Today’s smile is certainly not one of humour, but I believe one of hope.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I sometimes include TEDTalks. For those who don’t know, TED is a not-for-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).

TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

The video below gives an intimate glimpse into the life of Mahmoud Aghiorly and his wife, and the story of their immigration to Australia—and the hope and redemption they’ve found there. Mahmoud is a TED Translator who originally hails from Aleppo, Syria.

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Note: While I am sure that readers of this blog share my concerns about non-professional translation and interpreting, I’m not sure that it is simple to criticize TED’s translation initiative. Any thoughts?