TED Blog: A good day for the world. The Encyclopedia of Life is launched.

09 May 2007

A good day for the world. The Encyclopedia of Life is launched.

Those of us in Monterey for TED2007 this year watched in awe as E O Wilson unveiled his inspiring TED Prize wish to create an Encyclopedia of Life. (You can see his talk here... or download it in HD.)

Eol_logo_header_2 In Washington DC this morning, we saw the first big step toward granting the wish. Five major scientific institutions, backed by a $50m funding commitment led by the MacArthur Foundation, announced the launch of a major global effort to launch the Encyclopedia. The press conference included a video message from Britain's Environment Minister David Miliband who said the "full weight of the British government" was behind the project. Ed Wilson told journalists today's announcement was a dream come true.

As Ed hinted in his speech back in March, this broad-based effort to plan the launch was already underway. But I am proud to tell you that members of the TED community, inspired by Ed's wish, 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 a couple 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 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.

Posted by Chris Anderson | Permalink

The comments to this entry are closed.