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the new doom
when I was first
asked to speak your text today I was excited because the ideas that I was
exposed to
from watching TED Talks myself head allows for spreading of knowledge
intermingling ideas become viral and communities are built on that
proliferation of creativity
however today I'd like to talk to you about
a different type spreading and exposure that has not had such benevolent affect
six years ago I first met a person affected by the herbicide
agent orange at a place called the friendship village
outside of Hanoi Vietnam that has a connection I felt with this man
reverberated within me long after I left
I don't quite know why I just knew that we both seem to understand
the repercussions love war and this thought kept me up at night
the fact that we both teams inherit the war but more the fact that this
herbicide agent orange is feel affecting people
today agent orange
is an herbicide that was sprayed in vietnam from 1961 to 1971 by American
soldiers
is an herbicide containing the toxic chemical dioxin
research estimates that approximately 4.5
million vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of Americans were exposed
when the chemical was first grade at fifty times the suggested concentration
for the foliation
a lot of people think it's a problem of the path however
even though the war was declared over in 1975
people are still it today being born with physical
and cognitive disabilities due to exposure to this chemical
agent orange has infiltrated the ground water and blood lines of communities
and heavily sprayed areas it is a little chemical that is passed on through
generations
parents who were exposed are passing on the effect for their children
who are never directly exposed Asian orange it therefore becomes
a literal and physical example of how war is carried
into the present for the question I asked myself was
what can we do about it today and many different organizations have begun to
try and answer this question
including the US and vietnamese governments have begun to work together
to clean up the environment in vietnam as well as provide medical support
to families with members affected by agent orange and while these actions are
extremely important
and still need a lot of financial support I realized that I had the
opportunity
to play a different role for communities affected by agent orange
that had to do with this connection I originally thought six years ago
part of it is that a first-generation vietnamese-american
who grew up right here in the Bay Area as a result my parents leaving vietnam
listens to war stories around the dinner table another part if it's something
that I feel like
each and every one of us can tap into here today and that idea
is kinesthetic and the fee as an undergraduate here at stanford
I study this idea kinesthetic empathy which is the notion that shared movement
provides the neural basis for empathy and compassion between people
neuroscientist vs Ramachandran has previously spoken
at ted about these near Iran's and the way in which a certain I'll be activated
when I reach out like this
and also how that fame there I will be activated when I watch you reach out in
a similar manner
now as a dancer and choreographer they've made a lot of sense to me
I know that when I perform an action with another human being there is a
connection
that is built for decided to put my studies into practice I went from
cognitive mapping
to choreographing cartography a return to vietnam this past summer
and led an activity I'm calling mapping your life
effectively in which I asked each individual
to spatially map out his or her biography in space in five minutes birth
to death
in five minutes now you can imagine that this was no easy feat
and most other people in the room let me just as you're looking at me right now
in them
mixtures fear and confusion because what is creating a map of your life
even mean it means locating home
a place to begin and choreographing a journey
through the major landmarks your life maps can mean a lot of different things
to different people
but for communities are refugees in particular they can be a projection of
our future dreams
as well as a document aware we've been they can allow us to see things that
we didn't know where there are perhaps didn't have the time to feed
we started this mapping activity by doing something I'm calling
nearing and we're gonna try that right now
so if you could turn to you a partner next few
gonna give that person a high five say hello introduced yourself
it K now place your hand back about one inch away from their hands
okay now one person move and the other person try and follow along
okay good now switch to the other person lead and the other person follows
there's an intense action going on over there a good
good now trying to do it together see what it's like to lead and follow at the
same time
what is it like to share that responsibility and leadership for your
actions
okay dead give that person other high five and thank them
great thanks for playing along
so we started by doing this mapping activity by starting with the smearing
because he wanted to know what it was like to move with another human being in
our body
we didn't stop there we wanted to go further know what it was like it's
literally
physiologically in our bodies take a walk in someone else's shoes
i'd was helping my team cross but I'm calling the sea of change
it's a move from sympathy for the other and the fee
with another action together
is the move from measuring changes in the brain through cognitive mapping
to using our bodies fit physically and act that change
something incredible happens when our team members began mapping their life
it was the first time that several of our team members in wheelchairs
literally
wasted themselves out of their seats and began dragging themselves
through the rocky terrain their path
I was surprised by the honesty and earnestness with which these individuals
shared his or her past challenges with of
and like to share one participants tree with you today
his name is jump
so what you see is that tune choreographed falling
not just one that several times
you can feel the weight
I've its body as it hits the floor the
effort it take for him to start again
but you'll see if he keeps
getting ap and he keeps getting up
he keeps getting ap
and behind him you'll see other members from our team nearing his movements
just as you practice the minute ago but notice
that the army ring is not mimicry at his life
but rather an amplification at his journey chillin lead
them through his life the collective flock
become his supporters that when he reaches a difficult moment in his life
he has people for their to listen
emphasized and to connect with him
the fee eventually that he stands at and he goes on to map
out his dreams for the future not just who
where and how he is now but who he wants to become
and isn't this in some ways
what we all seek in life
to build that connection
with another human being know that they're gonna be there
support enough listening connecting with us
even through our wildest dreams now
for people with disabilities in vietnam this can be a particular challenge
because I've
the stigma associated with people with disabilities the lack of accessible
infrastructure in vietnam
as well as the physical distance between centers:
with people with disabilities live and the center of town so for this reason
we wanted to bring our performance for the center of town we be able to share
chilling story with a larger audience it turns out there was a few more obstacles
in the way
we didn't have the proper permitting to perform in public
but just as your overcoming that barrier and we're moving then used to perform at
the US consulate itself
a tropical monsoon flash flood-hit
and fed me and in heels
up to my ankles in water the wheel chairs behind me are beginning to think
and for the first time I feel a mobile
the rain just wouldn't stop
and neither would my team
and if the real performance able-bodied team members
weekend lifting our friends in wheelchairs onto their back
and onto the bus one by one they were determined
to cross the street now turned into a p
before a and in this moment
the difference between us did not feel so great and it was this connection
that then allowed us to connect with our audience and move them
as well so as we're leaving the senate the end of our trip temples me aside and
he says Cameron
which means thank you he says thank you because I have all the people who have
tried
to come and help he felt like we were the ones that really listened to him
let was this listening that allowed him to share his dreams with
dreams he said not even his family knew he had
dreams that he is taking the steps to go on to fill today
this is the most important thing you can take away from my time here
at because our share time together tune was able to take steps
on word from the trauma his past towards his dreams for the future
movement can mobilize after finding better solutions that we face
better solutions for problems that we face either in our personal lives
or as a global community I don't mean to suggest that everyone leaves here today
and start mapping out their lives in the streets that could lead to some
interesting interactions I am suggesting however
that shared movement and kinesthetic and the PR tools we can use
to better understand those in our communities we may have a hard time
understanding
added you to language barriers or differences in ability
the best part is that you already have the tools
it's not just the metaphor art and the answer is
pleasurably aesthetic things that reconcile rather it is the attention
that takes to less than to its human too our physical bodies
and the memory knowledge and potential that they carry within them
because the truth is we often don't feed
the reefer questions over actions but in the case for people affected by agent
orange
we witnessed the long-term effect have chemical warfare
every day
that perhaps here today
you our collective performance we can begin to create some common ground
resonating with one another finding a frequency that is
amplified by Arco present that hopefully
years from now will continue to ripple out and affects those around us
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