TEDxJaffa, On The Theme 'Desire To Know The Other' Announces Speaker List

Online, August 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - On September 7, from 2-10pm, 100 of Israel's most impassioned TEDx enthusiasts will come together to participate in TEDxJaffa, hosted at the East West House, for a very special evening of ideas worth spreading. Built around the theme 'Desire to know The Other', the event will feature 12 leading thinkers representing fields as diverse as neuropsychology, diplomacy, community activism, music, communications and more.

Speakers and performers include:

• Dr. Yehuda Stolov, executive director of the Interfaith Encounter Association.
• Oren Anolik is an Israeli diplomat who held diverse positions along his 16-year-long career.
• Osama Elewat, co-founder of Visit Palestine, a grassroots organization that brings Israelis to Palestine.
• Michal Ziv, senior program leader for Landmark Education, an organization in the field of personal and professional development.
• Yisrael Borochov, Haya Samir and the East West ensemble, performing 2 songs from Debka Fantasia
• Dr. Haim Shapira, author and professor of mathematical genetics and game theory.
• Carol Daniel Kasbari is consultant for change organizations and veteran facilitator for ethnic groups in conflict.
• Anat Perry-Sharon a neuropsychologist focused on brain mechanisms that enable empathy.
• Amal Elsana Alh'jooj, co-executive director of Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED) and founding director of its Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation (AJEEC).
• Dalia Eshkenazi, founder of Open House in Ramle.
• Tova Averbach, organizational consultant and Open Spaces facilitator.

While attendees for the independently produced event, operated under a license from TED, have already been selected following a month long call for applications from the local community, those interested in participating in off-site events can join a local simulcast, watch via a live webcast, sponsored by Watchitoo on the TEDxJaffa homepage (info on simulcast/webcast here at the end of August), or join the public afterparty at Anna LouLou bar in Jaffa at 11pm, the night of the event.

"This event is as much about the attendees as it is about the speakers," says Alli Magidsohn, TEDxJaffa's producer. "By bringing people together in a TED-like environment, the aim is to collectively create an atmosphere of uncommon inspiration and real listening - especially around stories related to a theme as relevant as this one is to our community."

TEDxJaffa is made possible due to the in-kind contribution of a number of generous partners. Michael Weitz and Abigail Tenembaum from,TAI Israel, a boutique firm that works with senior executives, teams and visionary individuals to communicate with impact and authenticity have provided speaker development and additional support. The US embassy's Public Affairs Division has provided sponsorship. Other important local partners include: Haj Kahil family restaurant, Piece of Cake bakery, Abu Al Abed Palestinian-Lebanese Kitchen and Catering, Anna LouLou bar, Portal Yaffo, Sticky printing, Hub Tel Aviv and Watchitoo.

Limited spots are available for press to attend TEDxJaffa. Interested parties should contact [email protected] or the above media contact.

For detailed speaker bios and more information about the event itself, please visit www.TEDxJaffa.com, follow us on Twitter @TEDxJaffa, and visit our Facebook page.

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About TEDx
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. While the TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, individual TEDx events, such as TEDxJaffa, are self-organized.

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.
For information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration

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