The InK Conference (which stands for Innovation and Knowledge) is being run by longtime TEDster Lakshmi Pratury, who co-hosted TEDIndia a year ago. TED has signed a content partnership agreement with INK that will allow us to bring the best InK talks to TED.com.
TEDIndia in 2009 was a thrilling experience, attracting a sold-out audience of 1,000 attendees from 46 countries. It was planned as a one-time event to bring TED to South Asia, and we’re delighted at what it’s led to: a thriving community in India and Asia who are passionate about the spread of ideas, a host of TEDx events, a massive increase in the numbers of Indians watching TED online … and now InK.
The InK Conference is being hosted by Lakshmi at the beautiful Lavasa Retreat near Mumbai this coming December 10-12, and all of us at TED will be cheering her on. For TEDIndia last year, Lakshmi pulled together an astonishing speaker lineup spanning business, science, technology, nonprofit organizations and the arts -– and for InK she’s doing the same.
The theme is “Untold Stories,” and confirmed speakers include Simpsons creator Matt Groening, entertainment icon James Cameron, designer Philippe Starck, prolific author Deepak Chopra, scientific visualization pioneer Alexander Tsiaras, the world’s youngest school headmaster Babar Ali, academic and author Jennifer Aaker, innovative science teacher Arvind Gupta, Lego designer John-Henry Harris, technology mavens Joi Ito and Kevin Kelly, venture capitalist and philanthropist Kamran Elahian, visual communication expert Nancy Duarte, spoken-word artist Rives, surgeon Susan Lim , photographer Rick Smolan and award-winning innovator Tom Wujec.
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InK is modeled on TED, and the talks will fit the familiar TED 18-minute format. We’re already excited at the prospect of posting the best of them. (Last year’s TEDIndia talks have proved to be big hits online, and we’re excited to continue this collaboration.)
As an organization, the InK Conference remains 100% independent of TED. Lakshmi and her team are fully responsible for the event. But we’re happy to be offering strategic advice and content distribution.
If you want to attend a live TED-like event in India, do consider registering for InK and joining up with thinkers and doers from a wide variety of industries, organizations and countries. There’s more information at www.theinkconference.com. It promises to be a wonderful experience. Stand by for some exciting new talks from a part of the world bursting with innovation, optimism and wisdom.