TED Open Translation Project

The idea of translating TED Talks came about by popular demand. Passionate viewers around the world started asking if they could translate talks in order to share them with friends and family. (Some were even sending us finished translations!) Recognizing a real need — and an opportunity to radically open accessibility — TED developed a system to allow volunteers to translate their favorite talks into any language.

The Open Translation Project launched in 2009, with 300 translations in 40 languages, created by 200 volunteer translators. Today, more than 50,000 translations have been published in 104 languages (and counting), created by more than 15,000 volunteers. Recently, the project expanded to include the transcription and translation of TEDxTalks, the translation of TED-Ed lessons, the localization of TED’s Android app and the translation of content distributed by worldwide partners that help grow TED’s global footprint.