TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading".
TED was founded in 1984
[1] as a one-off event and the conference was held annually from 1990 in
Monterey, California.
[4] TED's early emphasis was largely technology and design, consistent with a
Silicon Valley center of gravity. The events are now held in
Long Beach and
Palm Springs in the U.S. and in Europe and Asia, offering live streaming of the talks. They address an increasingly wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include
Bill Clinton,
Jane Goodall,
Malcolm Gladwell,
Al Gore,
Gordon Brown,
Richard Dawkins,
Bill Gates, educator
Salman Khan,
Google founders
Larry Page and
Sergey Brin, and many
Nobel Prize winners.
[5] TED's current curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher
Chris Anderson.
From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prizes were awarded annually to help its winners realize a chosen wish to change the world. From 2010, in a changed selection process, a single winner is chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts in achieving the winner's wish. Each winner unveils their wish at the main annual conference.
Since June 2006,
[1] the talks have been offered for free viewing online, under a Creative Commons license, through
TED.com. As of November 2011, over 1,050 talks are available free online.
[6] By January 2009 they had been viewed 50 million times. In June 2011, the viewing figure stood at more than 500 million,
[7] reflecting a still growing global audience.
[8]
TED's mission statement begins:
We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. [9]
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www.ted.com