About this event: TEDxUgwunobamkpaRd is an independently organized TED event under an authorized license from TED. It is being organized this year for the first time in the historic City of Onitsha with the aim to make the youth involved in the spectrum of IDEAS WORTH SPREADING. With our theme “Ignite”, we hope to present a new path for sustainable development, S...

Beyoncé must love surprises. Because late last night, she unexpectedly dropped her fifth studio album, Beyoncé, on iTunes. It's what she's calling a "visual album," and it features 14 songs and 17 music videos -- including a song about her daughter, Blue Ivy, and guest appearances from husband Jay-Z, pals Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean and...

Time has given its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year a twist again for 2014 -- each person on the list was written about by someone who could just as easily have appeared on it themselves. Below, the many TED connections in this package, both honorees and writers, divided into the categories Titans, Pioneers, Artists, Le...

As the year comes to a close, the TED community is busy as ever. Below, a few highlights. Plant-robot hybrids are here. At the MIT Media Lab, researchers Pattie Maes and Harpreet Sareen have developed a new kind of “cybernetic lifeform”: a cyborg plant called Elowan that marries organic and digital technologies. Elowan’s robotic half track...

We’ve been on break but the TED community definitely hasn’t -- here are some highlights from the past few weeks. Black Panther’s Shuri stars in her own comic. Writer Nnedi Okorafor will team up with visual artist Leonardo Romero to bring Marvel’s newest Black Panther comic series to life. Shuri will follow Wakandan princess and tech geniu...

We need to have more honest, open-ended conversations about race and bias -- in our own lives and in the TV shows and movies we see, says diversity consultant Vernā Myers. It’s not every day that the TED world collides with a reality TV show, but recently on The Bachelorette, one of the most compelling conversations about race was initiated by ...

While we’ve been preparing for next week’s TED conference in Vancouver, BC, some TEDsters have been busy Dancing with the Stars, protesting the NSA and musing on the aftermath of speaking at TED. Here are some illustrious activities from around the TED world this week: Nilofer Merchant (watch her TED Talk) admits that she had hoped for fame a...

About this event: Every month, the Santa Clara Branch Library hosts a TED discussion group where we get together and view a set of TED and TEDx videos focusing on a central theme, followed by a discussion afterwards. Future topics and videos can and will be chosen by the group. Have a favorite TED talk? Share it! Have a topic you want to discuss? Let us know! Th...

Next month, TED turns 30 years old. And to celebrate, we’ve put together a lightning round of trivia to test your TED Talk and speaker knowledge. For kicks, post your answers in the comments section below. We’ll post the official answer sheet today, February 13, at 1pm. Ken Robinson, who gave the most-watched talk in TED history, was deeply ...

If you know someone who belongs on the TED stage, or if you belong there yourself, we want to hear from you! Please use our speaker nomination form. If you wish to suggest a speaker for a local, independent TEDx event, contact the organizer directly through the TEDx event's own web page. About our speakers At TED, we search year-round for spe...

About this event: TEDxMajengo aims to showcase different stories, spark curiosity, open minds, and bring together unexpected connections leading to new community-centric initiatives, collaborations, or movements in Arusha. The event will generate networking, interactioning and linking between 100 attendees from a range of backgrounds and professions. Of these att...

Earlier this month, Merriam-Webster announced that 2017's word of the year is feminism. Searches for the word on the dictionary website spiked throughout the year, beginning in January around the Women's March, again after Kellyanne Conway said in an interview that she didn't consider herself a feminist, and during some of feminism's many po...

The TED community has been moving-and-shaking as usual. Below, some newsy highlights. What you don’t know about ‘no.’ If your friend is getting ready for a job interview and asks, “Do I look good in this?,” and you answer, “No, totally!,” should they change or stride confidently out the door? This week, Kathryn Schulz writes in The New Yorker a...

Written by the educators who created Covering World News, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material. At the newsstand, on our smartphones and while watching the evening news, we learn about faraway people and places from...

There’s a difference between traveling to a place and vacationing there. Vacationing renders visions of relaxation and minimal effort, whereas traveling evokes thoughts of an adventure where Wi-Fi hotspots are few and far between. Here are some ways to think differently about the places you visit and the people you see before stepping out of tha...

If we want to effectively respond to climate change, we must understand the complex connections that exist between humans and ice. These relationships deserve our attention and respect, says glaciologist M Jackson. Our glaciers are disappearing. Glaciers worldwide that have existed for centuries are disappearing in human timescales -- our lifet...

Time is precious, we know. Here, compiled from past reading lists, are suggestions for two dozen short but mighty books to pick up. fiction & literature The Summer Book by Tove Jansson The quintessential celebration of summer in Scandinavia -- 22 vignettes of a girl and a grandmother on an island. Jansson is best known as the creator of M...

Compiled from past TED book lists, here's a curated selection of fiction and non-fiction titles to check out now. Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Change by Stacey Abrams (TED talk: 3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do) I work in government affairs, and the last thing I enjoy reading for pleasure are books ...

The tables in bookstores can be overwhelming: Every book cover looks appealing, every blurb glows with praise. Sometimes, you just need a recommendation from a human, someone you trust. Below, 10 members of the TED community -- with very different points of view -- share the books they think you’ll enjoy this summer. Their selections are won...

About this event: Our December TEDx event (as voted by you!) is "Celebrating Diversity" Post Event Recap: After a brief introductory TEDx video, three TED Talks were screened: -Documentary Filmmakers Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols, “This is what LGBT Life is like Around the World” -Investment Expert Mellody Hobson, “Color Blind or Color Brave?” -Comedian, Journ...

Need a dose of literary oomph and inspiration? Here's a selection of uplifting reads -- all suggested by TED speakers -- for your enjoyment. When you crave entertainment but don't want to dumb down A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman This touching novel reminds us that everyone has a story; that we should aim to understand, not to judge; and ...

Enthusiastic recommendations for uplifting reads, as suggested by TED speakers and TED-Ed educators. If you’re searching for some calm The Peace of Wild Things: And Other Poems by Wendell Berry This little book of poetry is my current morning dose of calm, and I use it like a meditation if I’m feeling stressed about the day ahead. The most f...

Whether your weeks ahead contain travel, vacations or just longer and lazier days than usual, our list of recommendations from TED speakers has books for all moods, activities and tastes. When you want to understand why we humans do what we do Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely (TED Talk: Our buggy...

Stories are necessary, but they're not as magical as they seem, says writer Sisonke Msimang. In this funny and thoughtful talk, Msimang questions our emphasis on storytelling and spotlights the decline of facts. During a critical time when listening has been confused for action, Msimang asks us to switch off our phones, step away from our screen...

How do we grasp the individual humanity of millions of displaced people? Artist, author and photographer Brian Sokol has been trying to do this from behind a lens, documenting refugee camps and engaging with people who live in them. He shares how disrupting incomplete narratives and letting refugees tell their own stories changed his own preconc...