TEDGlobal 2010, 'And Now the Good News,' Announces Speaker Lineup

NEW YORK, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Headlines remind us daily of the political, economic and environmental woes facing the planet. But behind the scenes lie an amazing array of new ideas, new science, new technology, new social and political thinking, new art and a new understanding of who we are. When you put it all together, an entirely more hopeful view of the future emerges.

TEDGlobal 2010, to be held over the course of four days in Oxford, England, July 12-16, 2010, will explore the undercurrent of good news just below the surface of today's troubling headlines, through the lens of 50 speakers and performers who are pushing the boundaries of what is known and expanding the possible.

Together with an array of tech demos and performances, here are some of the questions that TEDGlobal 2010 will explore:

+ Is the world becoming freer?

+ Are peacemakers getting stronger?

+ Can kids self-educate?

+ What is the future of food?

+ What environments favor innovation?

+ Can culture transcend ghettos?

+ Is ethnic violence decreasing?

+ How can HIV/AIDS be effectively fought?

+ Can the underlying structures of consumer society become more fair?

+ What are the latest discoveries about the brain?

+ What can we learn from videogames?

+ Are there rational reasons to be an optimist?

Speakers scheduled to appear at TEDGlobal 2010 include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Sheryl WuDunn, Global Voices founder Ethan Zuckerman, MIT computational neuroscientist Sebastian Seung, Yale primate scientist Laurie Santos, Women for Women founder Zainab Salbi, "soft power" theorist Joseph Nye, architect David Adjaye, plus musical performances by Annie Lennox, Thomas Dolby, Karsu Donmez and Mor Karbasi.

The complete list of TEDGlobal 2010 speakers is available by visiting:

http://conferences.ted.com/TEDGlobal2010/program/speakers.php

The conference is sold out. 750 people from over 30 countries are expected to attend. A live webcast of the four days of TEDGlobal 2010 is available for $500. Visit  http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/221 for details and registration.

TEDGlobal 2010 partners include Shell, Johnnie Walker, GE, British Telecom, ARUP, IEC, frog design, Nokia, Autodesk, Alcatel Lucent, Steelcase, Intel, Orange Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, (RED) and MaYoMo.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK prime minister Gordon Brown. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a simulcast, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Oxford, England.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides English subtitles and interactive transcripts and allows any TEDTalk to be translated into any language by volunteers worldwide; and the TED Open TV Project, helping broadcasters around the world program TEDTalks for local audiences.

TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals win "one wish to change the world"; TEDx, which supports individuals and groups in hosting local, self-organized events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Find more information and 700+ TEDTalks at http://www.TED.com

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

SOURCE TED Conferences