One great part of TEDGlobal in Edinburgh—events held in castles. Photo: Ryan Lash
Few sensations feel better than when your mind does a backflip and, all of a sudden, you are suddenly able to see things in new and unexpected ways. At TEDGlobal 2013, themed “Think Again,” you’ll have this feeling often. “The approach we adopted,” explains TEDGlobal curator Bruno Giussani, “is to take a closer look at the global remix happening before our eyes as power shifts, culture and technology intersect, and hopes and anxieties collide. Many things we think we know may have to be reconsidered — and that’s what this program is designed to explore.” With speakers including biologists, economists, neuroscientists, architects, technologists, activists, artists, a “gentleman thief” and the former Prime Minister of Greece, the program is packed with speakers who take bold new looks at the topics that most intrigue us.
TEDGlobal 2013 will take place June 10 to 14, 2013, in Edinburgh, Scotland — one of the world’s best-preserved medieval cities. The conference is also watchable all across the globe with a TED Live membership. Here, the list of this year’s incredible speakers and performers. Click on their name to read much more or check out the full lineup, with bios, here »
Session 1: Moments of Truth
- John Kenny, Carnyx player
- George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece
- Steve Howard, Corporate innovator
- George Monbiot, Rewilding campaigner
- Manal Al-Sharif, Women’s rights activist
- Tariq Harb, Classic guitar virtuoso
- Anne-Marie Slaughter, Public policy thinker
Session 2: Those Flying Things
- Raffaello D’Andrea, Autonomous systems visionary
- Lian Pin Koh, Drones ecologist
- Andreas Raptopoulos, Airborne logistics activist
- Daniel Suarez, Sci-fi author
- Elizaveta, Musical alchemist
- Greg Asner, Airborne ecologist
- Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Software architect
Session 3: Exquisite Enigmatic Us
- Russell Foster, Circadian neuroscientist
- Elizabeth Loftus, False memories scholar
- Hetain Patel, Visual artist
- Sandra Aamodt, Neuroscientist and science writer
- Kelly McGonigal, Science-help psychologist
- Natasha Bedingfield, Singer, songwriter
Session 4: Money Talks
- Chrystia Freeland, Plutocracy chronicler
- Didier Sornette, Risk economist
- Annette Heuser, Rating agency reformer
- Mariana Mazzucato, Innovation economist
- Apollo Robbins, Gentleman thief
- Toby Eccles, Social investment visionary
Session 5: Listening to Nature
- Bernie Krause, Natural sounds legend
- Marla Spivak, Bees scholar
- Sonia Shah, Science writer
- Greg Gage, Neuroscientist
- Yaron Herman, Jazz pianist
- Suzana Herculano-Heuzel, Neuroscientist
- Carin Bondar, Wild sex biologist
Session 6: World on Its Head
- Nassim Assefi, Doctor, novelist, Guest Host
- Gabriella Gomez-Mont, Creativity Officer, Guest Host
- Teddy Cruz, Architect and urbanist
- Holly Morris, Explorer and filmmaker
- Juan Pardinas,Economic policy innovator
- Trita Parsi, Historian
- Dina El Wedidi, Singer
- Tania Bruguera, Performance artist
- Lesley Hazleton, Accidental theologist
- May El-Khalil, Founder of the Beirut Marathon
Session 7: Regeneration
- Molly Stevens, Biomaterials researcher
- Siddharthan Chandran, Regenerative neurologist
- Grégoire Courtine, Spinal cord researcher
- Mark Kendall, Biomedical engineer
- Fabian Oefner, Photographer
- Le Trio Joubran, Oud trio
Session 8: State of the Nations
- Renata Salecl, Democracy thinker
- Eric X. Li, Investor and political scientist
- Shereen El Feki, Arab sexuality expert
- Johan Rockström, Sustainability expert
- Lissie, Singer and songwriter
- Benjamin Barber, Political theorist
Session 9: Forces of Change
- Adrian Hong, Advisor, strategist, Guest Host
- Erik Hersman, Blogger, technologist, Guest Host
- Dambisa Moyo, Global economist
- Charles Robertson, Emerging-markets economist
- Toby Shapshak, Technology writer
- Just a Band, Funk band
- Mustafa Abushagur, Former Prime Minister-Elect of Libya
- Joseph Kim, North Korean refugee
Session 10: Imagined Beauty
- Arthur Benjamin, Mathemagician
- Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Cloudspotter
- Uri Alon, Systems biologist
- Alexa Meade, Visual artist
- Stephen Burt, Poetry critic
- Andras Forgacs, Bioprinting entrepreneur
- Jamie Cullum, Jazz-pop singer
- Pico Iyer, Global author
Session 11: Tech Impact
- An Xiao Mina, Creative technologist
- Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi inventor
- Anant Agarwal, Education innovator
- Abha Dawesar, Novelist
- Tim Exile, Electromusician
- Alessandro Acquisti, Privacy economist
Session 12: All Together Now
- Michael Porter, Business strategist
- Charmian Gooch, Anti-corruption activist
- Michael Sandel, Political philosopher
- RuthAnne, Singer and songwriter
- Salvatore Iaconesi, Open-source engineer and artist
- Br. David Steindl-Rast, Monk
For a photo layout of the sessions »
And for much more information on each and every speaker »
A view of the beautiful Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, where TED University at TEDGlobal takes place. Photo: James Duncan Davidson/Ryan Lash
* This post was originally written on April 2, 2013. It was last updated on June 10, 2013.