Johannesburg joins Doha, London, Nairobi, Tunis and nine other cities, on six continents in hosting TED 2013 Worldwide Auditions, a public search to uncover new talents, voices and ideas the world needs to hear, for TED 2013 themed ‘The Young, The Wise, The Undiscovered’.
Applications will open separately for each city, at least two months before auditions and are only accessible online. The online application process for the Johannesburg Auditions runs for 20 days from Friday (February 24) to Thursday, March 15. Applicants are encouraged to include a one-minute video of themselves, and 30 of the best applicants will be invited to each audition.
Applicants can apply to their nearest city even if they are from a different country and in exceptional cases TED may contribute to costs of attending the audition. The auditions will be held in Johannesburg on Thursday, May 3. 2012. Auditions will take the form of a three to six minute talk or performance in English only.
The line-up of previous TED Speakers includes former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, writer Chris Abani, scientist Neil Turok, musicians Vusi Mahlasela & Paul Simon, and many others: Nobel laureates, CEOs, designers and inventors.
The rapid expansion of TED’s footprint across the globe and in Africa has largely been driven by its TEDx programme, where qualifying applicants can host independently organised TED events. With over 25 TEDx licenses issued to South Africans since 2009, the country is one of the most active on the African continent.
In South Africa, TED has partnered with TEDxSoweto to deliver the Johannesburg leg of the auditions. TEDxSoweto convener Kelo Kubu, who also happens to be TEDxAmbassador for Africa, had this to say: “Our goal is to find remarkable people doing great work, across disciplines, wherever they may be. This is a great opportunity to showcase Africas’ ingenuity to the world”.
For more information please visit: https://conferences.ted.com/TED2013/auditions/ or https://www.tedxsoweto.co.za
