José Andrés is nominated for 2019 Nobel Peace Prize and other updates from TED

Below, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite news stories from the TED community.

Below, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite news stories from the TED community.

Congratulations to Nobel Peace Prize nominee José Andrés! For his work in food and hunger humanitarianism, acclaimed chef José Andrés has been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico, Andrés was compelled to help feed those impacted by the storm; he traveled to the island with a team of dedicated chefs and served meals to over 3 million people. This wasn’t Andrés’ first time (or last time) responding to disaster with empathy and aid — he leads World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides solutions to global health and food challenges, which Andres founded following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Though Nobel Peace Prize adjudications are famously secretive, U.S. Representative John Dulaney confirmed that he submitted Andrés’ nomination, according to the Washington Post. In February, Andres was also named the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year. (Watch Andres’ TED Talk.)

A new exposé on Shell and Eni’s shady oil deal in Nigeria. Global Witness, the international investigative NGO co-founded by 2014 TED Prize winner Charmian Gooch, has released a striking new report exposing new details of an agreement in 2011 between oil giants Shell and Eni. The report reveals that Shell and Eni’s deal with the Nigerian government included suspiciously generous terms for the oil companies at the expense of the country’s public. Experts commissioned by Global Witness estimate that nearly $6 billion in potential government revenue was lost — double Nigeria’s annual health and education budget. In Italy, the deal is also at the center of a landmark corruption trial; prosecutors allege that $525 million in bribes were paid out to Nigerian officials by Shell and Eni, including then-president Goodluck Jonathan. “The money Nigeria is set to lose could educate the next generation and pay for key infrastructure the country needs,” the report states. (Watch Gooch’s TED Talk.)

Meet 2018’s Berkeley-Rupp Prize winner. Architect and activist Deanna Van Buren has been awarded UC Berkeley’s biennial Architecture Prize & Professorship, which awards $100,000 to a design practitioner who has made “a significant contribution to advancing gender equity in architecture, and whose work emphasizes a commitment to sustainability and community.” Van Buren leads Oakland-based design and development firm Designing Justice + Designing Spaces and is widely known for her work developing restorative justice centers and advocating for marginalized communities, particularly those affected by mass incarceration. Congratulations! (Watch Van Buren’s TED Talk.)

Economic empowerment of rural women. In an interview with Roshni Nadar Malhotra for Vogue India, Chetna Gala Sinha shares her work process and details the urgency of economic empowerment of women. At this year’s World Economic Forum, which Sinha co-led alongside six other women, she launched the first Securities and Exchange Board of India-registered fund for women micro-entrepreneurs. “Policy makers have to make the change happen and it has to be a collaborative effort with the community … the corporate sector has to also bring the business in—big corporations need to go that extra mile and realise the social value of what they do,” she says. (Watch Sinha’s TED Talk.)

24 years later, Tony Hicks has been granted parole. At TEDWomen 2017, Ples Felix and Azim Khamisa shared their intertwined story of grief, forgiveness and grace: in 1995, Felix’s 14-year-old grandson Tony Hicks shot and killed Khamisa’s son Tariq as part of a gang initiation. Following his son’s death, Khamisa reached out and connected with Felix in hopes to heal from their shared trauma. Since then, they have traveled the country advocating for a safer world free of youth violence through the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TFK). 24 years after Hicks’ imprisonment, he has been granted parole and will likely be released from prison in early 2019. In a statement from TKF, Khamisa says: “We are thrilled. Tony has worked hard for this … Because he can tell his powerful story firsthand, he will save the lives of thousands of children.” (Watch Felix and Khamisa’s TED Talk.)