TED – the technology, entertainment, and design conference based in New York, best known for its thought provoking TEDTalks – is looking for Jordanians with ideas worth spreading to be a part of the TEDGlobal 2011 fellowship class.
What started off 27 years ago as an exclusive annual conference held in Monterey, California — where the world’s great thinkers gathered to share ideas and inspire one another — has grown over the last four years into a global platform for spreading cutting edge ideas. No longer simply a conference, TED is an online phenomenon with over 700 talks available for free to the world in over 80 languages with various initiatives helping to spread inspiring ideas. Additionally TED has begun the TEDx program — like the TEDxAmman hosted by the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship — allowing anyone to host their own TED-like event, and since 2005, TED awards one outstanding individual each year with the TEDPrize ($100,000 and more importantly a wish to change the world).
In 2009, the TED Fellows program was created to bring together young multidisciplinary innovators from around the world to participate in the TED Conference. Applicants can apply to either the TED Conference in Long Beach, California or to the TEDGlobal in Edinburgh, Scotland. 20 Fellows are invited to attend each conference, all expenses paid, becoming part of an amazing network of mavericks.
The TED Fellows Program is currently accepting applicants for TEDGlobal 2011, entitled “The Stuff of Life,” which will be held 11 – 15 July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. So Go sat down with the TED Fellows Team to find out exactly what it is they’re looking for in future TED Fellows…
Go: What do you guys look for in a TED Fellow?
TED: We look for remarkable, multidisciplinary, and paradigmshifting innovators from around the globe who have shown exceptional courage, moral imagination, and the potential to increase positive change in the world. We focus on attracting candidates from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia/ Pacific, and the Middle East, who are between the ages of 21 – 40, however we welcome anyone over the age of 18 to apply. Essentially we’re looking for young people doing insanely cool and unconventional things. A beautifully talented Ethiopian- American musician, an architectural scientist working on carbon “eating” paint, a Jordanian female roboticist, a Palestinian filmmaker, and a Pakistani tech entrepreneur who founded the first online job portal in the region — these are all examples of past and current TED Fellows.
Go: What does the TED Fellowship program bring to each TED Fellow?
TED: The goal of the TED Fellowship program is to empower the Fellows to effectively communicate their work to the world. There are no monetary awards associated with the fellowship, however Fellows get the opportunity to attend the TED Conference either in Long Beach, California or Edinburgh, Scotland. TED covers all expenses to and from the conference, including meals, travel, and accommodations. In addition to being full conference participants, Fellows are flown in early for an exclusive two-day pre-conference event filled with skill building workshops. As part of their pre-conference experience, all Fellows will give a short talk about their work, which will be filmed and considered for TED.com! Throughout the rest of the year, TED Fellows participate in both the TED Fellows and larger TED communities — working one-onone with the TED Fellows team, attending various TED and TEDx events, continuing to tell their story on the TED Fellows and TED.com blogs and more. By being a part of the extensive TED network, Fellows have the opportunity to collaborate with people at the top of their fields. Fellows also have the opportunity to extend their Fellowship by applying for the Senior Fellowship program, which allows them to attend an additional four conferences! (Please note that you have to be a Fellow in order to become a Senior Fellow.)
Go: How can one apply for a TED Fellowship? And what do you look for in the application?
TED: Applying is easy! Every year we hold two application cycles; one for the TED Conference in Long Beach, California and the other for the TEDGlobal Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The application can be found online at http://www.ted.com/fellows/apply. Or if you’d like to nominate an outstanding individual for the TED Conference, email us at fellows@ted.com. As for the application itself, we are more interested in your achievements than your academic credentials. We want to know what you’ve actually done, what you’re currently doing, and what you want to do. You don’t have to have attended college or graduated to apply for a fellowship if you’ve done something remarkable. Check online for more helpful application tips! We also encourage all applicants to become familiar with the TED Fellows by visiting our Website, blog, Facebook, and YouTube pages.
Go: TED focuses on recruiting Fellows from developing areas like Africa, the Caribbean, Asia/Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. Why are these regions so important?
TED: TED seeks to spread the power of ideas throughout the world and the TED Fellows program has found remarkable Fellows and candidates from these five areas. We want to continue that! In the Fellows program, we now have a very international group of 229 Fellows representing 58 countries, including Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan. We want mavericks from different backgrounds and cultures with unique ideas. So we urge all those in Jordan and the region to apply now for the TEDGlobal Conference 2011!
TED Fellows
Go takes a look at four TED Fellows that are making a difference here in the region and around the world.
Yara Shaban, Jordan
TED2011 Fellow
A Jordanian electrical engineer who’s working to engage women in tech education and development in the Middle East.
sites.google.com/site/theyanproject
Esra ’a Al Shafei, Bahrain
TEDGlobal 2009 Fellow
A Bahraini human rights activist and founder of MideastYouth.com, a digital network facilitating the struggle against oppression in the Middle East and North Africa.
www.mideastyouth.com
Saeed Taji Farouky, UK & Palestine
TED2010 Fellow
A documentary filmmaker, photographer, and writer focusing on human rights in the Middle East and North Africa.
www.touristwithatypewriter.com, www.taji.co.uk
Shereen El-Feki, Egypt
TEDGlobal 2009 Fellow
A journalist, academic, and writer who’s working to develop a proper dialog between Arabic and non- Arabic speakers.
beta.meedan.net
Featured in Go Magazine, Issue #4, February 2011.
Go Magazine, Jordan 
Posted on June 19, 2011
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