Sharing new solutions
Harping on problems is easy. In 2024, the bold thinkers who stepped onto a TED stage did something much harder — they forwarded solutions. Thanks to you, their ideas are being amplified globally and reaching people everywhere.
TED Countdown reimagines the future of food
The world’s population will hit 10 billion people in the next 40 years. So how will we feed everyone and nourish the planet at the same time? A TED Countdown event in June tackled this challenge, surfacing many ground-breaking answers to this question:
Dana Gunders shared solutions to stop the trillion dollars’ worth of food wasted annually, from solar-powered cold rooms to phone apps that sell discounted restaurant leftovers.
Uma Valeti spoke on cultivating meat from animal cells, while Fei Luo suggested brewing ethical collagen — two ideas that mean nourishment without environmental damage.
Agnes Kalibata highlighted how the smallholder farmers who produce the majority of Africa’s food, with better support, can also boost climate resilience.
“Do we love our children?” That’s the question economist Scott Galloway asked in the #1 most watched talk of 2024. After a scorching look at how young people are struggling economically, with wealth being transferred from young to old, his talk ends in three minutes of rapid-fire solutions. With 6.5 million views and counting, his ideas are making waves, especially for the TED Members who joined Scott in an exclusive post-talk conversation.
The future of communication goes viral
When you’re in a loud space, or speaking to a soft talker, or navigating any kind of language gap, it’s often difficult to hear and communicate effectively. Jason Rugolo’s demo of his “audio computer" — an earbud that solves all these problems seamlessly — became the most viral TED clip ever on Instagram and TikTok, with more than 30 million views.
By the numbers
The TED archive now features more than 225,000 talks.
These big ideas and fresh solutions are reaching people in 248 countries and territories around the world.
In Addition:
More than 64,000 TED translators helped bring solutions-oriented ideas to people in their country, across 93 languages.
More than 520 innovators are now part of the TED Fellows network, with their solutions directly impacting 200 million+ people in over 100 countries.
