TEDx » Organizer Resources » Community » Taking action with TEDx



Expand the impact of your TEDx event by encouraging your team and your local TEDx community to get involved with TED's global initiatives.

The TED Prize

The TED Prize is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, more importantly, "One Wish to Change the World." As a TEDx organizer, you can support the TED Prize Winners by engaging your local community in the execution of their wishes.

The Inside Out Project

At TED2011, street artist JR wished to "use art to turn the world inside out." You can support JR's wish by organizing a group action -- five or more people creating and coordinating an exhibit together -- at your TEDx event.

How to get involved:

  1. Download and review the guidelines for group actions
  2. Through your website, blog, Twitter feed, etc., announce your plan to coordinate a group action at your TEDx event
  3. Choose someone to lead the conversation at your event
  4. Set a specific time for those interested to get together
  5. Once your group action has been decided upon, email the TED Prize team at jrgroupaction@ted.com (they will help guide the execution and documentation of your action)
  6. Share the story of your participation in JR's wish on the TEDx Blog

Example: Artocracy in Tunisia was a project led by a group of local photographers to introduce the public to the faces of modern Tunisia. Portraits of 100 ordinary Tunisians were pasted in places where, previously, only portraits of government officials were displayed. (Note: JR won't be able to attend every TEDx event's action, but this project shows what's possible!


The Charter for Compassion

The Charter for Compassion is the result of Karen Armstrong's 2008 TED Prize wish. The Charter, crafted by people all over the world and drafted by a multi-faith, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders, seeks to change the conversation so that compassion becomes a key word in public and private discourse.

How to get involved:

  • Incorporate the Charter for Compassion into your TEDx event by asking attendees to sign the Charter
  • Provide a space where attendees can get information about the Charter
  • Ask someone involved with a local arm of the Charter to speak at your event

Examples:

  • At TEDxYouth@Amsterdam, youth performing at the event incorporated elements of the Charter into a song.
  • At TEDxKids@TheHill, Erin Henry spoke on her work as the founder of the Children's Charter for Compassion, an approved project of the Charter.


The TED Fellows

The TED Fellows are an extraordinary group of individuals working on projects in their respective communities to transform the planet. Through your TEDx event, your TEDx community can get involved in the projects they're working on, both globally and locally.

One Million Bones

One Million Bones, a project of TED Fellow Naomi Natale, is a fundraising art installation designed to recognize the millions of victims and survivors who have been killed or displaced by ongoing genocides. One million people will each create one bone to represent one victim or survivor. Installed together, these million bones will flood the National Mall in Washington, D.C., unearthing the memory of these individuals while calling citizens to action.

How to get involved:

  • Make a bone and sponsor it (for $5) to be a part of the project
  • Host a bone making event -- invite your friends over to make bones
  • Volunteer to help spread the word about the One Million Bones project

Example: During breaks at TEDxYouth@Castilleja, attendees each created one papier-mâché bone to be displayed on the National Mall in Washington, DC.



TEDx in a Box

For members of undeveloped and under served communities, TEDx events can be a catalyst for learning and inspiration. Through our "TEDx in a Box" initiative, people in these communities are given access to all they need to organize a TEDx event in a small, portable box.

Items in the box include two N8 Nokia phones, preloaded with TEDTalks and capable of recording video, a mini projector, audio speakers, a surge protector, and our Developing World Toolkit document.

How to get involved:

  • Purchase a TEDx in a Box for an event in a underserved or developing world community. (Each box costs $2,000. The price includes shipping and handling.)
  • Encourage people you know living and working in developing world communities to host a TEDx in a Box type event.
  • Host a TEDx event in a developing or under privileged community -- Suraj Sudhaker is the organizer of TEDxKibera [link], a TEDx event in a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. He began his TEDx journey with one event, and educated the Kibera community on TED and TEDx, and empowered them to host their own TEDx events.
  • Translate the Developing World Toolkit document. (If you or someone from your TEDx community are interested in translating this document, email tedx@ted.com.)