Over the past couple of years, TED has been steadily growing in terms of their reach internationally as well as locally. From major cities to even smaller suburbs, TED has become a gathering of sorts for the sole purpose of sharing ideas. For example, take this session here where Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick, shares his idea of the future.
TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, was founded in 1984. The first TED conferences were held in Monterey, California. In 2006, TED experimented with putting TED Talk videos online for free – a decision that opened the doors to a radically new model for sharing ideas: today there are more than 2,400 TED Talks available for free on TED.com, which are viewed about a billion times a year. Thanks to the support of thousands of volunteer translators, there are close to 100,000 published translations of TED Talks in over 110 languages. TEDx, the licensing program that allows communities to produce independently organised TED events, has seen 21,500 events held worldwide.
In order to capture that market and have a platform to voice out, BMW i has announced an alliance with TED during the annual TED conference in Vancouver. BMW i is launching a unique, global search for ideas with TED entitled “NextVisionaries”. Here, pioneers, strategists and creatives from around the world are invited to outline their ideas for mobility. Applications can be submitted now at the www.nextvisionaries.com microsite. During a multi-phase selection process over the next four months, a panel of mentors will choose the most impressive, most promising and most groundbreaking proposals. The winning entrant will be given the opportunity to present their visionary idea from the TED stage in New York in November 2017.
BMW i sees the collaboration with TED as presenting a unique opportunity to help bring visionary ideas for personal mobility to the world’s attention. With BMW i Ventures, the brand already helps selected initiatives and start-ups to develop and implement trailblazing ideas in the organisation of personal transport. And now, “NextVisionaries” is providing a platform that is open to everyone and has been designed to enable the free exchange of ideas. “Ever since the founding of project i ten years ago, BMW i has been a visionary pioneer. This spirit of visionary thinking and pioneering action unites BMW i and the TED community. For all pre-thinkers of inspiring and iconic visions around the mobility of tomorrow, we offer a great stage with this unique cooperation,” explains Hildegard Wortmann, Senior Vice President Brand BMW. Lisa Choi Owens, Head of Global Partnerships at TED, adds: “TED Talks give the most creative minds and their most fascinating ideas a way to reach curious audiences around the world. The collaboration with BMW i gives us the chance to unearth some of the most exciting new thinking in the field of mobility.”
The “NextVisionaries” ideas competition is aimed at a creative community engaged with various aspects of future mobility. The competition theme of “Visionary Mobility” has been formulated to attract the broadest possible spread of pioneering ideas and concepts. Entrants are asked to propose vehicle and technological concepts, hardware and software solutions, and ideas for products and services that have the potential to shape the face of personal transport in tomorrow’s world. Visions can likewise be based on environment-friendly mobility-related processes that conserve resources, or on strategies for creating a society geared towards personal mobility requirements.
