TED Partners with the United Nations for TEDPrize@UN

NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- November 2010 marks the one-year anniversary of the Charter for Compassion, and for the first time ever, the UN will be co-hosting a unique TED Prize session themed around compassion in action.

The celebratory TED event will be moderated by TED curator Chris Anderson. Featured speakers will include TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Chautauqua Institute's Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, American Public Radio's Krista Tippet and Google's resident "Jolly Good Fellow" Chade-Meng Tan. Rainn Wilson will narrate the Charter for Compassion's year recap video, and UN Goodwill Ambassador Salman Ahmad will perform his new Peter Gabriel collaboration, "Open Your Eyes." TEDPrize@UN will spark stimulating conversations about compassion's role within religion, society, politics and commerce.

"TEDPrize@UN is a celebration of all the Charter has accomplished, as well as a challenge for people to take it one step further in their lives," said Chris Anderson, curator of TED and the moderator for TEDPrize@UN. "TED celebrates 'Ideas worth spreading,' and you can argue that compassion is the best idea humankind has ever had."

"Sadly, we hear little about compassion these days, but it's hard to think of a time when the compassionate voice of religion and morality has been so sorely needed," said Karen Armstrong, who was awarded the TED Prize in 2008. "If we want to preserve our humanity, we must make the compassionate voice of religion and morality a vibrant and dynamic force in our polarized world."

Launching at the TEDPrize@UN event, a new online call to action will be offered through the Charter's web site.

In 2008, Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize granting her "one wish to change the world." Her wish: to create the Charter for Compassion. Throughout the next year, Karen collaborated with religious leaders around the world to create the Charter for Compassion—a document encouraging people of any faith, ethnicity or political stripe to weave compassion into their everyday lives. With recent support from the Fetzer Institute, the Charter for Compassion team will now support specific initiatives around youth, religious and interfaith life, and compassionate cities.

WHERE: United Nations Building

LIVESTREAM: http://charterforcompassion.org/charterevent/

WHEN: November 18, 2010 | 11am-1pm EST

WHO: Hosted by the Charter for Compassion and TED

MEDIA: Media in the New York area are invited to attend the event. Media attendees will be given an early copy of Karen Armstrong's new book and be able to attend the luncheon following the talks. Please contact [email protected] to RSVP for the event. Seating is extremely limited, so your prompt response is appreciated.

KAREN ARMSTRONG MEDIA AVAILABILITY: November 17, 2010 | 1-5pm GMT. Media interested in media interviews before TEDPrize@UN please contact [email protected].

ABOUT THE TED PRIZE

The first TED Prize was awarded in 2005, born out of the TED Conference and a vision by the world's leading entrepreneurs, innovators and creators to change the world one Wish at a time. The reward: $100,000, the TED Community's array of talent and expertise, and the leadership of a TED Prize team led by Amy Novogratz. What began as an experiment to leverage the resources of the TED Community has evolved into a true movement for global change. From Bono's the ONE Campaign ('05 recipient) to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution ('10 recipient) to 2011's winner, the street artist JR, the TED Prize is helping to combat poverty, protect our oceans, take on religious intolerance, improve global health, tackle child obesity, advance education, and inspire art around the world. For more information on the TED Prize, visit www.tedprize.org.

ABOUT THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

In 2008 Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize of $100,000 to achieve "one wish to change the world." Her desire was to impact the violence attributed to religion around the world and to remind people of the recurring theme at the heart of most major religions—the Golden Rule. Launched in November 2009 at www.charterforcompassion.org, the Charter for Compassion transcends religious, ideological and national difference. Supported by leading thinkers from many traditions, the Charter has inspired community-based acts of compassion all over the world. With recent support from the Fetzer Institute, the Charter for Compassion team will support specific initiatives around youth, religious and interfaith life, and compassionate cities.

ABOUT TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California; TEDGlobal is held each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where three exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; the TED Fellows program, supporting up-and-coming worldchangers; and TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world. Follow TED on Twitter, twitter.com/tedtalks, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/TED.

TED2011, "The Rediscovery of Wonder," will be held Feb. 27–March 4, 2011, in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs, California. TEDGlobal 2011, "The Stuff of Life," will be held July 13–16, 2010, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

ABOUT THE FETZER INSTITUTE

The Fetzer Institute is a nonprofit, private operating foundation based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Established by broadcast pioneer John E. Fetzer (1901–1991), the Institute uses its philanthropic resources to create programs that foster awareness of the power that love, forgiveness, and compassion can have in our world. With an endowment of $380 million, the Institute dedicates approximately $20 million annually toward its programming efforts.

SOURCE TED Conferences