About TED Conferences
TED Conferences bring together a group of industry leaders and impactful people for unique, multi-day experiences dedicated to TED’s global mission of sharing meaningful new ideas.
Attendees have described TED as...
"A journey into the future in the company of those creating it.”
What is a TED Conference?
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are collectively shaping our world. But a TED conference is broader still, showcasing important research and ideas from all disciplines and exploring how they connect. The goal is to expand the imagination, make unexpected connections, inspire conversation and set the ball in motion for meaningful learning and change.
At a TED Conference you’ll…
Become part of a community
Speakers take the TED stage to share TED Talks in their areas of research and expertise about innovations that matter. But TED isn't a typical conference, and speakers aren’t the only ones with great ideas to share. The community of attendees — scientists, CEOs, designers, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, artists — from all around the world are as extraordinary as the speakers.
Embark on a new experience
The format is fast-paced and typically includes: daily sessions of talks from TED speakers, interviews, debates, workshops, excursions, interactive exhibits, evening events, parties and so much more.
Find the magic
The program is designed for attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to connect and draw inspiration from unlikely places.
Join us
Many of our events are made up of a curated audience and include an application process. We read every application and actively seek out new members.
Thank you for supporting TED’s mission
TED is a non-profit and we rely on support from our community to further our goal of making great ideas accessible and helping create a future worth pursuing for all.
When you apply for a TED membership, you’re not just purchasing a conference experience – you’re directly supporting TED’s mission to share powerful ideas with the world.
how your membership supports TED
The impact of a conference membership contribution extends well beyond the conference and helps fund the following initiatives:
Cultivating ideas in local communities
Each year, thousands of TEDx events create ripples of change around the world. Your conference membership supports ongoing training and seminars for hosts and outreach to new communities that help cultivate ideas worth spreading.
Celebrating the ideas of educators and students
This award-winning series of animated educational videos and teacher-training programs helps teach critical-thinking skills in classrooms everywhere for free.
Communicating ideas across languages and borders
TED videos are translated and subtitled in more than 100 languages, thanks to our generous volunteer translators. With your support, we're reaching out to more language communities, improving our software tools and making talks accessible to more people.
Supporting next-generation innovators
Our incredible community of young world-changers leverages connections and resources at TED to pursue careers in tech, the arts, social justice and more. This program has become a recognized leader in developing talented young leaders.
Helping keep TED Talks free online
We release one new TED Talk per day to a global audience, connecting people with the next idea that might change their life.
Supporting bold ideas for global change
We support changemakers to dream bigger. Every year we select, nurture, and launch a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.
Policies
Before you apply for conference membership, please familiarize yourself with the registration policies. The specific rules may depend upon the level of membership for an event.
Code of Conduct
All attendees of TED Conferences agree to our Code of Conduct before joining us on site. This helps to create a safe and inclusive environment for all attendees.
Past Conferences
TED began as a small conference in Monterey, California. That single conference has grown into various multi-day annual events, all dedicated to TED’s global mission of researching and sharing meaningful new ideas.
Most conferences are broad in scope, such as our annual TED Conference held in Vancouver, Canada. Occasionally we hold deep-dive conferences more focused on one subject area, such as the Countdown Summit held in Edinburgh, Scotland.