Announcing First List of Speakers for TEDGlobal 2009, in Oxford UK, July 21-24, 2009

OXFORD, England - Can an airplane fly around the Earth powered only by solar energy? How can we observe what we can’t see? Can we save the Internet? How does the brain create the mind? Can we back-up biodiversity?

These are just some of the questions that will be answered at the upcoming TEDGlobal conference, which will take place in Oxford, UK, on 21-24 July 2009.

Four years after the first gathering, TEDGlobal returns to Oxford for a now-annual event. Modeled on its celebrated twin, the California-based TED Conference, TEDGlobal in Oxford will feature four days of provocative talks, relevant discussions, technological boldness and amazing performances that will take attendees beyond the obvious. The program is designed to explore and make visible “The Substance of Things Not Seen” — this year’s theme.

Among the 50 speakers that will bring to the TEDGlobal stage their “ideas worth spreading” are thinkers and doers, visionaries and builders, famous names and lesser-known (yet equally amazing) voices. They will include:

Swiss aviator Bertrand Piccard, who’s building a plane to fly around the world on solar energy; star designer Stefan Sagmeister; Internet generativity theorist Jonathan Zittrain; biodiversity archivist Cary Fowler; “Shock Doctrine” author Naomi Klein; computer interface wizard John Underkoffler; Emmanuel Jal, former child soldier turned rap star; global crime specialist Misha Glenny; social neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe; astronomer Andrea Ghez; novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; economist Paul Romer; Willard Wigan, who sculpts literally in the eye of a needle; arctic swimmer Lewis Pugh; and European music’s rising star Sophie Hunger.

(For a more complete list of speakers and details, please visit conferences.ted.com/TEDglobal2009.)

As always at TED events, the programme is only part of the experience. TEDGlobal will also feature:

- exclusive pre-conference visits, open only to attendees. These will include tours of Unseen London, Bletchley Park, the Culham nuclear fusion reactor, the Bodleian Library, the MINI factory, Broughton Castle, and more

- TED University: every attendee will have the opportunity to pitch a short “lecture” and give it on the TED U stage, the best of which will be featured on TED.com

- special evening events and parties at some of Oxford’s most amazing landmarks

- plus the TED classics: awesome tech demos and art exhibits, beautifully designed simulcast lounges to watch the speakers in a relaxed mood, etc.

For centuries, Oxford has championed the power of reason and discovery and art, nurtured open-minded discussions and forged new directions in the search for understanding. Those are all values that TED shares, making Oxford an ideal home for TEDGlobal.

Registration is open for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK, July 21-24, 2009. The conference ticket costs US$4,500, and a limited number of reduced-rate registrations are available for US$2,000.

More information at conferences.ted.com/TEDglobal2009.

About TED

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.” The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, and philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Nandan Nilekani, Jane Goodall, Vilayanur Ramachandran, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.

TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson’s Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TEDTalks and TED.com; and the TED Prize. TEDGlobal 2009, “The Substance of Things Not Seen,” will be held July 21-24, 2009, in Oxford, UK. TEDIndia will be held in Mysore, India, November 1-4, 2009. TED2010, “What the World Needs Now,” will be held February 9-13, 2010, in Long Beach, California, with a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California. For details on all upcoming conferences and events, visit www.TED.com.

Contact: Laura Galloway Galloway Media Group t: +1-212-260-3708 c: +1-213-948-3100 laura@gallowaymediagroup.com

Source: TED Conferences

Laura Galloway, Galloway Media Group, +1-212-260-3708, c: +1-213-948-3100, laura at gallowaymediagroup.com