I’m a big fan of TED.  TED stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design,” and is an organized effort to unite thinkers and doers with an audience for their ideas.  Some of the ideas are merely interesting, but a few are revolutionary.  And all are staged for the advancement of our species and the improvement of our world.

Once per year, the TED conference awards three “TED Prizes:” $100,000 given to three extraordinary individuals towards the advancement of their revolutionary ideas or TED wishes.  The TED prize also symbolizes the full weight of the TED community, uniting behind the goals of the prize winners.

In 2007, James Nachtwey was one of the three recipients.  A distinguished photojournalist, Nachtwey’s wish was to to receive help from the TED community to gain access to and report on an as of yet untold story with broad implications.  The video at the bottom of this page is Nachtwey’s presentation at the 2007 TED conference in which he exhibits many of his breathtaking (in the horror they convey) photos and makes his “wish.”

The results of his prize are to be announced on Oct. 3, and will be revealed through a series of dramatic venues (like bilboards in Union Square, New York City).  If I had to guess, the subject of his reporting will be the horrors of war, particularly as they relate to our (the United States’) recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  But only time will tell.