OXFORD, England, September 25 /PRNewswire/ --
- Conference to Become Annual International Event Featuring the World's Leading Thinkers and Doers
Four years after its first European gathering, TED organizers today announced the return of the TEDGlobal Conference to Oxford, UK, on an annual basis.
TEDGlobal 2009, the inaugural annual conference, is titled "The Substance of Things Not Seen," and will feature more than 40 remarkable speakers presenting over the course of four days, from July 21-24, in Oxford.
"TEDGlobal is TED's twin conference, with the same focus on identifying novel voices and bringing to the stage inspired ideas, experiences, technologies, and performances -- with an even stronger international perspective," says Bruno Giussani, European Director of the TED Conferences.
The TEDGlobal 2009 program is designed to explore and make visible the substance of things that run unseen through our lives. These hidden forces -- social conventions, biological links, cultural frameworks, coded meanings, complex processes, creative impulses, scientific speculations, software, networks -- are the connective tissue that binds societies together and the engines that propel organizations forward. When illuminated, they offer vital insights into our relationship with each other and our world.
Some of the questions that the conference will address:
- What makes big cities function? - What is an accomplished life? - Which universe do we live in? - Is life a mathematical equation? - Where does motivation come from? - Who's defining the new geopolitical map? - Can robots think? - Can we design the air we breathe? - What's the economic impact of terrorism? - Is modern art relevant? - Should we fear faith? - What do top-secret places look like? - What's the true nature of modern crime? - Can a solar-powered plane fly?
Confirmed speakers include: two of the world's most celebrated writers; a scholar with a radically new idea about development; a mathematician and a neuroscientist who are redefining the way we see the world; a visionary aviator; a Capuchin monk; a former child soldier; a groundbreaking choreographer; a designer who creates out of thin air; a leading global business thinker; one of the biggest names in contemporary art; a photographer of the invisible; plus many other leaders in business, science, technology, entertainment and the arts. The full program will be unveiled about two months before the event.
About the location: Oxford is a one-of-a-kind environment that for centuries has championed the power of reason, fostered open-minded discussions and forged new directions in the search for understanding. TEDGlobal will be finely woven into the Oxford landscape. Most sessions will take place at the Oxford Playhouse, with special events at the distinctive Sheldonian Theatre, historic Keble College, the Museum of Natural History, and the Malmaison Hotel -- the newly renovated hotel that was once a Victorian prison.
About the event: TEDGlobal 2009 will include four full days of programming on a single stage, during which more than 40 international speakers will have 18 minutes each to give the talk of their lives. Meals, coffee breaks and evening special events give speakers and attendees time to meet, collaborate and explore ideas.
Before and after the conference, attendees will be offered a series of visits, discoveries and special programs, including a tour of Bletchley Park and punting on the river Cherwell. The conference will also feature a half-day TED University, where attendees have the opportunity to give short lectures on their areas of expertise.
Interested parties may register for TEDGlobal 2009 by visiting www.ted.com/conferences
About TED
TED is an annual event where some of the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. "TED" stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design -- three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. Attendees have called it "the ultimate brain spa" and "a four-day journey into the future." The diverse audience-- CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists -- is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Jill Bolte Taylor, Philippe Starck and Bono.
TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson's Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TED Talks and TED.com; and the TED Prize, an annual award granting three individuals "one wish to change the world." TED2009, "The Great Unveiling," will be held Feb 3-8, 2009, in Long Beach, California, with a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California.
For more information, please visit www.ted.com.
Web site: http://www.ted.com/conferences http://www.TED.com
Laura Galloway, +1-212-260-3708, laura@gallowaymediagroup.com, of Galloway Media Group for TED Conferences
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