Rarely a wish has been expressed more unequivocally: Help me make sure that within our lifetimes we will celebrate an African Einstein, by “unlocking and nurturing scientific talent” across the continent. When TED Prize winner Neil Turok voiced it minutes ago in front of the TED2008 audience, the audience responded with a standing ovation.

Turok’s is a crisp, yet very ambitious vision: building centers of excellence across Africa, recruiting outstanding students and teachers, developing fellowship and entrepreneurship programs, attracting both private and public support, etc. At this point, everything is needed, from building a website for what Turok named the “Next Einstein from Africa” program to teaching equipment. Interested in giving a hand? Check out the description of the wish and the list of needs, and participate in the discussion. (TED.com members will have to register anew to participate in the TED Prize discussion boards.)

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 1:45 am and is filed under Neil Turok's Wish Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.