Last Saturday I attended my first TEDx conference in Mannheim, Germany (http://www.tedxrheinneckar.de).  It was a great, inspiring event.

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences curated by the American private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate „ideas worth spreading“. … They address an increasingly wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can.

TED’s mission statement begins: “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.”

TEDx in Mannheim offered a number of great presentations on all kinds of topics:  the future of our educational system, free software, couch surfing, etc, etc. Not all presentations were great – the content certainly was.  What I liked best was the environment and audience which was open to embrace new and uncommon ideas.  This by itself can be inspiring.  It certainly made me think and help create some new ideas I will dig into in the coming weeks and months.

If you are not familiar with TED I highly recommend to visit the official website of TED at www.TED.com.  Learn about TED, watch some of the free videos, explore the site – and get inspired.