TED Announces the Global Launch of the TEDx Anchor Program

India - English

Forges strategic partnership with Infosys to pilot the program in India

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Feb 16, 2016, 04:30 ET

NEW YORK, February 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

TED, the organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading," has announced the launch of the TEDx Anchor Program, a dynamic cultural ideas exchange, designed to celebrate TEDx events around the world. Through a strategic partnership with Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services, the program will kick off with a two-year, 14-city pilot in India.

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TEDx is a program of local, independently organized events that inspire communities to discuss big ideas on a wide range of subjects - education, health, science, design, technology, entertainment and more. Since its launch in 2009, there have been more than 15,000 TEDx events in 170 countries, with a further billion people engaged online.

The TEDx Anchor Program works closely with local TEDx events and their organizers to provide personalized support, foster civic engagement at the local level and ultimately help to build stronger, more connected communities. "We're excited to partner with Infosys to deepen our commitment to the TEDx community with the launch of the TEDx Anchor Program. More than just offering TED's support, this initiative is an opportunity to learn from and collaborate with our organizers, and to share local ideas with the world," said Jay Herratti, TEDx Executive Director. "India is an ideal place to launch this new program because it has such a strong network of 700+ TEDx events with so much potential for further expansion and growth - it is a big country with a lot of great ideas we are keen to discover and help spread."

Through the strategic partnership with Infosys, TED will provide dedicated mentorship, scholarships and training to TEDx organizers in cities across India, including: Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mangalore, Mumbai, Mysore, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram. This includes:

Annual scholarships for TEDx organizers to attend a TED Conference
Training and education sessions with TED Staff
Scholarship to participate in a TEDx Anchor India Workshop hosted at Infosys's Mysore campus in March 2016
Tools and resources to assist in producing high quality talks, events, marketing and audience experiences at the local TEDx events
Opportunity to host local TEDx events at Infosys campuses in India
Marketing and communications support, including the creation of a documentary about the program to create awareness of the key issues and showcase the latest ideas coming out of India

"Infosys deeply relates to and supports TED's mission to spread ideas. By sponsoring the TEDx Anchor Program in India, Infosys is keen to accelerate the sharing of ideas that matter in India. We firmly believe that India can strengthen its position amongst the global economies, led by the power of ideas, the power of creativity and the resulting potential of entrepreneurship," said Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys. "Exploring new, unprecedented ideas is the only way that we will be able to find the challenges of our time and in turn the solutions that will lead to peaceful societies, improved health and better ways of living for us all."

Upcoming Events

Following a major TEDx Anchor Program workshop scheduled at the Infosys campus in Mysore on March 24, 2016, Infosys is inviting TEDx organizers from across the country to attend a weekend of training and workshops with TED staff, March 25-27, 2016.
The first TEDx Anchor event will take place at the Infosys Bangalore campus in collaboration with TEDxBangalore.

For more information about the TEDx Anchor Program and upcoming events, visit http://www.ted.com

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, 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 combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks delivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman. TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a "wish," or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted.

About Infosys Ltd.

Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services. We enable clients, in more than 50 countries, to stay a step ahead of emerging business trends and outperform the competition. We help them transform and thrive in a changing world by co-creating breakthrough solutions that combine strategic insights and execution excellence.

Visit http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), with US$ 9.2 billion in LTM revenues and 193,000+ employees, is helping enterprises renew themselves while also creating new avenues to generate value.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that the date of this press release is January 14, 2016, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

SOURCE Infosys