Your best answer is simply to visit www.ted.com.

TED is an annual event where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.” The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, 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 TED Talks and TED.com; and the TED Prize. TED2010, “What the world Needs Now,” will be held
Feb 9-13, 2010, in Long Beach, California, with a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California. TEDGlobal 2009, “The Substance of Things Not Seen,” will be held July 21-24, 2009, in Oxford, UK and TEDIndia will be held in November 2009.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

You have to be invited. Register and fill in the attendance form, as completely and as best you can. We have 600 seats, of which many have already been allocated, so availability is limited and even when approved, your seat is not guaranteed until we have received your payment. Where there is any question as to availability, those most likely to add value to the TEDx event will be preferred.

For the 2010 TEDxJohannesburg event: R300 per person if paid by 1 November 2010. Student and full-time educators pay R200 per person.

TED does not pay speakers and neither do we, so that cost is not passed on to you. The TEDxJohannesburg organisers are volunteers and do not get paid either. We have very generous sponsors who, like the attendees, are passionate about TED and sponsoring our event is their way of contributing to ideas worth spreading. TEDx licenses further place restrictions on the maximum ticket prices that may be charged.

We follow the TED format as much as possible and the TED conference is unique. The speakers sit with the attendees, many of whom are also involved in wonderful and uplifting work. There are no keynote speakers; all speakers are equal. There are no panel discussions or Q&A. Instead, there are frequent breaks where people can speak to whomever they choose; and because the entire room is filled with people passionate about Ideas Worth Spreading, many new ideas and idea cross-pollination occurs. The sheer beauty of a day like this is that everyone gathered is there to ensure that the ideas move on to have greater impact in our world.

Speakers and other attendees are encouraged to stay for the whole event. We are planning for an extraordinary time.

Where doing so not possible, you are free to attend those sessions which you are able to attend. Though not yet finalised for 2010, in 2009 our timetable provided for 3 speaking sessions of 1h45 to 2h00 per session separated by lunch and tea breaks, commencing at approximately 10am, 1pm and 3:30pm and would expect to run a similar timetable this year.

TED is committed to Ideas Worth Spreading and as a speaker at TEDxJohannesburg, you'll be spreading your idea to an audience of people who are passionate about spreading ideas. You'll interact with other speakers and explore opportunities of idea cross-pollination. All talks are filmed and the footage is sent to TED. If TED approves it, your talk will be placed on their website, available for the global TED audience to appreciate. What happens from there is unknowable.

Yes, absolutely. Just fill in the speaker nomination form and you will be e-mailed a speaker nominee form.

Speakers whose applications are accepted are automatically given a seat. Speaker spots are highly sought after, however and competition for a chance to talk is great. If you applied to be a speaker and your talk was not accepted for this event, then it would probably be a good idea to apply to attend if you still wish to be there.

All accepted attendance applications allow one ticket only. This is granted to the person who filled in the application. Your partner may only come if his or her application was also accepted.

Let us know as early as possible by contacting us. Your promptness in this regard will help someone who made the attendee shortlist be a happy person.

Your ticket is specifically for you and you alone. You can motivate for someone to take your place and we will gladly take it under consideration. Depending on ticket availability, a person who in our opinion has shown the passion to effect change will be chosen to attend.

Payments are not refundable at the moment.

There are various TEDx events happening all over the world. For a full list of all upcoming TEDx events please visit the information page on TED.com TEDxJohannesburg would like to support other TEDx events in Gauteng. Contact us and let's see what we can do to support each other!
TEDx event listing