'Riveting Talks by Remarkable People' at TEDxMidwest in Chicago Brings Together 23 Top Talents Oct. 14-15

CHICAGO, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-three of the planet's most extraordinary thinkers and achievers are set to speak at TEDxMidwest in Chicago, with the theme "What the World Needs Now" framing the presentation. The event, on the evening of October 14 and all day October 15 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, highlights "Riveting Talks by Remarkable People." A gathering unprecedented in Chicago, TEDxMidwest is designed to stimulate thought and inspire the 350 attendees, including 20 teacher-nominated, gifted Chicago high school students.

The program will begin at 6 pm on Thursday, October 14, with renowned National Geographic nature photographer Frans Lanting presenting a two-billion-year visual history of the Earth. Speakers will include top dinosaur hunter Paul Sereno; oceanographer and Titanic explorer Dave Gallo; human fossil hunter Meave Leakey; bestselling author on human irrationality Dan Ariely; and space tourist advocate Chirinjeev Kathuria, whose companies have put private citizens in outer space.

Also on the agenda are enlightening discussions of the new Detroit urban farming movement with MacArthur "genius" urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter; the art of negotiation with 8 million copy-selling "Getting to Yes!" author William Ury; SNL alumnus Julia Sweeney on "10 Useful Things we Know about Ourselves"; energy-generating buildings with architect Gordon Gill; "50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do" with author Gever Tulley; and much more.

The audience is as amazing as the speakers, consisting of 185 CEOs and Presidents, 10 MacArthur, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners, 30 philanthropists and many of the area's top artists.

Event organizers are Brad Keywell, co-founder of Groupon and Lightbank; Linda Stone, a former Apple and Microsoft executive; and Mike Hettwer, a serial entrepreneur and photographer who has contributed to National Geographic.

"The world needs people who think differently and change hearts, minds, and society because of it. TEDxMidwest is an opportunity to be exposed to some of these people, learn from them, and hopefully be inspired to pursue your own ideas of what the world needs now," Keywell said. "Having all of these speakers under one roof will be an unforgettable experience."

More information and a full list of speakers are at http://www.tedxmidwest.com/

The event brochure can be downloaded at: http://www.tedxmidwest.com/docs/TEDxMidwestBrochure.pdf

About TEDx

In the spirit of extending the "ideas worth spreading" credo of TED, its parent nonprofit organization, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.

TED2011, "The Rediscovery of Wonder," will be held February 28-March 4, 2011, in Long Beach, California, with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs, California. This event is sold-out.

SOURCE Lightbank