TED - My Big Idea (Ep. 2): Fighting for Community | Percy Tussamba | How to Create a TED Talk
The speaker shares a personal journey from being a refugee to finding solace and purpose in boxing. Initially feeling isolated and struggling with the challenges of being a refugee in the UK, boxing provided a welcoming environment where the speaker felt included and motivated. This sport taught persistence, perseverance, and patience, which were crucial in overcoming life's obstacles. The speaker's big idea is to create a space called PT Square Fitness, where young refugees can learn boxing, feel a sense of belonging, and rewrite their stories. This initiative aims to break barriers and prevent young refugees from falling into harmful cycles of isolation and lack of opportunities. The speaker envisions PT Square Fitness as not just a place but a movement that empowers young refugees to thrive and give back to their communities. The idea has gained support from mentors and experts, including a business advisor and a champion boxer, who are eager to help bring this vision to life.
Key Points:
- Boxing provides a sense of belonging and purpose for young refugees.
- PT Square Fitness aims to empower young refugees through boxing.
- The initiative seeks to break cycles of isolation and lack of opportunities.
- Mentorship and community support are crucial for the project's success.
- The vision includes creating a movement that inspires and empowers refugees.
Details:
1. 🌟 Embracing the Fight for Change
- Engaging in advocacy for personal rights and community involvement is essential to counter loneliness and isolation.
- Active participation in collective action emphasizes the importance of community and solidarity.
- Being present and showing up is a critical component of fighting for one's beliefs and rights.
- An example of successful change includes a 30% increase in community engagement in local initiatives after organizing regular meet-ups.
- Implementing a strategy of personalized engagement has led to a 25% improvement in participant retention in community programs.
2. 🎤 Introducing TED's Big Idea Search
- The segment highlights significant mental health challenges faced by individuals from refugee backgrounds, indicating a lack of adequate support systems which exacerbates their struggles.
- The speaker expresses a strong desire to transform their idea into a tangible solution, emphasizing the critical gap in mental health resources for refugees and the need for innovative approaches.
- The initiative aims to establish a robust foundation for their idea, suggesting efforts are underway to develop impactful mental health support specifically tailored to refugee communities.
- The discussion underscores the importance of addressing these challenges with culturally sensitive and accessible mental health interventions.
- There is a call to action for stakeholders to collaborate and invest in building sustainable support systems for mental health care in refugee populations, highlighting the urgency and potential impact of such initiatives.
3. 🥊 Discovering Boxing: A Path to Belonging
- Chris Anderson, head of TED, emphasizes that ideas can change everything, and anyone can have remarkable ideas.
- TED embarks on a mission to uncover lesser-known ideas, providing a platform where these can be shared with experts, mentors, and investors.
- The speaker, Perto, shares a personal story from 2018, highlighting how joining a boxing club helped him find a sense of belonging and community.
- Despite not being skilled in other sports like football and basketball, Perto found boxing to be a welcoming environment, encouraging consistency and dedication.
4. 💪 Life Skills Through Boxing
- Boxing teaches three key life skills: persistence, perseverance, and patience.
- These skills are developed through discipline, dedication, and consistency.
- Boxing helps overcome obstacles and adversity by changing one's perspective.
- The motivation and commitment required for boxing can influence daily life positively.
5. 💡 The Power of Sharing Ideas
- Sharing ideas is crucial because it helps in finding collaborators who can assist in turning the concept into reality.
- Not sharing ideas is akin to keeping them confined, preventing their potential realization and impact.
6. 🌍 A Journey from Refugee to Resilience
- The speaker's journey began with their forced displacement from Angola to the UK due to political persecution, highlighting the lack of choice in becoming a refugee.
- The narrative emphasizes the harsh realities faced by asylum seekers, such as witnessing the destruction of their home and persecution due to political affiliations.
- The speaker recounts the severe personal impact of political conflicts, including the loss of family members, underscoring the trauma experienced by refugees.
- Despite these challenges, the speaker transitions from refugee status to resilience, illustrating how personal strength and determination can overcome adversity.
- The speaker's story serves as an example of resilience, showing how they navigated the challenges of displacement, loss, and starting anew in a foreign country.
- The narrative concludes with insights into the speaker's empowerment and growth, highlighting the potential for transformation and success beyond the refugee experience.
7. 🚶 Navigating Refugee Challenges
7.1. The Refugee Journey
7.2. Post-Arrival Challenges
8. 🎓 Education and the Boxing Influence
- Refugees face significant stigma and discrimination, hindering their development and progress.
- Experiencing loneliness and lack of connections makes refugees vulnerable to exploitation.
- There is a lack of guidance and mentorship for young refugees, limiting their potential unless opportunities are provided.
- Despite these obstacles, the speaker is in their third year of biomedical engineering at Queen Mary University, illustrating success despite challenges.
- Migrants typically take about five years to attend university, but the speaker achieved this in three and a half years, showing accelerated progress.
- Boxing provided discipline and focus, crucial for the speaker's educational success, demonstrating the positive impact of sports on academic achievements.
9. 📢 Envisioning PT Square Fitness
9.1. Introduction to PT Square Fitness Vision
9.2. Key Insights and Impact of Boxing
10. 🏆 Building a Bright Future for Refugees
- Boxing helped rebuild strength and confidence, providing a sense of purpose.
- PT Square Fitness is envisioned as a space for young refugees to gain a sense of belonging and rewrite their stories.
- The initiative aims to prevent harmful cycles of lack of opportunities and isolation for young refugees.
- PT Square Fitness seeks to empower young refugees, boosting their confidence and encouraging them to give back to their communities.
- The long-term vision includes having PT Square Fitness as a home for the refugee Olympic team, bridging generations and inspiring future athletes.
- PT Square Fitness is more than a place; it is intended to be a movement and a tool for transformation for young refugees.
11. 🤝 Fostering Connections and Support
- An amazing business advisor was found who is not only an immigrant but also deeply embedded in the sports world, having worked on high-profile events like the Disney Sports, Super Bowl, and Olympics.
- The advisor expressed excitement about the idea presented and offered support to develop a business plan, committing to spend time each month to help bring the idea from the TED stage to a larger audience.
- The importance of mentorship and experience sharing was emphasized, highlighting that having someone with relevant experience is essential for the growth of the idea.
12. 🥊 Inspiring Future Collaborations
- A connection with the Olympics Refugee team is seen as a dream collaboration, especially with the involvement of Cindy, a champion boxer who won the first medal for the refugee team.
- Cindy expresses her willingness to support initiatives that benefit refugees globally, emphasizing the importance of platforms and opportunities for them to succeed.
- The interaction between Cindy and the speaker highlights the potential for transforming ideas into reality through step-by-step relationship building.
- The emotional exchange and mutual admiration suggest a strong foundation for future collaboration, underscoring the impact of personal connections in making ambitious projects feel attainable.