As I write this, I am preparing to welcome the TEDWomen community to our virtual convening that begins today. This week-long gathering promises new experiences for the TEDWomen community which are described later in this posting. But first…
I’m also thrilled to share the big news that starting in 2023, TEDWomen will be convening in our new home — The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia!
This past week at a press conference in Atlanta, CEO of The Woodruff Arts Center Hala Moddelmog, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, TED’s new Head of Conferences Monique Ruff-Bell, and I made the big announcement that TEDWomen 2023/24/25 will be convening in Atlanta, Georgia, a city chosen because it mirrors the values of inclusiveness, diversity, innovation and equity that are guiding principles for TEDWomen conferences.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens speaks at the TEDWomen Press Conference in Atlanta.
The Woodruff Arts Center also exemplifies these principles through its three affiliate arts organizations which, together, are a cultural touchstone for the city — the world-class Atlanta Symphony, the award-winning Alliance Theater and the highly respected High Museum of Art. I am honored to serve on the board of The Woodruff, so imagine how excited I am to connect these two great organizations — TED and The Woodruff Arts Center — working together to bring yet another groundbreaking conference of ideas, innovations, changemakers and leaders together in a city I am proud to call home.
As many of you know, previous TEDWomen conferences have been held around the country, in various cities including Washington, DC; Palm Springs, CA; New Orleans, LA; and San Francisco, CA. We will continue to curate speakers and performers from everywhere, and connect a global community of women and men to make TEDWomen an experience not to be missed.
That’s what we promise starting today, too with this year's new, expanded TEDWomen virtual experience.
TEDWomen Presents 2022 will feature new speakers and interactive activations each day. To participate in the festival, interested attendees may purchase a Gallery "view only" pass for on-demand access or apply for a Connector Pass, which provides opportunities for interactivity and networking within the virtual conference platform. If you haven't yet applied to attend, there's still time, but spaces are limited. Visit the TEDWomen Presents website for more details.
Speakers from this year's line-up include Tamana Ayazi, Afghan filmmaker and activist; Jane Fonda, actress & activist; Heidi Hammel, NASA interdisciplinary scientist on the James Webb Telescope Project; Angélique Kidjo, Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist; and Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate activist, interviewed by my climate mentor and climate justice champion, Mary Robinson. You can view the entire incredible list of speakers on the TEDWomen Presents website.
For the first time, this virtual format also provides the opportunity to expand the TEDWomen program offerings with daily film screenings. TEDWomen has partnered with the Sundance Institute's Sundance Film Festival programming team, under Director of Programming Kim Yutani, to curate a selection of films that have informed, inspired, and delighted film festival goers this past year. The selection of films (see full program) will be available on-demand to attendees throughout the week as they further explore the digital conference's themes.
As Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente noted, "These five films, all directed by women, introduce global ideas and connect with the pillars of this year's festival – change, work, rights, the future, and joy."
I look forward to leveraging TED's digital platform to once again gather the global TEDWomen community. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic changing nearly everything about the ways we live and work, a climate crisis that threatens a habitable future, and attacks on reproductive rights, these really are dangerous times, and such times call for dangerous women willing to stand up, speak up and show up.
This year, TEDWomen Presents interviews some of the women leading on these frontline challenges as well as those steering us towards the future with ways to embrace joy. I hope you will join the conversations that will create connections, spark new ideas, and catalyze action.
Onward!
-Pat
