Live from TEDMED

TEDMED: a new partnership

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We have some exciting news. TED has signed a unique partnership agreement with a sister conference, TEDMED, that extends TED’s reach into the vital realm of medicine and wellness. It’s a mutually supportive partnership that will allow us to bring the best of their talks to TED.com … starting today with this talk from David Blaine!

TEDMED was founded in 1998 by TED’s founder Richard Saul Wurman. It used the famous TED conference format to address wide-ranging issues in healthcare, and was an immediate hit. When Richard sold TED to Chris Anderson’s Sapling Foundation in 2001, he retained the rights to run TEDMED. For a while the two events maintained a distant relationship. But now we see much to gain by working more closely.

Richard is transferring ownership of TEDMED to entrepreneur Marc Hodosh (while continuing to act as key adviser and co-host), and the first event under Hodosh’s ownership was held in San Diego in October. It was a terrific success, generating numerous talks that deserve a much wider audience. That’s where TED.com comes in. Starting today we will begin releasing these talks to what has become a large global web audience. We’re doing it because:

  • We share a history and a brand-name
  • The talks fit the familiar TED format, typically just 18-minutes, carefully prepared
  • Most important of all, their subject matter is of importance to millions around the world

These are not obscure medical talks. They are accessible, powerful and relevant to anyone interested in human well-being. We’re launching today with an amazing, highly personal talk from magician David Blaine describing what he went through in order to break the world breath-holding record. It will change your concept of what a human body is capable of. Take a look … and know that there are plenty more where that came from!

As an organization, TEDMED remains 100% independent of TED. They are fully responsible for their events. We are simply granting them a license to use the TED logo as part of the TEDMED name, and also acting as adviser, video editor and key web distributor. We’re thrilled at their success and at the prospect of a new source of amazing talks to share with the world.

If you like what you see, and would like to get involved more deeply than just viewing online, visit http://tedmed.com. The event is now annual, so you can sign up for their 2010 conference to be held October 26-29. It promises to be a great experience.