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TEDxVancouver - Romeo Dallaire - The Frontier of Social Revolution — Transcript

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0:00[Music]
0:12this is an interesting platform to work
0:14from it has certain very significant
0:18constraints to bring a bit of discipline
0:20to what we're going to say the first
0:22thing is I got to stay on this red rug
0:24here because I'm afraid that if I go off
0:26at the I might walk in the poopoo of
0:28some of these kind of the geese here the
0:32second the second thing is is that I'm a
0:34very visual person as soldiers are and
0:36I'm not going to be using PowerPoint so
0:39I won't bore you with that and the third
0:41one is I'm a general and I've only got
0:4318 minutes to speak so I'm going to do
0:45what my friends in the US Marine Corps
0:47taught me and I'm going to power talk my
0:49way through that and I thought it'd
0:51bring a bit of discipline by using my
0:53iPad and my notes in this
0:56there is a great American philosopher
0:59who played baseball which is an
1:00essential criteria in North America I
1:02think to have recognition and his name
1:05was Yogi Berra and he said the future
1:06ain't what it used to be he said that
1:08over 50 years ago and I would contend
1:11that although that was a concern he had
1:13at the time as things were changing fast
1:16that is far more significant today
1:18because we are actually in a
1:20revolutionary time and
1:22those who still work under the premise
1:25that if an ain't broke don't fix it or
1:28sort of a status quo concept are
1:31essentially people are going to be left
1:32behind there is no way you can sustain
1:35status quo it's simply not sustainable
1:37you're going to regress and so if things
1:39are moving exponentially are we in fact
1:43maximizing that in order to shape the
1:46future for Humanity versus trying to
1:48survive it and my aim is to give you a
1:51feel for some particularly the under 25
1:55crowd who are going to be leading I
1:57think that charge in maximizing the
2:00technologies that are out there in order
2:02to ensure that the humanity will thrive
2:05and in so doing
2:07achieve what every individual is hoping
2:10to achieve is their maximum potential so
2:13what of this revolutionary time and
2:16about its timing well when we graduated
2:20that my age from college we had an
2:22apprenticeship phase of about 20 years
2:24of things evolving well today because of
2:28the rhythm of Technology there is no
2:30more apprenticeship phase you graduate
2:32from college you've got three four or
2:34five years in order to ensure you're
2:37with the program or you're maximizing it
2:40and not being left behind and some of
2:43the references of our time are
2:44significant because we're just starting
2:46some of these revolutions the first one
2:49I want to talk about is the
2:51environmental revolution we've actually
2:52finally realized that there better be a
2:55communion between humanity in the planet
2:57because humanity will not thrive it'll
3:00barely survive the future and so how do
3:02we establish that and how are we giving
3:04the emphasis where we should in ensuring
3:07that and it took a great 11 student to
3:09make me aware and recognize that we are
3:12investing massive amounts of money in
3:14fact nearly a trillion since the end of
3:16the Cold War in nuclear weapons to
3:18modernize them which is a guarantee that
3:21humanity is going to self-destruct it is
3:23by its sheer nature a weapon system that
3:27is an affront to our human right to
3:28security why do we need those absolutely
3:32useless weapons why are we investing in
3:34them and at the same time with those
3:37things there that can actually wipe out
3:39the whole of humanity we're worried
3:41about oil spills and a bit of plastic
3:44blaggs and dirty water there's no logic
3:47to that there's a be say file scenario
3:49being played out and in fact we are not
3:52putting a trillion in environmental
3:54protection or leaving us into the future
3:57to ensure that that communion is
3:59actually going to happen and that there
4:01won't be a disconnect between humanity
4:03and in fact its ability to thrive into
4:06the future another area is the use of
4:10technologies and particularly the
4:12revolution in technologies and
4:14communications the fact that we will
4:16soon be able to Skype anybody in the
4:17world the fact that we can move and call
4:22as people so rapidly
4:24through the social communications
4:25instruments and the ability to render it
4:28in the hands of everyone or nearly and
4:30that revolution is yet to be fully
4:34maximized and we're just starting to see
4:36some of those elements appearing in the
4:39world and we've seen some revolutions
4:41that have happened where the youth have
4:43been shown a lot of difference by the
4:45elders in some of these North African
4:47revolutions by them being able to
4:50maneuver a lot of people into a focus
4:52into an orientation to achieve an aim
4:56creating an atmosphere of security
4:58within own countries advancing the
5:00concept of democracy and so on and so in
5:03this era of revolution how have we been
5:06doing how we've been looking at this
5:08well one of the things of this era
5:09that's also been nearly revolutionary
5:13but certainly one that is caught us by
5:15surprise and within we're still
5:17stumbling is the fact that we have seen
5:20massive abuses of human rights in
5:22imploding nation and failing states
5:25around the world at a time when after
5:27the end of the Cold War we were calling
5:29for a new world order where we were
5:32going in for the peace dividend and on
5:35the contrary we have seen millions upon
5:37millions slaughtered mutilated displaced
5:40refugees and raped and we see it because
5:44that revolution Communications has
5:45permitted us to see what's going on
5:47around the world nearly in real time so
5:51if that's going on and if we've got
5:54tools that are out there that maybe we
5:57could it be of an influence are we
6:00committing to it are we actually engaged
6:03and we've seen over the last 20 odd
6:06years that that engagement has been sort
6:09of up and down we have sort of entered
6:11an era of elective Wars of picking and
6:15choosing we've actually established a
6:17pecking order in humanity by our
6:19inaction
6:21realizing that it in action is an action
6:25not wanting to do something is a
6:27decision that's a deliberate decision
6:29not wanting to be engaged not wanting to
6:31intervene not wanting to prevent
6:34because it's not in our self-interest
6:37not in our sort of local meteor why
6:39would we want to do it why would we want
6:41to take the risks yet the question is
6:45again be safe al because as we argue
6:48that side and we're seeing these massive
6:50abuses going on
6:52are we actually responding to the logic
6:57the ethical logic of some of the
7:00fundamental laws or charters of our own
7:02country as an example the charter of
7:05human rights charter of human rights
7:08says all humans are human not only those
7:10who can afford lawyers and so if all
7:12humans are human are humans and other
7:15continents on other foreign lands who
7:17are living in inhuman conditions which
7:19reflects 80% of humanity due primarily
7:22to poverty and power sharing is it
7:26correct to simply say that we apart our
7:2920% is advancing and we're advancing
7:32humanity when we know 80% is being
7:35massively abused and in fact that abuse
7:38is turning into rage and that rage is
7:41expressing itself through another
7:44dimension that has appeared in this last
7:4620 years particularly and that is
7:48extremism extremism that's turned into
7:51in certain areas
7:53terrorism that has essentially as a
7:56premise in those extreme scenarios of
7:58not playing by any of the rules that
8:01have been established over centuries
8:03humanitarian law law of armed conflict
8:05belief in human rights belief in
8:08democracy rule of law good governance
8:11gender equality education for all and so
8:15in this timeframe of seeing these
8:18massive catastrophic failures going on
8:20have we responded to that we're the 20%
8:23have we in fact not only tried to go in
8:27there and participate in the resolution
8:29of some of these conflicts but are we
8:31actually thinking of preventing them are
8:33we actually trying to shape that future
8:35for Humanity or are we sort of living
8:40with the concept of trying to survive it
8:42of trying to handle the status quo of
8:46trying in fact to respond to crisis
8:49instead of
8:51really wanting to advance humanity well
8:53the positive of this time frame is the
8:57youth the youth because they are by far
9:02maximizing these new technologies that
9:04are out there that will permit them to
9:06call s to exchange to in fact move into
9:12an activism rule and that's what we're
9:14looking for we're looking for them to
9:17become activists we're looking for them
9:20to bring to our attention what is
9:23happening out there outside in the world
9:25and in fact influencing us back home
9:29two ways first
9:33they represent those between 18 and 25
9:362.9 million votes in this country they
9:40barely vote 15 to 20 percent of them so
9:43those votes had never been tabulated
9:45which means they've not been
9:46participating in democracy they've not
9:49been participating in choosing those who
9:51are going to influence their future
9:52which is in their face maybe five years
9:55down the road and then not participating
9:58it's a bit of an abdication but it's
10:00also an indication that we may have not
10:02given them a focus maybe not giving them
10:04a sense of vision of wanting to shape
10:07that future to anticipate that future if
10:10they realize that through these Social
10:14Communications or so on that they can
10:16call s and they decided to vote they mid
10:20fact could change the face of politics
10:22in this country and in many of the
10:24democracies in the world as we've seen
10:26in some of the revolutions in one
10:28election
10:29they in fact hold the balance of power
10:33so don't tell me you can influence the
10:36future get engaged get engage here
10:39become an activist here we've seen it we
10:42see embryos of it we've seen sort of the
10:44tip of the iceberg of this new era we've
10:47seen the Occupy gang and I met them in
10:49Montreal in other places I got a lot of
10:51time for them not too sure exactly where
10:54they're going with all this but they're
10:55out there
10:56and they're freezing and
10:59they're willing to stay out there that's
11:02the aim they're actually engaged they're
11:05becoming activists they want to get
11:08attention to some grave concerns of
11:10their future that's one extraordinary
11:13sight you may be it maybe not have been
11:16prime time but in June you saw the
11:18speech from the throne and in the speech
11:21of the throne with all the senators and
11:22all the MPs and just as a Supreme Court
11:25in a prime minister and the Governor
11:26General and all the media and all this
11:29sort of very decorum scenario this young
11:32page 21 year old girl student of
11:34university Ottawa went out in the middle
11:37of all is sort of very very
11:38sophisticated and highfalutin scenario
11:41and took out a small sign and
11:43articulated on that small sign a concern
11:46it's not the message as much as the fact
11:49that she did it and
11:51historically turned around and shoulder
11:53sign to the rest of the gallery and then
11:55sergeant of mines came and took her away
11:57and she walked away very dignified way
12:00now that is significant whether you like
12:04that or not whether you're at ease with
12:06people fiddling with our sort of our
12:08sort of references of our social
12:10structures in our governance that's
12:12another question but the fact is she had
12:15a statement the courage and did it and
12:18maximize national TV
12:22maximize national communications
12:25extraordinary that's local so what about
12:30overseas what about beyond our borders
12:32well one of the great dimensions of the
12:36youth is is that they don't see the
12:37world as a huge huge planet they see the
12:42world as in fact that very small bluish
12:44ball that the astronauts brought back
12:46from us as a vision of the earth and
12:48they don't see borders why should they
12:51see borders when they're playing on
12:53video games whether somebody in Moscow
12:55neon and real throw them the next door
12:57there are no borders and so in this era
13:02where they see a world that is small and
13:05no borders
13:06obviously they can respond to they can
13:10comprehend humanity because they can see
13:13it they can even Skype it they can
13:16comprehend the environment as a global
13:19thing they can also comprehend the abuse
13:22of human beings because they can also
13:25see that and they can get their
13:28going to Africa is not that very far
13:31it's just a sophisticated bus ride to
13:33'verily and so if you have that as a
13:36premise can you engage can you get over
13:39there well we're starting to see more
13:42and more youth
13:44crossing the ocean not to go to Paris
13:47and London which are there and will
13:48always be there and built on the backs
13:50of a lot of people but they're going to
13:52Bujumbura and they're going to Kinshasa
13:53and they're going to Accra and they're
13:56going into South America and you're
13:58going to see to hear to taste to touch
14:02what is happening to 80% of humanity and
14:05they're bringing that back and more and
14:07more they will bring that back to
14:09influence our policies influence public
14:12opinion and ultimately influence how we
14:16see our role as a leading metal power in
14:18the world Vann Singh into the future
14:20their future
14:22their future that they are playing out
14:25in a time of revolutions so it's not a
14:28downer to be in a revolutionary time on
14:31the contrary it's a time of great
14:33opportunity
14:34for those who are willing to take the
14:37risk those who are really willing to
14:39maximize what's available to them and
14:41that's what I'm seeing more and more and
14:44maybe we can even see being introduced
14:47as a sort of a rite of passage in this
14:51great nation and in the democracies of
14:53the world a rite of passage that
14:56underneath the high school grad or the
14:58technical college grad or the undergrad
15:01that we see a pair of dirty boots soil
15:05on the earth of the developing country
15:07where that 80% of humanity is living in
15:10inhuman conditions and that influencing
15:14them for the rest of the life as
15:17they move up very rapidly into
15:20significantly engagement activism in
15:23influencing that future their future and
15:27ultimately our future the other
15:29extraordinary tool that's now available
15:32to them more and more is the NGO
15:34community the non-government
15:36organisation they're there in the
15:38thousands there may be a few on the
15:40fringes that we have concerns about but
15:42essentially they're all based on human
15:43rights and are covering every aspect of
15:45humanity I had some guys walk into my
15:49office when I was working for a minister
15:50of international development they had
15:52three big red noses on I thought it was
15:54silly invading my office
15:56and I said who are you clowns
15:59they said that's right we're clowns
16:01we're clowns Without Borders I said what
16:04do you guys do
16:05they were young three young French gangs
16:07from Montreal and they said what we do
16:09is we go into these countries where
16:12there are huge refugee camps and huge
16:15internally displaced camps because of
16:17famine because of conflict and so on and
16:20they go in those camps and he teach
16:22children games they teach children how
16:25to laugh they teach children how to
16:27survive these horrible scenarios ladies
16:29and gentlemen the future of humanity the
16:32eyes and ears of humanity is not in the
16:34nation-states it's going to be in the
16:36NGO community the local one the national
16:39one the international ones and you can
16:41all join them and the youth they're
16:43going to join them and if they don't
16:44like what's out there they'll create
16:46their own it's easy and they'll take off
16:50with that and that is the instrument of
16:53the future linking that extraordinary
16:55technology to call s
16:58join in the NGO community and even
17:01creating it and living with an
17:03atmosphere in which you are not sitting
17:05there status quo and waiting for things
17:07to happen but you're actually going to
17:09shape that future and you're going to
17:11become an activist and you're going to
17:12use those tools and by the by you are
17:15even going to vote and so ladies and
17:16gentlemen there must be enormous
17:19optimism for us the older generations
17:22and encouragement for the younger ones
17:24to push that boundary to may be shape
17:27that future and the focus it
17:30and remember 2017 is 150th anniversary
17:33of this great democracy and 100th
17:35anniversary of the youth of this nation
17:37cross that pond fought bled and died and
17:40won Vimy Ridge so in 2017 what's the
17:44plan what are we going to culminate are
17:48we going to build just a whole bunch of
17:49Centennial rings or what will be this
17:53country into beyond 2017 what will be
17:57our future what will be the grand design
18:00of this extraordinary country that has
18:03never reached yet its full potential
18:05thank you very much
18:18you

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