievable stuff . But working together , we can actually change the world . We can turn the inevitable outcomes , and transform the quality of life for millions of lives who look and feel rather like us , when you 're up close . I 'm sorry to laugh here , but you do look so different than you did in Haight-Ashbury in the '60s . ( Laughter ) But I want to argue that this is the moment that you are designed for . It is the flowering of the seeds you planted in earlier , headier days. Ideas that you gestated in your youth . This is what excites me . This room was born for this moment , is really what I want to say to you tonight . Most of you started out wanting to change the world , did n't you ? Most of you did , the digital world . Well , now , actually because of you , it is possible to change the physical world . It 's a fact . Economists confirm it , and they know much more than I do . So why , then , are we not pumping our fists into the air ? Probably because when we admit we can do something about it , we 've got to do something about it . It is a pain in the arse . This equality business is actually a pain in the arse . But for the first time in history , we have the technology , we have the know-how , we have the cash , we have the life-saving drugs . Do we have the will ? I hope this is obvious , but I 'm not a hippie . And I 'm not really one for the warm , fuzzy feeling . I do not have flowers in my hair . Actually , I come from punk rock . The Clash wore big army boots , not sandals . But I know toughness when I see it . And for all the talk of peace and love on the West Coast , there was muscle to the movement that started out here . You see , idealism detached from action is just a dream . But idealism allied with pragmatism , with rolling up your sleeves and making the world bend a bit , is very exciting . It 's very real . It 's very strong . And it 's very present in a crowd like you . Last year at DATA , this organization I helped set up , we launched a campaign to summon this spirit in the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty . We 're calling it the ONE Campaign . It 's based on our belief that the action of one person can change a lot , but the actions of many coming together as one can change the world . Well , we feel that now is the time to prove we 're right . There are moments in history when civilization redefines itself . We believe this is one . We believe that this could be the time when the world finally decides that the wanton loss of life in Africa is just no longer acceptable . This could be the time that we finally get serious about changing the future for most people who live on planet Earth . Momentum has been building . Lurching a little , but it 's building . This year is a test for us all , especially the leaders of the G8 nations , who really are on the line here , with all the world in history watching . I have been , of late , disappointed with the Bush Administration . They started out with such promise on Africa . They made some really great promises , and actually have fulfilled a lot of them . But some of them they have n't . They do n't feel the push from the ground , is the truth . But my disappointment has much more perspective when I talk to American people , and I hear their worries about the deficit , and the fiscal well-being of their country . I understand that . But there 's much more push from the ground than you 'd think , if we got organized . What I try to communicate , and you can help me if you agree , is that aid for Africa is just great value for money at a time when America really needs it . Putting it in the crassest possible terms , the investment reaps huge returns . Not only in lives saved , but in goodwill , stability and security that we 'll gain . So this is what I hope that you will do , if I could be so bold , and not have it deducted from my number of wishes . ( Laughter ) What I hope is that beyond individual merciful acts , that you will tell the politicians to do right by Africa , by America and by the world . Give them permission , if you like , to spend their political capital and your financial capital , your national purse on saving the lives of millions of people . That 's really what I would like you to do . Because we also need your intellectual capital : your ideas , your skills , your ingenuity . And you , at this conference , are in a unique position . Some of the technologies we 've been talking about , you invented them , or at least revolutionized the way that they 're used . Together you have changed the zeitgeist from analog to digital , and pushed the boundaries . And we 'd like you to give us that energy . Give us that kind of dreaming , that kind of doing . As I say , there 're two things on the line here . There 's the continent Africa . But there 's also our sense of ourselves . People are starting to figure this out . Movements are springing up . Artists , politicians , pop stars , priests , CEOs , NGOs , mothers ' unions , student unions . A lot of people are getting together , and working under this umbrella I told you about earlier , the ONE Campaign . I think they just have one idea in their mind , which is , where you live in the world , should not determine whether you live in the world . ( Applause ) History , like God , is watching what we do . When the history books get written I think our age will be remembered for three things . Really , it 's just three things this whole age will be remembered for . The digital revolution , yes . The war against terror , yes . And what we did or did not do to put out the fires in Africa . Some say we ca n't afford to . I say we ca n't afford not to . Thank you , thank you very much . ( Applause ) Okay , my three wishes . The ones that TED has offered to grant . You see , if this is true , and I believe it is , that the digital world you all created has uncoupled the creative imagination from the physical constraints of matter . This should be a piece of piss . ( Laughter ) I should add that this started out as a much longer list of wishes . Most of them impossible , some of them impractical and one or two of them certainly immoral . ( Laughter ) This business , it gets to be addictive , you know what I mean , when somebody else is picking up the tab . Anyway , here 's number one . I wish for you to help build a social movement of more than one million American activists for Africa . That is my first wish . I believe it 's possible . A few minutes ago , I talked about all the citizens ' campaigns that are springing up . You know , there 's lots out there . And with this one campaign as our umbrella , my organization , DATA , and other groups , have been tapping into the energy and the enthusiasm that 's out there from Hollywood into the heartland of America . We know there 's more than enough energy to power this movement . We just need your help in making it happen . We want all of you here , church America , corporate America , Microsoft America , Apple America , Coke America , Pepsi America , nerd America , noisy America . We ca n't afford to be cool and sit this one out . I do believe if we build a movement that 's one million Americans strong , we 're not going to be denied . We will have the ear of Congress . We 'll be the first page in Condi Rice 's briefing book , and right into the Oval Office . If there 's one million Americans -- and I really know this -- who are ready to make phone calls , who are ready to be on email . I am absolutely sure that we can actually change the course of history , literally , for the continent of Africa . Anyway , so I 'd like your help in getting that signed up . I know John Gage and Sun Microsystems are already on board for this , but there 's lots of you we 'd like to talk to . Right , my second wish , number two . I would like one media hit for every person on the planet who is living on less than one dollar a day . That 's one billion media hits . Could be on Google , could be on AOL . Steve Case , Larry , Sergey -- they 've done a lot already . It could be NBC . It could be ABC . Actually we 're talking to ABC today about the Oscars . We have a film , produced by Jon Kamen at Radical Media . But you know , we want , we need some airtime for our ideas . We need to get the math , we need to get the statistics out to the American people . I really believe that old Truman line , that if you give the American people the facts , they 'll do the right thing . And , the other thing that 's important , is that this is not Sally Struthers . This has to be described as an adventure , not a burden . ( Video ) : One by one they step forward , a nurse , a teacher , a homemaker , and lives are saved . The problem is enormous . Every three seconds one person dies . Another three seconds , one more . The situation is so desperate in parts of Africa , Asia , even America that aid groups , just as they did for the tsunami are uniting as one , acting as one . We can beat extreme poverty , starvation , AIDS . But we need your help . One more person , letter , voice will mean the difference between life and death for millions of people . Please join us by working together . Americans have an unprecedented opportunity . We can make history . We can start to make poverty history . One , by one , by one . Please visit ONE at this address . We 're not asking for your money . We 're asking for your voice . Bono : All right . I wish for TED to truly show the power of information . Its power to rewrite the rules and transform lives , by connecting every hospital , health clinic and school in one African country . And I would like it to be Ethiopia . I believe we can connect every school in Ethiopia , every health clinic , every hospital . We can connect to the Internet . That is my wish , my third wish . I think it 's possible . I think we have the money and brains in the room to do that . And that would be a mind-blowing wish to come true . I 've been to Ethiopia , as I said earlier . It 's actually where it all started for me . The idea that the Internet , which changed all of our lives , can transform a country -- and a continent that has hardly made it to analog , let alone digital -- blows my mind . But it did n't start out that way . The first long-distance line from Boston to New York was used in 1885 on the phone . It was just nine years later that Addis Ababa was connected by phone to Harare , which is 500 kilometers away . Since then , not that much has changed . The average waiting time to get a land line in Ethiopia is actually about seven or eight years . But wireless technology was n't dreamt up then . Anyway , I 'm Irish , and as you can see , I know how important talking is . Communication is very important for Ethiopia -- will transform the country . Nurses getting better training , pharmacists being able to order supplies , doctors sharing their expertise in all aspects of medicine . It 's a very , very good idea to get them wired . And that is my third and final wish for you at the TED conference . Thank you very much once again . ( Applause ) |