If you had to explain to a newborn what it means to be a human being living on Earth in the 21st century, what would you say?

Visual artist OLIVER JEFFERS put his answer in a letter to his son, sharing pearls of wisdom on existence, and the diversity of life. In this poetic talk, Oliver offers observations of the “beautiful, fragile drama of human civilization” paired with his original illustrations and animations.

The talk was originally planned to be given live onstage at TED, but global circumstances required a rapid rethink. Undaunted, and working remotely in conjunction with both Oliver and NORTH HARBOUR PRODUCTIONS, Studio AKA director KRISTIAN ANDREWS helped make the talk happen.

TED2020: The Prequel 

The talk also touches on the themes which led Oliver to write ‘HERE WE ARE: Notes For Living On Planet Earth’ – which we have adapted into a beautiful film of the same name. Find out more HERE.