“I’m a storyteller.” It’s a sentence that can be found in a wide variety of TED Talks — because, really, it is the heart of what we do. This is why, for the 10th anniversary of the TED Prize in 2015, we are thrilled to award the million-dollar prize to Dave Isay, the founder of […]
“Thousands have lived without love; none without water,” said Sylvia Earle as she stood on the TED stage five years ago, accepting the 2009 TED Prize. Wearing a blue blazer and an aura of resolve, Earle quoted this verse from poet W.H. Auden as she laid out a bold wish for the world: that we […]
Earlier this month, the Queen announced legislation to clamp down on corporate secrecy in her speech at the opening of Parliament in the United Kingdom. This may be news to the rest of the world, but it was a hard-won victory for the campaigners at Global Witness, an international non-governmental organization known for hard-hitting field investigations […]
On June 17, 2014, US president Obama pledged support to create 700,000 square miles of new Pacific Ocean “hope spots” — no-fish, no-drill zones to help the ocean recover. As Sylvia Earle asked in her 2009 TED Prize wish:
I wish that you would use all means at your disposal — films, expeditions, the web, new submarines — and campaign to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas — hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet. How much? Some say 10 percent, some say 30 percent. You decide: how much of your heart do you want to protect?
Sylvia Earle is always on a mission. She launched the ocean conservation campaign Mission Blue in 2010 after winning the TED Prize, establishing protected marine “hope spots” around the world. And last weekend, Earle dove 63 feet beneath the ocean’s surface to visit Fabien Cousteau, the grandson of legendary underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau, on his Mission 31. Earle, […]
On a drizzly spring day in Boston earlier this month, three dozen musicians mingled in the President’s Library of the New England Conservatory (NEC), one of the most prestigious music institutions in the country. The weather did not dampen the infectious enthusiasm in the room. After all, 10 of these musicians were about to mark […]
What do a British chef, an education technology professor and a pioneering ocean researcher have in common? They’re all winners of the TED Prize – a cash award of $1,000,000 that’s given annually to a forward-thinking individual with a fresh, bold vision for sparking global change. The Prize begins with a big wish – one that will motivate people […]
TED invites thinkers from every walk of life to share a compelling idea onstage. And this now includes AIs. During Session 9: Signals, Chris Anderson took the stage along with Peter Diamandis, the founder of the XPRIZE. “We’re here today to join forces and announce the creation of a new XPRIZE,” says Anderson. “Here’s the concept—it will […]
By Natasha Scripture Anti-corruption activist Charmian Gooch stood up on stage at TED2014 tonight and revealed her TED Prize wish: to get rid of anonymous companies once and for all by making who owns and controls them public knowledge. As head of Global Witness, a UK-based non-profit that has been campaigning for transparency for the […]
“TED Prize winners are heroes,” says longtime TEDster Jeff Skoll, as he introduces this year’s TED Prize winner. “They often go on to exceed even their own most audacious goals.” Watch Charmian Gooch’s TED Talk >> This year, by sheer coincidence, the Skoll Foundation and TED chose to honor the same person with their annual awards—Charmian […]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFdqvCL2W2k&w=586&h=330] By Natasha Scripture Sugata Mitra thinks big. At last year’s TED, he unveiled his dream to transform primary education. Instead of a teacher, a chalkboard and a generic curriculum, the recipient of the 2013 TED Prize asked us to imagine an environment that empowered children to learn on their own, with the guidance of […]
“It’s easy to think that corruption happens somewhere over there, carried out by a bunch of greedy despots,” says anti-corruption activist Charmian Gooch in her blistering talk from TEDGlobal 2013. “The reality is that the engine of corruption exists far beyond the shores of countries like Equatorial Guinea or Nigeria or Turkmenistan. This engine is driven […]
A few numbers to keep in mind: 3, 31, and 1 million. That’s because nominations for the 2016 TED Prize are being accepted through the end of the day on March 31, 2015. You have until then to nominate a mentor, a co-worker or a visionary leader whose work you admire from afar for this […]
The TED Prize turns our staff into genies: every year, we give $1 million dollars to one inspiring leader with a bold wish for the world. A sampling of wishes that have won in recent years: “Help us spark a global movement to record and preserve meaningful conversations with one another that result in an ever-growing […]
Over the past week, we’ve noticed a lot of fascinating TED-related news items. Here, some highlights: Hours after announcing that the 2013 Prize in Physics had been awarded to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles,” […]
Chances are, you’ve heard Ghandi’s famous words: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Now, you have an opportunity to bring the famous adage to life. The TED Prize is a $1 million grant, awarded annually to a bold leader with an idea for a large-scale, high-impact project that will inspire global change. […]