About
TEDxRamallah
At the end of 2009, we got the license from TED to carry out a TEDxRamallah, an independently organized TED event in the city of Ramallah. For those readers who are familiar with TED, and wildly spread TEDx events around the world, you will appreciate that TEDxRamallah is happening, on 16 April 2011. But TEDxRamallah is no normal TEDx;
- As an event, TEDxRamallah is happening in a city on land that cannot be reached by a large part of its own population due to occupation. It is also removed from access to the larger majority of people from neighboring countries.
- As an initiative, TEDxRamallah takes on the responsibility to go beyond the event itself to fulfill the promise of what TED stands for: "We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world."
We have thus taken TEDxRamallah to unchartered grounds;
TEDxRamallah aims to showcase inspiring stories of Palestine. It also aims to educate and inspire by providing a space for people to share their ideas in any field, whether science, education, literature, technology, design, etc. to contribute to the positive perception of Palestine.
TEDxRamallah is a one day event that will take place in three venues in three cities: Convention Palace in Bethlehem*, Sunflower Theatre in Beirut, and in a venue in Amman. The partner cities (Beirut and Amman) support Palestine, a place with limited access, by getting people who cannot be part of the event in Bethlehem closer to the live experience. The TEDxRamallah program will have a majority of speakers speaking live from the Convention Palace, while those speakers who cannot access Palestine will speak from the partner cities and will be streamed into Bethlehem. It is also through the energy nurtured around TEDxRamallah that we have been able to pool in massive involvement to highlight inspiring and yet untold stories of Palestine, all gathered and meticulously brought to life by the TEDxRamallah team and network. Those stories are found on this site under Palestine Stories. All content is the product of the TEDxRamallah team and network's efforts, by that moving TEDxRamallah from a platform to a platform and content generator. We have received great interest in that content, which shows that indeed, those untold stories need to be brought to life, and it is through this platform that we found a route for them to surface.
* The venue location moved from Ramallah to Bethlehem due to works being done in the initial Ramallah venue. the Bethlehem Convention Palace will provide a state of the art space and technology that fits with the ambition of this initiative.
About
TEDx
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxRamallah, where x - independently organized TED event. At our TEDxRamallah event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx event, inclucing ours, are self-organized.
About
TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, 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 established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
