TEDTALKS: INSPIRED TALKS BY THE WORLD’S LEADING THINKERS AND DOERS

EDUCATING A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS Patrick Awuah leaves a promising career at Microsoft and returns home with a commitment to educating young people in critical thinking and ethical service, values he believes are crucial for the nation-building ahead.

Patrick Awuah attended Swarthmore College, then went on to Microsoft. After almost a decade he left for Accra. He co-founded Ashesi University in 2002. The university, Ashesi, which means “beginning” in Akan, is already charting a new course in African education, with its high-tech facilities, innovative academic program and emphasis on leadership.

AID VERSUS TRADE: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the former finance minister of Nigeria, sums up four days of intense discussion on aid versus trade on the closing day of TEDGlobal 2007, and shares a riveting personal story explaining her own commitment to this cause.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, born June 13, 1954, is the former Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Nigeria, notable for being the first woman to hold either of those positions. She now serves as Managing Director of the World Bank. She graduated from Harvard and earned a Ph.D. in regional economics and development at MIT.