TED (Technology Entertainment and Design)
- Al Gore speaks at TED
is an international set of conferences set up to share “ideas worth spreading.”
TED was founded in 1984 as a one-time only gathering of great minds and the conference was so popular that it was then decided that to hold it annually from 1990 in California would be a great idea.TED’s focus in the beginning was predominantly technology and design. The events are now held in other locations in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Asia, offering live streaming of the speeches and presentations. They look at an ever widening range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most captivating and engaging ways they can. Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Bill Gates, Salman Khan, Larry Page , JK Rowling and many Nobel Prize winners.
From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prizes were awarded year on year to help its winners achieve a chosen wish to change the world. From 2010, in an overhauled selection process, a sole winner is chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its attempts in making the winner’s wish a reality. Each winner reveals their wish at the main annual conference.
- jk-rowling speaking on TED
Since June 2006,the talks have been available for free viewing online through TED.com. Since July 2010, over 700 talks are available for free online. By January 2009 they had been viewed 50 million times. In June 2011, the viewing figure stood at more than 500 million, demonstrating the power and curiosity of its ever expanding international audience.
