TED Raises Curtain on TEDGlobal 2011 Conference, "The Stuff of Life"

NEW YORK, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TED, the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, opens its annual Europe-based TEDGlobal conference today in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference shares the same format as its twin event in Long Beach, CA: inspired thinkers and doers from around the globe take the stage for talks, performances and demonstrations across dozens of disciplines.  This year's TEDGlobal conference theme is "The Stuff of Life."

The TEDGlobal 2011 conference will gather 850 attendees from over 30 countries at the Edinburgh International Conference Center to watch more than 70 main-stage talks and performances from some of the world's leading thinkers across a wide range of disciplines, as well as another 30 or so short talks, demos and less formal TED University talks.  The conference will be streamed live to people around the globe, including at independently organized events affiliated with TED under the TEDx program.

"TEDGlobal combines a cross-section of today's very best global thinking, a new class of extraordinary TED Fellows, over 60 TEDx organizers joining us from all over the world, forward-thinking brand partners, and, of course, it will feature a surprise or two," says TED's European Director Bruno Giussani, who curated this week's conference program.  "We're particularly excited about our speakers, who will celebrate life in all its forms."

Speakers will cover a wide spectrum of topics, and come from all continents. A number of innovative technologies will also be unveiled for the first time at the conference.  TEDGlobal 2011 speakers and performers include:

• Malcom Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point"
• Danielle de Niese, soprano
• Abraham Verghese, physician and author
• David Adjaye, architect
• Yang Lan, Chinese media entrepreneur
• Bunker Roy, Indian education activist
• Svante Paabo, geneticist
• Thandie Newton, actress
• Pauline Chen, surgeon
• Lee Cronin, chemist

At the conference, TED's award-winning video team will be editing talks direct from the stage to share with the world, through its TEDTalks podcast series, which recently surpassed half a billion views. TEDGlobal 2011 TEDTalks will begin to appear on TED.com starting next week and throughout the coming year.

A number of exciting brands and companies have partnered with TEDGlobal to share ideas and foster an atmosphere of innovation.  This year's partners include: Allianz, Arup, Audi, Autodesk, Baillie Gifford, BlackBerry, Delta, Deutsche Telekom, Dewar's, the Dow Chemical Company, frog, GE, Google, Icebreaker, Jawbone, IEC, Levi's, Lombard Odier, (RED), Renault-Nissan, Shell, and Steelcase.

The detailed TEDGlobal program and more information can be found online here: http://conferences.ted.com/TEDGlobal2011/.

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 David Cameron. The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each summer 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 exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED

Contact: Margaret Sullivan, [email protected], +1 (646) 519-1350

SOURCE TED