TED x TELLURIDE AT PALM, 2/29

15 Feb TED x TELLURIDE AT PALM, 2/29

One day of the world-famous TED Conference presented free. Must register to attend.

What’s in a name? A mouthful if the name is TED.

TED, in this case, is an acronym which stands for a nonprofit dedicated to “Technology, Entertainment, and Design.” Its motto: “Ideas Worth Spreading.”

TED began putting game changers and their transformative ideas in the spotlight 26 years ago at a conference in Long Beach, California. Since that relatively modest start, TED has grown to support world-altering ideas through multiple initiatives, including TEDxLive, a one-day simulcast of its annual conference.

TEDxTellurideLive, an independently organized event licensed by TED, takes place at the Michael D.Palm Theatre, 721 West Colorado Avenue, Wednesday, February 29, 9:30 a.m. – 7:45 p.m. Those wanting to attend the FREE event must register at  www.tedxtelluridelive.com. Telluride is one of 116 addresses around the world privileged to participate remotely through the one-day simulcast. About 330 of The Palm’s 587 seats are already reserved.

“We canʼt think of a more perfect place to hold a simulcast than Telluride. Telluride is a sophisticated small town filled with intellectually curious people who thrive on dynamic ideas. Weʼre not surprised that we have already had to change from a smaller venue to a larger venue because of the flurry of registrations,” explains event organizer Katrine Formby about why she and husband Bill decided to initiate TEDxTellurideLive.

Leading by example, TED speakers encourage us all to try something new without fear. How?

At TED, the worldʼs leading thinkers and doers, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Isabel Allende, Jane Goodall and Paul Stamets, a regular a Telluride’s Shroomfest, are asked to give the talk of their lives in just 18 minutes – or out comes the hook. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com.

TED hold two major events each year: the aforementioned TED Conference in Long Beach every spring (along with a parallel conference, TED Active, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TEDʼs media initiatives include TED.com where new TEDTalks are posted daily; the new TED Conversations, enabling broad conversations among TED fans; and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide.

TED has also established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world for the better are given the opportunity to put their thoughts into action.

TEDx, as mentioned above, offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world.

Katrine got hooked on TED after attending TEDGlobal in 2009.

“I watched inventor Josh Silver demonstrate his adjustable eyeglass lenses that work like binoculars. (You adjust the lenses until you can see well, then snap off the plastic strap and you have glasses perfect for you.) Silver wants to get these glasses out to the millions of people who live in countries where there is no eye care,” explains Katrine. “I heard Dr. Cary Fowler suggest the idea of an underground “seed bank” where hundreds of thousands of seeds from every crop variety in the world can be stored in case there is a holocaust. That way the world can be replanted. I remember Dr. Fowler showed a slide of an artist rendering of his idea and I sat in the audience impressed. But I was blown away when his next slide showed the ACTUAL seed bank that he had built in a tunnel of northern Norway. I heard about an airplane that needs a 64 meter wig span to absorb the rays of the sun, so the plane can fly totally with solar energy (storing up energy during the day so the plane can continue flying at night). And I listened to Lewis Gordon Pugh who had swum for 19 minutes across the North Pole in water that was 29 degrees Fahrenheit to draw attention to the effects of global warming.”

TEDGlobal lasted four days.

“During the conference,” Katrine continues, “I wondered if I would be worn out at the end of four days. Would I be exhausted? Drained? How would I feel the morning of Day 5 when it was time to go home? I woke up on that 5th morning thinking: ‘I could do it all again. Another day of talks would be marvelous!'”

The program on the 29th begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends in the evening at 7:45 p.m. Throughout the day there are two breaks of 45 minutes – one hour, plus an hour and a half lunch break. Snacks are provided during at the break.

To preview the line-up for February 29, go to www.tedxtelluridelive.com, the same place you go to register, and click on “Speakers.”To learn more, click the “play” button and listen to what Katrine has to add.