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Time to initiate a TED program

Published: 04 Mar. 2012, 20:09

The nine-day annual TED conference in Long Beach/Palm Springs, California, that brings together innovative ideas in technology, entertainment and design has not failed to inspire and impress the world again this year. A total of 70 speakers - ranging from a physician and an animation producer to Internet entrepreneurs, including a South Korean - took the podium to share their new ideas with the rest of the world. Under the conference’s founding motto “spreading ideas,” the event merged new thinking and technology, music, performance, arts and design to demonstrate innovative concepts of interconnection and creativity.

The Technology, Entertainment and Design conference started in 1984 as a clearinghouse for free and new knowledge. All presentations are available to be shared for free on the Internet. Through digital platforms, various helpful, inspiring ideas and knowledge are spread in the hopes of making the world more connected and aware. The 18-minute TED lectures are not only illuminating, but the concept of sharing and spreading new ideas with anyone who is interested is refreshing.

The collective knowledge program is driven by the basic idea that when many people muster wisdom and collaborate to seek solutions to global problems, they have a better chance in doing so than one solitary genius innovator or thinker does. Anyone who has ideas to share as well as curiosity and passion about changing the world can jump in and contribute to make the world a better place.

The nonprofit organization uses various technology and viral media platforms such as social network services to collect talent and resources around the world. The group takes its open intellectual movement to a higher level for next year’s conference with the theme “The Young, The Wise and The Undiscovered.” From April to June 2012, TED tours 14 cities, including Seoul, on six continents to recruit new talent and ideas through public auditions where winners and potential speakers for the 2013 conference will be voted on by a global audience.

TED’s forward thinking has helped to gather a multitude of TED fans around the globe. Its Web site offers more than 1,000 video clips of the lectures online for free. Transcripts are also provided for the programs and they are subtitled in more than 84 languages. The popularity of the TED conference is another sign of the world evolving into an intellectual-based community. We, too, must initiate a state program to drive our country based on knowledge and ideas.