Pamella’s top talk is Karen Armstrong’s TED Prize Wish for a charter for compassion. “Karen Armstrong is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world. Although I don’t adhere to one specific belief, I too believe that all spiritual/religious ideas/beliefs are based on one common theme: the Golden Rule. Karen Armstrong approaches this idea in an educational way that is acceptable and non-threatening.”

Alana’s favorite is Wade Davis’s TED2003 talk on endangered cultures. “Wade Davis is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and one of the foremost experts on indigenous peoples and cultures. He has amazing photos and stories about the world’s many cultures that are disappearing at an alarming rate – 50% of the world’s 6000 languages are no longer spoken to children. It’s a favorite because it’s a reminder to step out of your own life and recognize that there are a myriad ways of seeing the world. It’s through that diversity that we start to expand our own minds and, inversely, end up learning about ourselves.

“I really believe that water is the biggest challenge we face. Bigger than the economy, bigger than climate change, bigger than health care – because all of these depend on water. While this talk can seem like a bit of a commercial, I love the fact that it addresses 3 key concerns: how to get access to those that need it; how to do it affordably; how to deal with the rich country/poor country divide as it relates to both of these challenges. I think Michael Pritchard leaves me with just one question: Why the hell haven’t we done this yet?”

In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning — creating conditions where kids’ natural talents can flourish.

Vaccine-autism claims, “Frankenfood” bans, the herbal cure craze: All point to the public’s growing fear (and, often, outright denial) of science and reason, says Michael Specter. He warns the trend spells disaster for human progress.

Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how.

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play — with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn’t).

Influential pioneer who defined the alternate reality entertainment genre worldwide. Sean Stewart is an award-winning science fiction novelist, a groundbreaking figure in transmedia storytelling, and the most experienced and influential writer of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) in the world. Hailing from Edmonton and currently based in California, Sean has founded four genre defining companies including 42 Entertainment and Fourth Wall Studios, behind ARG campaigns including The Beast, I Love Bees, Year Zero, and Vanishing Point (Microsoft). In publishing, he has continued to push the envelope of the traditional novel with the transmedia Cathy’s Book, a New York Times and international bestseller currently published in twenty countries and a dozen languages around the world.

Successful business leader passionate about raising kids to be entrepreneurs. For over 20 years, Cameron Herold has been coaching, speaking to, or helping entrepreneurs build companies on five continents. He launched BackPocket COO to coach & mentor young, fun, entrepreneurial, growth companies and help make their dreams happen. He is one of the country’s most innovative business leaders and was a leading force behind one of the most successful businesses of the decade, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?.

Headquartered in Edmonton, Grant Skinner is an internationally recognized leader in the field of rich interactive experiences. His body of work spans experimental interaction, applications, games, websites, installations, embedded devices, and mobile, with a recent focus on projects that span multiple environments. While building his company gskinner.com into a leading interactive production shop, Grant has worked with a wide range of high calibre clients including AOL, BBC, Salesforce, Nissan, Adobe, GE, Atlantic Records, Comcast, EA, CNN, and DirectTV.