Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 7 February, 2008 - 02:55
From the TED Africa Website:  
TED is an annual conference held in Monterey, California. The name is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design – the initial focus of the conference. Its talks have since broadened and now cover a wide variety of topics including science, arts, politics, global issues, architecture, music, design and more 
Speakers have included former US president Bill Clinton, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Others who have spoken at TED include Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Frank Gehry, Al Gore, Billy Graham, Peter Gabriel, Quincy Jones and Bono.TEDGlobal, its sister conference, is held biannually in a different country. In June 2007 TEDGlobal was hosted for the first time on the African continent, in the city of Arusha, Tanzania. The conference turned out to be a rare occasion where economists, musicians, politicians, filmmakers, writers, architects, scientists, philosophers, journalists, entrepreneurs, designers and more – from Africa and the world – gathered in one place to engage each other on the most pressing issues facing the continent. 
As a result of the success of this conference, TED then resolved to establish TEDAfrica as a permanent fixture, with the first instalment being the Cape Town event.
TED’s goal is to ensure that the greatest ideas in the world are spread to the furthest corners of the planet. To achieve this, it aims to provide a platform for the world’s smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries and most inspired teachers to engage the world on the biggest issues facing humanity. Core to this goal is the belief that there is no greater force for changing the world than a powerful idea.
For more information on TED, visit www.ted.com