TED2010

What the World Needs Now …

February 9-13, 2010
Long Beach, California

A new decade. A new U.S. president. A global financial crisis. Some are predicting the worst of times. But we think it's a time to regroup, re-evaluate and then to dream. Dream big. Because the world of ideas has never mattered more. Behind the grim headlines, innovation and invention are alive and flourishing. And this is where the key to a better future will be found. At TED2010 we'll be in hot pursuit of that future. We're assembling an incredible line-up of speakers whose ideas and ingenuity will thrill, enlighten and inspire. It's What the World Needs Now …

• So what does the world need? Stimulus? Recovery? Sure. But at TED2010 we're digging deeper. We're looking for the core ideas -- and the core values -- that will reinvigorate our quest for a better future. This has taken us to a beautiful plan for the conference. We'll devote each of our 12 main sessions to one key attribute the world needs. And then come at each of them using TED's special outside-the-box multi-disciplinary approach.

  You can see below how this is shaping up. We won't announce speaker names until a couple months before TED, but already the line-up looks amazing.

  We invite you to join us, because what the world needs now is....

  Insight

  What on earth happened? And what can we do about it? (Nobel Laureate Economist. Global Hedge Fund Manager. Historian. Provocateur.)

  Leadership

  Who has stood tall and shown the way forward? (Head of State. Global CEO. Preacher. Rock Star.)

  Courage

  When the going got tough, who had what it took? (Entrepreneur. Contrarian Investor. Mountaineer. Humanitarian.)

  Simplicity

  Is too much complexity a threat to our world? To our happiness? (Former Derivatives Trader. Legal System Reformer. User Interface Designer. Monk.)

  Rationality

  How do we think smarter -- about the world, and about ourselves? (Media reformer. Statistician. Neuro-scientist. Philosopher.)

  Imagination

  Who is dreaming up the new ideas we need? (Solar Cell Inventor. Smart-Grid Designer. Collaboration Catalyst. Concept Animator.)

  Inspiration

  Can three wishes truly inspire change? (The TED Prize winners)

  Beauty

  Who can nourish our sense of wonder? (Theoretical mathematician. Sculptor. Landscape photographer. Cellist.)

  Discovery

  Are there answers in nature? Who's finding them? (Astronomer. Paleontologist. Geneticist. Nanotech Researcher. Explorer.)

  Laughter

  There really is a funny side.... (Comic author. TV host. Film-maker. Stand-up. Singer-songwriter.)

  Compassion

  Can leaner times bring us closer together? (Anthropologist. Story Teller. Slum Dweller. Sage.)

  Optimism

  Step back, and the view looks different. (12 short contributions from members of the TED community)

   

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