11 People Had an Idea — Now They’re on the TED Stage | LIVE from TED2026!

Overview

This session from TED2026 brought together 11 speakers from around the globe, each selected through TEDx-hosted Idea Search events. The talks spanned diverse topics, from fostering connection in polarized societies to groundbreaking innovations in conservation, energy, and inclusivity.

Notable Quotes

- You could learn a lot from an idiot, especially if you resolve never to act like one. – Joshua Johnson, on the power of moving closer to understand others.

- The opposite of exploitation is not employment. The opposite of exploitation is agency. – Fiori Zafeiropoulou, on reimagining factories as spaces of empowerment.

- What gets heard is chosen, and those choices will shape what the future will remember. – Gabriella Di Laccio, on the importance of recording underrepresented voices in music.

🎙️ Building Bridges in Polarized Times

- Joshua Johnson shared lessons from his career as a journalist, emphasizing the importance of moving closer to difficult people to understand their stories.

- He distinguished between neutrality (suppressing opinions) and objectivity (parking emotions to learn without judgment), advocating for the latter as a tool for meaningful dialogue.

- Practical tips included asking short, open-ended questions and focusing on the why behind beliefs.

🧠 Inclusivity and Communication

- Jessica Irwin, a nonverbal advocate, highlighted the challenges faced by nonverbal individuals, especially in medical settings.

- She introduced simple, life-saving communication techniques like yes/no eye movements and emphasized the need to assume intelligence in nonverbal patients.

- Her work is driving communication training in hospitals to prevent unnecessary suffering.

🌍 Rethinking Systems for Sustainability

- Vincent Egoro addressed the failure of renewable energy systems in Africa due to lack of maintenance. He proposed integrating repair knowledge into existing local economies to ensure sustainability.

- Fiori Zafeiropoulou envisioned factories as transparent, community-centered hubs that combine AI, robotics, and human creativity to foster inclusivity and sustainability.

- Both speakers emphasized the importance of empowering local communities to maintain and innovate within these systems.

🎵 Amplifying Forgotten Voices

- Gabriella Di Laccio revealed that 90% of music across genres is composed by men, leaving a vast gap in representation.

- Her foundation has uncovered over 18,000 women composers, advocating for their inclusion in AI datasets and music catalogs to ensure their legacy.

- She called on tech companies to invest in recording and preserving underrepresented voices to shape a more inclusive musical future.

🧪 Conservation Chemistry: A New Frontier

- Tim Cernak introduced conservation chemistry, a field leveraging modern drug discovery tools to combat diseases threatening endangered species.

- He shared success stories, including saving a Gila monster from a deadly parasite using AI-driven drug discovery.

- His lab is developing precision medicines for species like sea turtles, frogs, and raptors, demonstrating how chemistry can play a pivotal role in biodiversity conservation.