The Bellagio Center/

TED Salon: Big Bets

Meet the Speakers

The world needs novel solutions and partnerships to address our most staggering challenges and transform food, health care, energy, and financial services systems, all essential to making opportunity universal and sustainable. In that spirit, The Rockefeller Foundation and TED joined forces in March 2024 for a special event featuring the big bets of Bellagio Center alums. Big bets are new ideas and innovations, often from unlikely partnerships, that show the grit needed to learn and persist — and invite us to reimagine what’s possible.

Featured Talk

Why AI needs a "nutrition label"

What do sandwiches have to do with AI? Data reformist Kasia Chmielinski helps us think about regulating artificial intelligence with a useful food metaphor — and breaks down why AI systems should have “nutrition labels” to ensure the development of fairer, more transparent algorithms.

The intersection of war and climate change

Conflict is the biggest barrier to tackling climate change, says youth advocate Victor Ochen. Having seen firsthand how war undermined Uganda’s economic and environmental potential, he explains the need to address the shared root causes of conflict and climate issues — starting by empowering African youth.

speaker profile
A new museum to spotlight omitted history

“Leaving out information can be just as detrimental as a lie,” says multidisciplinary artist Paul Rucker. In a talk bookended by two cello performances, he shares photographs of the history we often omit — and introduces Cary Forward, his new museum aimed at spotlighting histories of exclusion and perseverance.

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Can math help repair democracy?

Could math help make American democracy more responsive to the people? From detecting gerrymandered districts to predicting the impact of alternative election methods like ranked-choice voting, neuroscientist Sam Wang outlines how computer simulations can help fix the bugs in US democracy — and put it on the path to repair.

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A celebration of West African cuisine

Growing up in war-torn, food-scarce Sierra Leone, Fatmata Binta developed a lifelong passion for uniting people through food. An advocate for Indigenous food systems, she celebrates rural African women’s culinary wisdom through her nomadic restaurant, Dine On A Mat, which invites people to experience and preserve West African food cultures.

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The fight over minerals for green energy — and a better way forward

To transition to clean energy and green technology like electric cars, the world needs extraordinary amounts of essential minerals. Environmental peacemaker Saleem Ali explains the conflicts already arising between countries rushing to mine and extract these minerals — and outlines a pathway towards global cooperation over resource wars.

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How buildings can improve life — inside and out

Showcasing innovative technologies — like buildings that filter particulates out of the air and facades that react to heat — Doris Sung demonstrates how modern architecture can evolve beyond aesthetics to address critical issues like pollution, energy efficiency and urban heat islands, using building facades to improve life for inhabitants and pedestrians alike.

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A new vision for ending homelessness in the U.S.

“We’ve been flying blind when it comes to housing and homelessness,” says anti-homelessness champion Rosanne Haggerty. Pointing to success stories from across the U.S., she shows how we can end homelessness by reinvesting in collaboration, community and a data-driven approach — because safe housing is a fundamental human right.

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The hidden danger of lead in soil

There’s an invisible health threat right under our feet, says investigative journalist Yvette Cabrera. She digs into the pervasive problem of lead contamination in soil — a particular risk for children in cities — and shares her action plan to map urban soils and help create healthier communities.

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“Reflections”

Cellist Stephanie Winters performs a moving, mind-wandering suite titled “Reflections,” which excerpts the Sarabande dance movement from J.S. Bach’s cello suites.

speaker profile