In 2005, TED began a new tradition: three people would be selected each year to receive $100,000 and a wish. The TED community would help the prizewinner make that wish become a reality.

Now, make no mistake about it. These are not the kind of people that would wish for a better body, a vacation for two to Tuscany, or a free car. Everyone here in Monterey would like to think there isn't a soul like that in the house.

Bono was one of the first recipients of the TED prize: he launched the One campaign. Bill Clinton won one last year: he wished for a healthcare system in Rwanda.

But, because Bono and Clinton have the means to build their own awareness campaigns around their wishes without the help of TED, perhaps it's the wishes of the unsung heroes that matter most. And that's the case with this year's prizewinners.

The writer Dave Eggers (profiled here) is a well-known name among the New York and San Francisco literati, but outside of that world he's virtually unknown. But his efforts building a network of after-school tutoring facilities for underprivileged kids to focus on reading and writing is an accomplishment TED rightly decided to honor this year.

Eggers unveiled his wish tonight: to inspire more people to volunteer with students at public schools. He wishes to receive no fewer than 1,000 stories from people in the next year about their experience engaging directly with a local public school. People can pledge their involvement at www.onceuponaschool.org.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic here, but I think collecting 1,000 stories is perhaps setting the bar low. Check back with me this time next year to find out.

What's most amazing about TED's selection of prizewinners is the diversity of their interests.

Neil Turok (profiled here) is a theoretical physicist with a passion for helping Africa advance in this world. So it's apt that he managed to combine the two to create what will be his legacy.

In 2003, he opened the doors at the African Institute Mathematical Sciences in Cape Town, South Africa with the goal of giving mathematically-minded Africans an option for higher learning without having to leave the continent.

It's been a success so far, and his wish will only build on that. Turok first announced his dream: that the next Einstein will be African. Then he announced his plan: to open 15 AIMS schools across Africa during the next five years.

The third TED prizewinner, Karen Armstrong (profiled here), is also undertaking an education effort, albeit a different kind. A former nun and a provocative author on religion, Armstrong passionately cares about restoring faith in this conflict-ridden world.

In her mind, religion, namely the three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, should not be blamed for the history of world wars, as it often is. Especially today, she says, conflict is political, and religion gets caught up in it.

Speaking to people of all faiths around the world, Armstrong has come to realize that "we are living in a world where religion has been hijacked." Many young people especially want to know what they can do to restore their religious faith and its relevance in this world.

Her wish is to create a "Charter for Compassion," which would be signed by 1,000 religious leaders around the globe. It would include guidelines about how to interpret the various scriptures that are currently being abused, and it would help to "create a movement of people of want to join up and reclaim their faith."

Inspired? Stop wishing you'll win the lottery you aren't even playing and learn how to participate at TEDprize.org.

by Megan Barnett