One year ago,
nearly to the day,
I crossed the border from Iran into Turkey,
just north of Syria.
On my right,
Mount Ararat's immense silhouette rose up.
The legend says that Noah's ark ran aground there.
5,167 meters
Such a cone,
for a paraglider like me,
was like ...
a vanilla ice cream cone
on a summer afternoon.
I had three days.
I had very little time on the internet, but I managed to learn two things.
First, conditions were perfect for flying.
However, guides were to be avoided at all costs
as they might ask for my access permit,
impossible to get on such short notice.
I didn't have it.
On the second day of our climb,
halfway up the slope, I was sleeping,
rolled up in my paragliding wing.
It was just before dawn.
When suddenly ...
(Plane noise) (Explosion)
Fuck! It's war!
It was just over there.
I will freely admit
that I quickly ducked behind some rocks.
Seven years earlier,
on July 11, 2008 at 9:30 in the morning,
I began a round-the-world trip by bicycle,
an old childhood dream.
Anyone here who thinks the world is small,
believe me: you're wrong.
It's enormous!
I had planned to take four years.
I knew
there would be major repercussions for my life.
I had a good job; an aeronautical engineer under permanent contract.
In a way, I killed my career.
I had a partner that I loved ...
my family, friends.
I gave it all up.
It may seem another irresponsible, stupid decision,
like the one I just described on Mount Ararat.
But in fact, it was undoubtedly, and I still think so today,
the most responsible decision of my life.
Basically, what I was looking for,
besides seeing the world,
was to regain control of my life.
I'd lost track of myself a bit.
I'd been on the traditional route, ruled less by personal choices,
than by choices imposed on me by society:
education, career, family, material comfort.
I never felt as though these choices had been mine.
So, for once,
I dared make a decision that would have an enormous effect on my life.
But, then, it became imperative
that this decision be a very responsible one,
that I seriously weigh the consequences
for my life.
But, from such thoughts came others,
about the environmental impact.
So much so that I decided
that my world tour would be essentially non-motorized.
Zero-carbon travel.
I would cross the continents on a bicycle,
the oceans in a sail boat.
And, for a bit of added fun,
I would take along my paraglider to view the world from above.
I called this venture,
"On the road with a wing."
I had not chosen the easiest route.
To increase my chances for success, I had to be well organized.
Yep, I was still an engineer despite wanting to leave it all behind.
My approach was to make a real business plan.
For six months, I contacted the media, sponsors.
I worked on a budget, the equipment I would need.
In short, a real business plan.
I love Excel.
I had a lot of fun, believe me!
(Laughter)
Then, I looked into visas,
winter in the Andes, in the Himalayas,
war zones, to create the perfect itinerary.
I knew that if I made a mistake, I would suffer the consequences.
As an example of my stupidity,
one day,
I was crossing the Pamirs in Central Asia,
and I met a cyclist just as shaggy and unkempt as me.
At the time, this was really something special!
So, we chatted a bit, and then he told me
that he also wanted to use a sail boat to cross the ocean
from Asia to America ...
Whoa!
My stomach was in knots!
I had to tell him that that wasn't really possible.
Sail boats follow the trade winds,
flowing around the world toward the west.
The reverse is very rare.
So, he was going to find himself at the ocean
forced to take a plane
after he had worked like crazy to plan a non-motorized voyage!
I, too, nearly went east.
But, fortunately,
a friend came to see me, shortly before I left,
and gave me this crucial information,
and I was able to turn around.
The cyclist had made the exact same mistake.
When I was behind the rock on Mount Ararat,
being shot at by F-16s,
after the explosions ended,
I thought it had been a military exercise,
I continued toward the summit,
where I launched the next day to fly clear
of the prior day's gunfire zone.
I landed safe and sound and retrieved my bicycle
and made it to the first town where I finally found someone
who spoke English.
He explained to me
that the mountain closed three months ago,
that it was full of PKK rebels,
and that the army was shooting on sight anything that moved.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
I had put my life in serious danger
because of ignorance.
If I had only been a bit more informed,
I would never have made such irresponsible choices.
Because, yes,
a lack of information leads to irresponsible choices
and, sometimes, even disasters.
However,
having made, for the most part, choices that were informed
and responsible,
conscious of the consequences,
I was able to make my dream a reality and go even further.
Four months later, on December 29, 2015,
I crossed the finish line after 2,723 days,
Seven and a half years on the road, rather than the anticipated four.
I'd travelled 105,000 km through some incredible places.
I'd met all kinds of people.
I'd been able to see marvellous things.
I was happy, and I'd achieved my goal.
That's how it went for me.
But, what would happen
if it was like that for each and everyone of us?
And what would happen
if it was like that
for everyone in our country or on the planet?
Can we not imagine a society that was more conscious,
and, therefore, more responsible,
and more liberated?
Because a world tour, a lifetime project, or a social plan
is like paragliding.
They're all full of limitations and risks that we've chosen ourselves.
We do everything we can to control the consequences.
An inaccurate reading of the wind could mean death or paralysis.
But, the take-off
is the ultimate instant,
the moment of truth,
when your choices become truly accountable,
and hugely freeing.
So ...
ready to fly?
Thank you.
(Applause)