K-12 Education

Watch our Video Introduction to The Aspen Challenge

February 21, 2013  • Institute Contributor

Challenge LAEarlier this week, we introduced you to our newest project: The Aspen Challenge. Today, teams from 20 schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will be challenged to design solutions by inspirational speakers and entrepreneurs who are working everyday on today’s tough issues. We compiled the best videos from the Challenge’s speakers so you can be inspired by how these leaders are changing the world. We’ll share some of the students’ best ideas and tell you more about the Aspen Challenge in coming weeks.

John E. Deasy, LAUSD superintendent, discussed rethinking education philanthropy at the 2010 Ideas Festival.

Pierre Dulaine, Dancing Classrooms founder, recently presented on the power of dance to overcome national, political, and religious boundaries, and his work in the Middle East.

Ingrid Inema, a recent Stanford University graduate and a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi Genocide, spoke on the power of forgiveness at the 2008 Aspen Ideas Festival. Listen here.

Dean Kamen, DEKA Research & Development Corporation founder and president, offered a futuristic sneak peek about his work at the intersection of water, power, technology, and education.

Tiffany Shlain, Webby Awards founder, presented her documentary “Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death & Technology” at the 2011 Ideas Festival, and spoke here about the visible and invisible connections linking major issues of our time.

Anna Deavere Smith, actress, playwright, and Institute trustee, has spoken extensively about the role of the artist as a voice for social change. Watch her videos from around the Institute, and her conversations at the Ideas Festival.

Tom Sturges, an author and teacher with extensive background in the music industry, participated in the Hip Hop Intellectuals panel at the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival.

Join the conversation on Twitter with #AspenChallenge, follow the speakers on Twitter here, and like the Challenge on Facebook.