Jamie Oliver to receive the 2010 TED Prize

Dec 22 2009

Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef and standard-bearer in the fight against obesity and other diet related issues, has been announced as the recipient of the 2010 TED Prize, an award granting recipients $100,000 and something much bigger - an opportunity to realize a wish to change the world.

The host of 12 television series seen in 130 countries and bestselling author of 10 cookbooks translated into 29 languages, Oliver is also transforming the way we feed our children, on a global scale. Oliver's School Dinners/Feed Me Better campaign pressured the UK government to invest $1 billion to overhaul school lunches to improve nutrition. Oliver has been a tireless international spokesman and activist working to improve diet-related health issues, including obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Oliver is also the founder of the Fifteen Foundation, a social enterprise and chef apprenticeship to help disadvantaged 18 to 24-year-olds learn to work and lead at the highest levels of the restaurant industry. Based in London, it has been replicated through franchising in Amsterdam, Cornwall and Melbourne. In 2010, a new television series, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution USA, is scheduled to air on ABC, bringing Oliver's unique vision to America.

"We're thrilled to award the TED Prize to Jamie Oliver. His work directly tackles one of the most distressing issues the world faces... the obesity epidemic. In this year in which his TV show launches in the United States, we look forward to helping him achieve even greater impact," says TED Curator Chris Anderson.

The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED community's exceptional array of talent and resources. It has been awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of "One Wish to Change the World." These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

Oliver's award, the fifth anniversary of the TED Prize, also marks a shift from three annual TED Prizes winners to one prize per year. When the Prize began five years ago, the TED Prize team envisioned supporting projects that could be completed in 12 months, but winners dreamed up wishes more powerful than could have been imagined or realized within a single year. There are currently 15 TED Prize projects, and at least half of them still require TED's active engagement.

With the announcement of a single TED Prize, organizers are increasing the capacity to facilitate wide-ranging public efforts associated with previously announced Prize winning wishes - many of which can create positive ripple effects for years to come. These include:

Karen Armstrong's 2009 TED Prize wish for the creation of the Charter for Compassion, which launched last month: http://charterforcompassion.org/

• Sylvia Earle's campaign for marine protected areas: http://www.tedprize.org/sylvia-earle/

• Jill Tarter's plan to make SETI data publicly available so that millions can join the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence: http://www.tedprize.org/jill-tarter/

• Jose Antonio Abreu's dream to see his visionary El Sistema music program flourish in America via a Fellows program: http://elsistemausa.org/

• Neil Turok's Next Einstein project: http://www.nexteinstein.org/

• Cameron Sinclair's Open Architecture Network: http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/

• Dave Eggers' OnceUponASchool: http://onceuponaschool.org/

• E.O. Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life: http://www.eol.org/

"This is a classic case of less is more. By focusing the community's efforts, we'll end up with even greater achievement. We're investing more than ever in our TED Prize efforts and are truly proud of all that is being delivered by members of the TED community. This change will be a catalyst to take our unique mass-collaboration endeavor to a new level," says Anderson.

Jamie Oliver will unveil his "wish to change the world" wish on February 10 at TED2010 and the global TED Community will work to make it come true.