Practice English Speaking&Listening with: TEDxAmsterdamWomen 2011 - Machteld Maris

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Sofia Zaleeva

Question:

The longest reigning monarch in Great Britain,

the inventor of the frozen pizza,

the one person who was honored with the Nobel Prize...

twice,

the most followed person on Twitter.

What is it they have in common?

They're all women.

Amazing women, if you ask me.

Due to my unlimited curiosity for these kinds of stories

and my love of arts and culture,

I decided to write Het Grote Geweldige Vrouwen Boek.

It's a book about amazing women in film, music, religion, arts and more.

It's a book about talented women,

surprising women,

inspiring women.

successful women.

Women who dared to stand up.

Women who all made a difference.

I guess we could call them heroes.

Let me show you a couple of my heroes:

Lee Miller. Not only a gorgeous model for Vogue,

but also a talented war photographer.

Her pictures of the devastating effects of World War II went all over the world.

Bertha von Suttner, a famous pacifist from Austria

who convinced her personal friend, Alfred Nobel,

to establish the Nobel Peace Prize.

And she was the first woman, in 1905, to be honored with this prize.

Our Eva Maria Westbroek, the famous opera singer.

I admire her not only for her golden voice,

but also her hard work to get where she is now.

And last, but not least: Mary Anderson,

the lady who invented the windshield wipers.

She did.

She did.

Just to name a few.

Writing this book was the most inspiring, enriching project to date.

But it could have been twice as big.

I would love to write another one.

And the list with amazing women is by far not complete.

This is just the beginning,

I think everyone has their own list of amazing women.

Not only the famous women, but also

the mothers, the sisters, the daughters, the neighbors, the teachers.

We must be aware of their ideas, their deeds that changed our world.

I'm very curious about the amazing women you came across.

Who inspired you? Who educated you? Who made you laugh?

Who made you the person you are today?

I want to show the world how amazing women are,

not by occupying the streets or sleeping in tents

in front of the Beurs van Berlage.

No. I will tell their stories again and again,

and I will share your amazing women on my Facebook page,

Geweldige Vrouwen.

I hope you will all join me. Because, let's face it,

without amazing women, we wouldn't be here today.

Thank you. (Applause)