TED conference ‘Suspended’
It’s been a tough week for South Africa’s people as we contemplate the wave of devastating violence rampaging across our glorious city of Johannesburg. Our hearts are heavy. To kick us while we’re down, we received the sad news that September’s much-vaunted TED conference Africa (that we told you about in November last year), has been ‘suspended’ apparently due to a ‘lack of available’ time. We have written to the organisers to request more information. We’ll get back to you as soon as we hear more. For now, read the reasons...
BREAKING NEWS: TED Africa in 2008
We hope as true TEDizens that we bring it to you first and that you remember how we brighten up your lives! We are delighted to share with you the wonderful news that there will be another TED Africa conference in Africa. It’s in Cape Town and it’s in September 2008. TED is currently one of THE most important, inspired and visionary movements/organisations/gatherings of our time. For those not familiar with the awards or the conference, in a nutshell, it’s an annual conference that brings INCREDIBLE people together from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment and Design… “the worlds most fascinating thinkers and doers who are challenged to give the talk of their lives.” The tickets are sold out within hours in the states as people hungry for growth flock to grow their minds and worlds. What’s great is there’s very little bullshit, wool-over-eyes-pulling, smarmy self-help rubbish or wealth promotion – it’s an intelligent, insightful conference, steeped in integrity with meaningful and authentic intentions and outcomes. Read more about the annual TED awards here. We have been TEDizens for a while, which is how we know about this first, we share the breaking news below… but for now Representer’s we cannot emphasize more how important it is for you to GO GO GO. We look forward to finding out who’ll be speaking. NICE ONE! Dear TEDizens, We’re delighted to tell you that there will be another TED conference in Africa next year and that we hope to make it an annual event on the continent! TEDAfrica will be held in Cape Town, South Africa on September 29-October 1, 2008 (save the date!), and will follow the format of this year’s event in Arusha, Tanzania. The conference will be organized by a wonderful local team with whom we have just signed a license agreement. The four-person team includes TED Fellow Kelo Kubu and the conference will be operated out of a new South Africa-based non-profit organization devoted to promoting a better future for the continent, the “TED Africa Foundation”. We will be supporting the foundation both financially and logistically to help ensure that the event maintains and builds on the quality and success of the Arusha event. Initially we had intended that conference to be a one-off, but we received such enthusiastic feedback that we had to find a way to bring it back and in the summer we invited groups to apply for a license to host the conference. Kelo’s team were one of several who submitted bid and we were stunned by the quality of the proposals. The winning bid included several brilliant ideas to make TED Africa even better, and also featured a strong plan to ensure the event’s financial success and long-term sustainability. We therefore have enormous confidence that the next TED...
Make your film for Pangea Day
Thanks to Jimi for the hook up. Check out this cool project that has just launched called Pangea. Started by TED documentary award winner Jehane Noujaim, it’s a call to film makers around the world to make and submit short films about their lives that can “bring the world closer together.” 10 films will be chosen and then shown on one day around the world in May 2008 encouraging peace-building and conflict resolution. The TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is an awesome conference focusing on GREAT IDEAS that brings people together from the three genres to share their visions… read more here. It’s a great site to visit and spend some time on. Jehane won the award in 2006: “Two weeks before the US invasion in Iraq, Jehane went to Qatar, gained access to both Al Jazeera and the US military’s Central Command offices, and caught the onset and outbreak of the Iraqi war on film. The result: Control Room, her controversial, gutsy documentary that lays out the divergent ways the war was reported by the Arabs and the West. Being raised between Egypt and the US, the exploration of culture is one of Jehane’s driving forces. Her reason for making the film: “It’s important for everyone, simply as individuals, to try to understand different people and different cultures, but it’s especially important for people in the United States because we affect so much of the world beyond our borders.” Each winner gets to make a WISH and bring it to life post the conference, be a part of Jehane’s wish and submit your films for Pangea...
We will be back!
