About

 

Conferences

Twice a year, a group of interesting and impactful people gathers for the week-long TED experience — which attendees have described as "the ultimate brain spa" and "a journey into the future in the company of those creating it." It's a winning formula of brilliant, curious minds and groundbreaking content in an immersive and focused environment.

What is a TED conference?

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are collectively shaping our world. But a TED conference is broader still, showcasing important ideas from any discipline, and exploring how they all connect. The format is fast-paced: 50+ talks over the course of a week, as well as morning and evening get-togethers. As they take in the program, attendees and speakers from vastly different fields can cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places. This is the magic of TED.

 

Types of TED conferences

TED

The flagship TED Conference is held annually on the North American West Coast. The breadth of content includes science, business, the arts, technology and global issues. Eighteen-minute talks are interspersed with shorter presentations, including music, performances and comedy. 

TEDGlobal

TEDGlobal travels the world and is slightly more international in nature. The full TED format is maintained, with a wide-ranging roster of speakers and performers for a week of inspiring sessions. TEDGlobal was held in Oxford, UK, in 2005, 2009 and 2010; in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2007; and in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2014, TEDGlobal went "South!" to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Learn more

TEDWomen

TEDWomen is a three-day conference about the power of women and girls to be creators and change-makers. The program of speakers, workshops, events — and daring discussions — has sparked some of TED's most iconic moments yet. TEDWomen was held in 2010 in Washington, DC, in 2013 in San Francisco,CA and in 2015 in Monterey, CA. Learn more

TEDYouth

TEDYouth is a day-long event for middle and high school students, with live speakers, hands-on activities and great conversations. Speakers share short talks on what they do best, serving both as a source of knowledge and inspiration for youth around the globe.TEDYouth was held in New York City in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015, and in New Orleans in 2013. Learn more

Other TED events

TED also regularly hosts other special events around the globe. TEDIndia was held in November 2009 in Mysore, celebrating and exploring the beckoning future of South Asia. TEDCity2.0, powered by the 2012 TED Prize, presented a day of new thinking about urban life. TED Talks Live took place in 2015, bringing six separate programs of curated TED Talks New York City’s Theater district.

TED also hosts smaller events, including TED Salons, evening-length events with speakers and performers, and TED@250 events, curated by TED staff in our New York office to explore issues of interest. Meanwhile, TED Institute events bring TED's curatorial lens to the ideas found within large companies.

From: http://www.ted.com/about/conferences

 

Our organization

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

Our Mission: Spread ideas

TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.

In fact, everything we do — from our Conferences to our TED Talks to the projects sparked by the TED Prize, from the global TEDx community to the TED-Ed lesson series — is driven by this goal: How can we best spread great ideas?

TED is owned by a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation. Our agenda is to make great ideas accessible and spark conversation.

From: http://www.ted.com/about/our-organization

 

History of TED

From: http://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/history-of-ted