TEDxJaffa - on the theme 'Desire to know The Other' - will take place on September 7, 2011 at the East West House in the heart of Jaffa, an ancient port city, believed to be one of the oldest in the world, which was incorporated with Tel Aviv in 1950, creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.

Bringing together a diverse group of speakers who will address the event's theme from a multiplicity of angles, TEDxJaffa aims to give voice to exceptional, outward-focused individuals and create an evening of uncommon inspiration.

With speakers including a doctor of neuropsychology talking about brain mechanisms that enable empathy, a grassroots community organizer bringing Israelis across the Green Line for encounters with their Palestinian peers, founder of an interfaith encounter association that uses faith as the starting point for cross-cultural dialogue and a diplomat speaking about knowing The Other via the framework of diplomacy, among many others, the evening's program is sure to stimulate ideas worth spreading – and we invite you to join us.

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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, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com.

TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, 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 also 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 TEDFellows 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.

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