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The legendary TED conference is coming to Europe for the first time this coming July, and you're invited to be part of it! TEDGLOBAL will take place in Oxford, UK, July 12-15. Among the speakers will be the author of "The Tipping Point" and "Blink" Malcom Gladwell, genomics pioneer Craig Venter, Nokia's director of design Marko Ahtisaari, the co-founder of Skype and Kazaa Niklas Zennström, and many others (list below). Ariadne has reached an agreement with the organizers to allow 25 of our friends to attend at a US$ 1000 discount each. Read on.

1. TED
2. TEDGLOBAL: conference, speakers, venue
3. How to register as an Ariadne friend and get $1000 off

1. TED

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. In fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. It embraces science, media, business, environmental and social issues, performance arts and music. Its success is based on the enormous inspiration and insight gained by connecting with remarkable people whose work is outside our daily routine.

The first TED conference took place in 1984 and included the public unveiling of the Macintosh computer and of the Sony compact disc, while mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot demonstrated how to map coastlines with his newly discovered fractals.

Since 1990 the TED conference has been an annual event and has become one of the most exclusive and high-level gatherings in the world. Every February, a group of American leading thinkers and doers from many different disciplines gather in California united by their curiosity, open-mindedness and a desire to think outside the box. Speakers have ranged from Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Google co-founder Sergey Brin to architect Frank Gehry and the co-discoverer of DNA James Watson to "biomimicry" specialist Janine Benyus and musician Herbie Hancock. The founders of Amazon and eBay are regular attendees (and were all there this past February).

The "San Francisco Chronicle" recently described TED as "an assault on conventional ways of thinking", and added: "Not many other conferences could assemble a set that entertains, educates, provokes and flat out inspires attendees with the feats humans, nature and technology are capable of."

TED is owned by a charity, The Sapling Foundation, and all profits go toward finding smart solutions to tough global problems such as AIDS, poverty, and ocean conservation. This year TED launched the TED Prize, recognising individuals with the talent to change the world. Among the first three awardees was the singer Bono, who gave a passionate and inspiring talk.

2. TEDGLOBAL: conference, speakers, venue

The first TEDGLOBAL will be held in Oxford, UK, July 12-15, 2005. Attendance will be limited to 350 to 400 people.

The main theme of TEDGLOBAL 2005 will be "Ideas big enough to change the world". It is co-produced by Chris Anderson, the Curator of the TED Conferences, and Bruno Giussani, a former World Economic Forum's executive who produced the famous Global Internet Summit in Barcelona in 2000. Among the speakers who have already signed up for TEDGLOBAL are:

Malcom Gladwell, author "The Tipping Point" and "Blink"
Craig Venter, genomics pioneer
Juan Enriquez, author "How the Future Catches You"
Steven Pinker, evolutionary psychologist, author "How the Mind Works"
Dan Gilbert, Harvard psychologist and expert on "happiness"
Marko Ahtisaari, director of design strategy, Nokia
Clay Shirky, digital thinker
Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, author "Power to the people"
Joichi Ito, Japanese über-blogger
Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and Kazaa
Ze Frank, unique Internet performance artist
Peter Donnelly, Oxford statistician and leading thinker on cognition
Jacqueline Novogratz, pioneer of a new 'market-based' philanthropy
Richard Dawkins, the biologist behind "The Selfish Gene" and "memes"
Sir Martin Rees, cosmologist and futurist
Steven Levitt, regarded as America's most brilliant economist under 40
Philippe Starck, internationally-known designer
Eve Ensler, playwright of "The Vagina Monologues"
Aubrey de Grey, Cambridge computer scientist, innovative thinker on aging
Alan Cooper, professor of Ancient Molecules at Oxford
Barry Schwartz, author "The paradox of Choice"
Sasa Vucinic, not-for-profit venture capitalist & media visionary
Kari Stefansson, founder of DeCode Genetics
Jimmy Wales, founder of the Wikipedia
Peter Diamandis, founder of the X-Prize and NoGravity, air & space visionary
Yochai Benkler, author "Sharing Nicely"
William McDonough, sustainability architect
Carl Honoré, author "In praise of slowness"
(an updated list is at www.ted.com)

Adding to the magic, there will be the amazing spaces and places of Oxford. The main conference will be held at the Oxford Playhouse, with special events at the famous Student Union Debating Hall and the Sheldonian Music Hall. Most attendees will stay in ensuite accommodations at Keble College, enjoying its stunning architecture and "Hogwarts"-style dining hall.

3. How to register for TEDGLOBAL as a friend of Ariadne and get $1000 off

Interested? A special agreement with the organizers allows today Ariadne to offer to the first 25 of our friends who sign up for the conference a discount of US$ 1000 on the conference price, reducing it from US$4'400 to US$3'400.

In order to obtain this special price, you have to register on the TEDGLOBAL website

http://www.ted.com/tedglobal2005/

with a special code. Click on "Registration" and complete the form using option 3 ("Special registration code") with the code TG87503. That will identify you as a friend of Ariadne and make you eligible for the US$ 1000 discount, which will be automatically deducted from the registration fee.

Go to www.ted.com today if you're interested and want to be among those 25! It promises to be a truly memorable four days at TEDGLOBAL and we look forward seeing you there!