TEDinArabic Summit 2023: Meet the Speakers
In collaboration with Qatar Foundation, TED is hosting a two-day TEDinArabic summit centered around the theme of The Butterfly Effect in Doha, Qatar on March 18-19, 2023. The summit will feature 17 speakers from across the Middle East and North Africa to share their ideas with a global audience- all in Arabic. Launched in partnership with Qatar Foundation in July 2020, TEDinArabic is TED’s first-ever initiative in Arabic that seeks to highlight voices from the region.
In June 2022, TED launched a TEDinArabic Idea Search that was open to all Arabic speakers to submit their worth spreading ideas to be featured at the summit. Applications were required to submit a 2-minute video as part of their submissions. After reviewing thousands of applications, TED Curation selected top speakers whose ideas are unique and timely with potential to move the needle on a number of pressing issues. Learn more about the summit and speakers here.
Meet Our TEDinArabic Speakers
1- Adnan Barq, content creator
Country: Palestine
Idea: How to overcome trauma
After a life-threatening experience, Adnan realized that the Butterfly Effect has helped him cope with intergenerational trauma.
2- Hend Al Qaderi, dental researcher
Country: Kuwait
Idea: Saliva as a diagnostic tool for systemic diseases
There's a lot to be learned from our spit, as Hend discovered while studying salivary biomarkers and the oral microbiome during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3- Ahmad Nabeel, physician + entrepreneur
Country: Kuwait
Idea: Holding onto reality in an ambiguous virtual world
The virtual world may look real, yet it can be deceiving. With the right critical framework and democratization of data, we can keep our bearings—and hold ourselves accountable.
4- Ahmed Habib, accessibility specialist
Country: Iraq
Idea: How accessibility took center stage at World Cup 2022
Fans praised the great accessibility and inclusiveness of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar; as an organizing committee member, Ahmed helped make that happen. Here's how (and how other events can do the same).
5- Imane El Khantouti, aerospace engineer
Country: Morocco
Idea: How to achieve sustainability using clues from space
Satellite data and technologies developed for use by astronauts can also help those left on Earth with farming, water conservation, and disaster recovery—and that's just the start.
6- Amr Ramadan, climate change advocate
Country: Egypt
Idea: Can carbon taxation support climate justice?
As someone whose home city (Alexandria, Egypt) is at risk due to sea-level rise, Amr is passionate about finding solutions—and he believes that a carbon tax is the way to help other countries as well as his own.
7- Lama Sha'sha'a, roboticist
Country: Jordan
Idea: The promise of robotics in education
Lama makes the case that to truly prepare today's youth, educational systems must incorporate out-of-the-box thinking, using robotics, coding and AI.
8- Belal Khaled, artist + activist
Country: Palestine
Idea: Calligraphy as a tool for social change
Belal likes to draw on any object he sees. He uses his work to send strong messages about politics and social justice.
9- Mashael Al Nuaimi, textile designer
Country: Qatar
Idea: How to be both fashionable and sustainable
After realizing she was wasting too much money on fast fashion, Mashael joined the fashion industry in her fifties to develop sustainable attire that also follows the trends. She'll tell us how to spot climate-friendly clothes.
10- Mahdi Mansour, physicist + poet
Country: Lebanon
Idea: The science and poetry of human creativity
Both a physicist and a poet himself, Mahdi believes that merging science and literature is the key to maximum creativity. An educational system that divides us into language arts or science people needs an overhaul.
11- Nasser Jaber, gastro-diplomat
Country: Palestine
Idea: The role of food in global peace
A disaster with a happy ending: how diners at local restaurants can fight food insecurity on the other side of the world.
12- Mona Al Hallaq, preservation activist
Country: Lebanon
Idea: The urgency of saving historical buildings
Historical buildings serve as a society's collective memory, and should be preserved, argues Mona, using the Barakat building in Beirut to illustrate her point.
13- Mohammed Al Shaker, the Weatherman of Arabia
Country: Jordan
Idea: How AI can help with the climate crisis
Obsessed with forecasts and weather from an early age, Mohammed is now using AI technologies and social media to help the Gulf region adapt to climate change—with lessons for the rest of the world as well.
14- Rafiah Al Talei, women’s rights advocate
Country: Oman
Idea: Putting women on the political map
Though she didn't win when she ran for office herself, Rafiah resolved to pave the way for others—and here's what she's learned.
15- Yusra Mardini, Olympic swimmer
Country: Syria
Idea: How sports can spur refugee self-reliance and resilience
16- Ali Al Rashid, engineer + researcher
Country: Qatar
Idea: Using your senses to stay safe
Using his knowledge of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, Ali developed airport security methods to detect people who are under the influence of narcotics or who have infectious diseases—and here's how what he knows can help you.
17- Alaa Salah, engineer + activist
Country: Sudan
Idea: How to keep dreaming in the midst of revolution