TED Blog

Announcing TEDGlobal 2009

TEDGlobal 2009, to be held in Oxford, UK, is titled “The Substance of Things Not Seen,” and will feature more than 40 remarkable speakers presenting over the course of four days, from July 21-24, 2009.

“TEDGlobal is TED’s twin conference, with the same focus on identifying novel voices and bringing to the stage inspired ideas, experiences, technologies, and performances — with an even stronger international perspective,” says Bruno Giussani, European Director for TED Conferences.

The TEDGlobal 2009 program is designed to explore and make visible the substance of things that run unseen through our lives. These hidden forces — social conventions, biological links, cultural frameworks, coded meanings, complex processes, creative impulses, scientific speculations, software, networks — are the connective tissue that binds societies together and the engines that propel organizations forward. When illuminated, they offer vital insights into our relationship with each other and our world. Some of the questions the conference will address:

— What makes big cities function?
— What is an accomplished life?
— Which universe do we live in?
— Is life a mathematical equation?
— Where does motivation come from?

Confirmed speakers include two of the world’s most celebrated writers; a scholar with a radically new idea about development; a mathematician and a neuroscientist who are redefining the way we see the world; a visionary aviator; a Capuchin monk; a former child soldier; a groundbreaking choreographer; a designer who creates out of thin air; a leading global business thinker; one of the biggest names in contemporary art; a photographer of the invisible; plus many other leaders in business, science, technology, entertainment and the arts. The full program, with some jaw-dropping names, will be unveiled about two months before the event. The registration fee for the conference is US$4,500.

Learn more about TEDGlobal 2009 >>

Register for TEDGlobal 2009 >>

Registration for TEDIndia, held in November 2009, will open in a few weeks. Watch this space for the announcement.