On 24 November, the day before the event, TEDxAmsterdam presents a dedicated channel from 10 in the morning until 10 in the evening completely dedicated to TEDxAmsterdam topics. A dedicated tab on the Netherlands’ most popular news site NU.nl will give immediate access to the stream as well as all social media activity. Of course the TEDxAmsterdam website will also guide visitors to all video material.

Tune into the TEDxAmsterdam TV webcast on Thursday 24 November from 10.00 until 22.00 or walk into our open studio in the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg (the Gijsbrecht foyer). Join us there in real life or chip in with your questions on Twitter using #TEDxAms. Besides entertainment and inspiration you might also get the very last ticket to TEDxAmsterdam on the 25th or win a copy of the TEDxAmsterdam book “Het begint met een idee” by Carolien Vader. The winners will be announced around 20.00!

Read all about the TEDxAmsterdam TV webcast and how to participate.

Nationaal Ballet: The brain
Along with dance2film (Altin Kaftira & Mathieu Gremillet), Ernst Meisner, Grand Sujet at Het Nationale Balet, developed a bespoke choreography for TEDxAmsterdam, in which the dancers of the ballet will create a human brain to open TEDxAmsterdam 2011’s Human Nature theme.

Jim Stolze, Welcome to TEDxAmsterdam, the third edition!
Jim Stolze is a Dutch entrepreneur, author and public speaker. After being at the TED Conference in California (first as a guest and later as a speaker) he fell in love with the concept. In 2009 he got the chance to bring TEDx to The Netherlands and organized -with his team- the first TEDx Amsterdam. Today Jim Stolze will be the master of ceremony .

Prof. Barry Schwartz, Psychologist and TED speaker: Idea Technology
Idea technology is the technology that comes from scientific conceptions of what and who we are as human beings. This technology changes how we think about ourselves and others, and changes how we act in the world. And unlike “thing technology,” “idea technology” can have a powerful influence on us even if the ideas are false.

Es’ra al Shafei, Founder of MideastYouth.com: Creating new visions of the Middle East
How can we bridge barriers of faith and geography to foster constructive discourse in the Middle East?
Explore how MideastYouth.com aims to amplify diverse and progressive voices advocating for change throughout the Middle East and North Africa using digital media.

Surprise speaker Princess Mabel van Oranje

Eric Vloeimans, Trumpet player, Improvisation
Dutch trumpet player Eric Vloeimans is regarded as one of Europe’s best performers with an extraordinary talent for playing original music with outstanding quality. Enjoy the intimacy, the directness, and the beautiful melodies of this special trumpet solo.

General Peter van Uhm, Chief of Defence: Choosing the gun
General Van Uhm was appointed Netherlands Chief of Defence in April 2008, after a long career in the army which included deployments to Lebanon and Sarajevo. One day after his appointment as Chief of Defence, his son, platoon commander Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm, was killed on duty in Afghanistan. General van Uhm will speak about why he chose to make a contribution to the world by becoming a soldier and choosing the gun as his instrument.

Prof. dr. Henkjan Honing, KNAW-Hendrik Muller chair of Music Cognition at the University of Amsterdam: What makes us musical animals
We all share a predisposition for music. Examples range from the ability of new-borns to perceive the beat, to the unexpected musical expertise of ordinary listeners. The evidence will show that music is second nature to most human beings, both biologically and socially.

Prof. dr. Eveline Crone, Brain and Development Lab, Leiden University: The adolescent brain
What are the psychological and neural processes involved in cognitive control and self-regulation? This talk explores the relation between brain development and changes in psychological processes from birth to adulthood, with a special focus on that special phase in our lives: adolescence.

Raaven, Musical intermezzo
Raaven discovers the sources of pop. 17th century music in colourful and sweeping versions. Zesty, ecstatic, lyric, melancholic and sometimes rough, raw or weird. Raaven plays as authentic as can be – on today’s instruments. With the mindset of the here & now.

Yahay Alabdeli, TEDxBaghdad
In 2010 Yahay Alabdeli approached TEDxAmsterdam with a dream – to realise a TEDx event in his home town of Baghdad. In the face of war and reconstruction,TEDxBaghdad wants to inspire and stimulate initiatives that can improve lives. A short report on a dream come true.

Irene Rompa, TEDxAmsterdam, Food for thought
A tireless supporter of sustainability, Irene Rompa shares her passion for great food and green companies, and will tell you more about how TEDxAmsterdam is doing its share to keep the world in shape.

Pep Rosenfeld, Boom Chicago, Fight, Flight or Make Fun of Your Opponent
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good, well-timed joke is worth several pictures. There is no better way to communicate any idea, no matter how important, disturbing, or seemingly un-funny than with humor. Comedy can change public opinion, help win debates, and tilt elections. This talk will look at how humor is used and abused by all.

Harald Doornbos, Journalist, People’s power – from absolute power to nothing in 48 hours
After 42 years of absolute power, terror and life in a brutal fantasy world, the Libyan people decided enough is enough. Harald Doornbos presents an eyewitness account of the Arab Spring’s most bloody uprising. About people’s power, about an end to tyranny and about losing and gaining everything you love most in life.

Hassina Sherjan, Aid Afghanistan for Education and Boumi Company: My father’s last words
As Founder and CEO of Aid Afghanistan for Education and Crafting Peace with Boumi, Hassina will share here story about returning to Afghanistan to meet with the Taliban to set up clandestine classes. Next to this she founded craftingpeace.com, a design label and philosophy that is providing employment as a form of counter insurgency to bring peace.

Wende, singer songwriter, Underneath
Talent has no boundaries for Dutch singer songwriter Wende who has enjoyed one of the most remarkable musical careers seen in the Benelux countries in recent years.

Joris Luyendijk, author, journalist, To understand our world
How can we make really complex and jargon infested issues accessible to outsiders? A Dutch journalist and anthropologist has moved to the London City to tackle the business of finance, with the goal of demonstrating that the world of finance is actually really interesting…

Gary Wolf, Wired Magazine, The Quantified self
Quantified Self is an international collaboration of users and tool makers who share an interest in self-knowledge through numbers. What are these new “technologies of the self,” and how will they change us?

Jonathan Baij, Dutch Champion, To be a Human Beat Box
Since the day he could listen, Jonathan Baij has been obsessed with sounds. In 2005 he won the national beat box championship and during his talk at TEDxAmsterdam he will share his talent to teach us that everyone is a human beat boxer.

Alan McSmith, Nature Guide, Wilderness is a way of life
Working for 25 years as a wilderness guide in Africa, Alan Smith’s life values have been shaped by nature, and the wilderness wisdom of African friends. Wilderness has a far deeper meaning. It is more than just a place … it is a way of life. There is a balance in nature that inspires grounding, humility and tolerance which can inspire European societies far from the African bush.

Surprise speaker Louise Vet

Pieter van de Rest, Life is a gift
As the recipient of a donor heart, Van de Rest was given a new lease on life. His talk is about the need to express gratitude and about organ donation as the ultimate form of recycling. Saving someone’s life when yours has ended is a matter of love, respect for life, solidarity and responsibility. In our present age of medical prosperity new ethical questions arise.

Dr. ir. David Lentink, Nature inspired flight—beyond the leap
A talk about the miracle of natural flight and the wonders of technology. Lentink and his students not only developed innovative robots that can fly like insects and birds inspired by nature’s most advanced fliers, but they also taught members of the general public how to film nature’s fliers themselves using the world’s most advanced high-speed camera’s – to see the wonders of natural flight.

Dr. Henrik Scharfe and the Geminoid-DK, Blended Presence
Schärfe describes the Geminoid as his body number 2 and as the ultimate thinking tool. Few are left untouched by meeting the android, who frequently fuels deep questions about our own existence. Faced with a machine in an unmistakingly human form, it is hard not to think about the foundations of Human Nature.

William Verstraeten, artist, Igirama
William Verstraeten (1951) is an artist and curator working and living in Middelburg, The Netherlands. Since 1975 he had numerous exhibitions and commissions. Realized works won several international prizes and awards and he received grants from the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. IGIRAMA is the name given by William Verstraeten to describe the work of art he developed from 2003-2011. The IGIRAMA is the classical panorama and the skywalk combined in a new, twenty-first century artwork. While the classical panorama places the horizon around the spectators like a lasso, the IGIRAMA manages to capture the visitors in a magic bubble by placing them high above the world.

Diederik Jekel, Science Journalist, The Dangers of Fear
After receiving his degree in solid state physics and graduating on a superconductivity experiment, Diederik Jekel is on a mission to image scientific ideas in such a way that everyone (especially non-scientists) can grasp the fundamental concepts and have an idea of what science essentially is.

Surprise speaker Rogier van der Heide

Andrew Hessel, Co-founder The Pink Army Cooperative, The Stuff of Dreams and Nightmares
Genetic technology has advanced to the point where almost anyone can play God. Welcome to the synthetic world, where the stuff of dreams and nightmares is becoming real.

Prof. dr. ir. Louise O. Fresco
A powerful thinker and globe-trotting advisor on sustainability, Prof dr ir Louise Fresco will present her thoughts on human nature and our planet, based on the day’s talks.

TEDxAward Award Ceremony
In this special session, we will go from ideas worth spreading to ideas worth doing! TEDxAmsterdam supported 5 projects over the last year, and we will share the results. In addition, we will announce the winner of the new TEDxAmsterdam Award!

Carla Generaal, The Winddrinker
In 2010, a team of students from Delft University embarked on an ambitious project – getting fresh water to Somaliland. Combining wind energy and new technology for water purification, the Wind Drinker is an easy to install and maintain machine that can serve a whole community. Report on a year of hard work in one of the world’s most desolate regions.

Surprise performance by Claron McFadden and Artvark