16 May 2008

TEDAfrica 2008 plans suspended

From Chris Anderson, Curator of TED, and Emeka Okafor, TEDAfrica director:

Regretfully, we're having to suspend plans for our TEDAfrica event scheduled for the end of September 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa.

We sought to have this event launched under the control of a local team operating under a license. The goal was to build on the full impact and quality of TEDGlobal held in Tanzania last year. But after reviewing progress with our licensees, we have mutually agreed that that is not going to be achievable in the available time. Our licensees did all they could to deliver on an ambitious plan, and we commend their effort.

We apologize to those of you who are disappointed or inconvenienced. Please email jane@ted.com with any specific questions or concerns. TED remains committed to its growing and passionate African community. We are considering a number of options, and expect to make a further announcement soon.

In the meantime, we will be focusing on Neil Turok's TED Prize wish: that the next Einstein should come from Africa. See the website that TED and partners Avenue A/Razorfish just launched, NextEinstein.org, to support the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) -- and follow the wish's progress on the TED Prize Blog.

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