TEDxSoweto | TED2013 Talent Search, Johannesburg
14 August 2012
For Immediate Release

Your vote is critical to secure South Africans vying for a spot in TED’s Global Talent Search to speak

@TED2013

Johannesburg, South Africa. The TED2013 Talent Search finalists have been announced, including 20 TED@Johannesburg Talent Search speakers from the event held at MIAGI Music Centre in Soweto, Johannesburg.

TED Talent Search events were held between April and June 2012 on six continents and in 14 cities: Amsterdam, Bangalore, Doha, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Tunis and Vancouver. For each, TED tapped local TEDx organizers to produce the events.

With more than 2,000 applications, speakers chimed in on topics ranging from the linguistics of texting to our relationship with plants to the new-found popularity of kimchi. The Johannesburg leg of the Talent Search produced 20 amazing speakers who are part of the shortlist. Amongst them are Lee Swan, first African woman to reach the magnetic North Pole; Steve Barnett, the silent conductor; tech luminary Toby Shapshak; Melodi Music founder Nimrod Moloto; World Press Photo of the Year winner for 2011 Jodi Bieber; barefoot astronomer Simon Ratcliffe and inventors Gary Flax and Ludwick Marishane.

A minimum of 20 of the 293 finalists will receive invitations to TED2013. TED is opening that selection process to public participation. From now through August 31, people can view, rate and comment on the videos. While TED will ultimately maintain curatorial control, public ratings and feedback will play a key role in determining who takes the stage at TED2013.
TEDxSoweto convenor Kelo Kubu said: “We believe that in these 20 finalists we have achieved our goal of finding remarkable people doing great work, across disciplines, to grab this opportunity to showcase Africa’s ingenuity on a global platform.”

We wish these finalists, who hail from the lengths and breadths of our region, all the best in these last phase of the Talent Search.

To view, rate and comment please go to log on to TalentSearch.TED.com or www.tedxsoweto.co.za

For media queries please contact Vanessa Perumal on 011 788 7632 or media@jtcomms.co.za

NOTES TO EDITOR:

About TED

TED [Technology, Entertainment, Design] is a non-profit 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 former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs; the annual TEDGlobal conference is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide, and TEDBooks, short e-books by speakers that elaborate on a single idea originally presented on TED’s stage. 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 TED Fellows 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.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED
About TEDX

TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
Other TED Worldwide Talent Search Cities

• Doha, Qatar
• London, U.K.
• Johannesburg
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Tunis, Tunisia
• Shanghai, China
• Bangalore, India
• Seoul, South Korea
• Sydney, Australia
• Tokyo, Japan
• Vancouver, Canada
• New York, United States
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
Issued by JT Communication Solutions on behalf of TEDxSoweto

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