In the wake of the devastating March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami and radiation menace, TEDxTokyo 2011 abruptly altered focus to explore practical and inventive ways of rebuilding and renewing Japan and uplifting the spirits of its people.

Our third major event, TEDxTokyo 2011: Enter the Unknown, promises to be bigger and better than ever as we gather an even more diverse range of speakers and participants to share ideas and inspiration and imagine what the future holds. We’ll be presenting live-streamed simultaneous broadcasts in English and Japanese via the TEDxTokyo website, www.tedxtokyo.com, and offering a backstage live stream to accept web audience questions via Twitter.

Scheduled for Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., TEDxTokyo 2011 will once again be taking place at Miraikan—the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation—in Odaiba, Tokyo. Our thirty presenters will have between 6 and 12 minutes to share solutions and ideas that will astound, inspire and empower both Japan and the world. Some examples are shown on the left.

As in previous years, TEDxTokyo 2011′s three hundred highly diversified participants have been handpicked for what they add to the conversation and community. More than half are non-Japanese and multilingual, and over 60 percent are global leaders at leading media, academic, IT and government organizations. We expect those onsite to be joined by a virtual audience of over 10,000 people who’ll be viewing TEDxTokyo 2011 online and tracking the event via Twitter and other social media.

Tweet Us Right: Use @tedxtokyo (English) and @tedxtokyo_ja (Japanese) to post questions and get updates on speakers.

Our TEDxTokyo 2011 Partners

TEDxTokyo is pleased to welcome Sony Corporation, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Denso IT Laboratory Inc. and Citibank Japan Ltd. as our core partners for 2011. We are also happy to have 32 other in-kind partners. Thanks to the generous contributions of our partners and a multitude of talented and tireless volunteers, TEDxTokyo remains a free and noncommercial event.

About TEDxTokyo

As the first international TEDx event in what has become a global phenomenon inspiring events in virtually every key metropolis on the planet, TEDxTokyo has been a pacesetter in organization, coverage and the stellar range of our presenters. In the spirit of the main TED conference, TEDxTokyo 2009 challenged some of the world’s most prolific thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less—and they delivered! HRH Princess Takamado’s eloquent and heartfelt keynote set the mood for twenty-three speakers from Japan and abroad, including world champion rock climber Yuji Hirayama, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Renée Byer, and global sustainability expert Chandran Nair.

TEDxTokyo 2010, Hit Reset, saw us build on the success of the previous year with an impressive lineup of 25 speakers from both Japan and abroad, and add another hundred people to the participant list. Presenters such as Sony brain scientist Ken Mogi and prizewinning filmmaker Jin Tatsumura brought deep insight and a wealth of fresh ideas to the stage, while Cirque du Soleil, ukulele maestro Jake Shimabukuro and other performers enthralled us. Over 7,000 people from 57 countries tuned in to our bilingual live streams, joining the three hundred participants enjoying the event at the Miraikan.

In addition to the main annual event, TEDxTokyo continues to support a wider ecosystem. In June 2010, TEDxTokyo yz became our first offshoot, for and by high-potential young people in their twenties and thirties. in November 2010, TEDxYouth@Tokyo followed focusing on even younger changemakers. TEDxTokyo also helped organize the first-ever regional Asia TEDx organizers summit in 2010, and is helping mentor a range of TEDx events that include TEDxOsaka, TEDxAkihabara, and TEDxKUIS (Kanda University of International Studies).

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world’s leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a parallel conference, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily; the new TED Conversations, enabling broad conversations among TED fans; 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 TED Fellows 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.

TEDGlobal 2011, “The Stuff of Life,” will be held July 11-15, 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, selforganized 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 providesgeneral guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)