A good day for the world: The Encylopedia of Life is born
Every once in a while something happens that makes me feel good about our
species:
Dear TEDizens,
Those of us in Monterey this year watched in
awe as E O Wilson unveiled his inspiring TED Prize wish to create an
Encyclopedia of Life. (If you weren't there, you can see it here.)
In Washington DC this morning, the first big
step in that dream came true. Five major scientific institutions, backed by a
$50m funding commitment led by the MacArthur Foundation, announced the launch
of a global effort to launch the Encyclopedia. Ed Wilson described today's
announcement as a dream come true.
As Ed hinted in his speech back in March, a
broad-based effort to plan the launch was already underway at the time he made
his TED Prize wish. But he called on us to assist the effort, I am proud to
tell you that members of the TED community played a key role in realizing what
happened today.
In particular I'd like to salute the effort of
Avenue A-Razorfish who in three short weeks were able to visualize a stunning
design for the Encyclopedia and incorporate it in a video that is the
centerpiece of the newly launched website. Please take two minutes (and it is
literally two minutes) right now to watch this video. It does a spectacular job
of explaining the purpose and vision behind the Encylopedia. It is here at
www.eol.org. This work was done entirely pro bono, and is a wonderful example
of the TED Prize at work. Everyone at the launch today was blown away by it.
The video includes spectacular photography,
some of it contributed by TEDster Frans Lanting. And the website address itself
was contributed by an individual inspired by Ed's wish. Programmer Ray Ratelis
owned eol.org, a valuable web address which he freely contributed to the
project.
Many more TEDsters are meeting next month to
assist the project in brainstorming its architecture, technology and design.
It's proving an exhilarating example of the power of collaboration.
There are already many stories up online about
the Encylopedia. Here's the official announcement.
Huge kudos and thanks to Ed and to Avenue
A-Razorfish and to everyone else embarking on this journey.
My best,
- Chris Anderson, TED Curator
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