TED Hosts "TEDWomen Presents"-- A New Virtual Event Empowering Women & Girls

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Oct 13, 2022, 11:55 ET

Notable leaders, including actress & activist Jane Fonda, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, and NASA scientist Heidi Hammel, will come together October 24-28 for a live and on-demand digital festival

Sundance Film Festival joins TED as a programming partner to showcase films connected to themes from the event

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TED—a nonprofit dedicated to discovering and spreading ideas that spark imagination, embrace possibility, and catalyze impact—will host the inaugural TEDWomen Presents, a week-long digital experience featuring a mix of live and on-demand programming. Designed by the curators of TED and TEDWomen, TEDWomen Presents will showcase ideas from leading women on change, work, rights, the future and joy. This year's TEDWomen Presents will take place virtually from October 24-28 with new speakers and interactive activations each day.

TEDWomen Presents will engage women around the world in meaningful conversations and foster connections. Specifically, dialogue will focus on overcoming barriers and accomplishing goals on one's own terms. Attendees can expect curated talks, exclusive films, inspirational and motivational playlists of music and content, and interactive workshops between guests and the speakers.

"I look forward to leveraging TED's digital platform to once again gather the global TEDWomen community," said Pat Mitchell, Editorial Director for TEDWomen. "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 conservations that will create connections, spark new ideas, and catalyze action."

For the first time, the virtual format 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 will be available on demand throughout the week as they further explore the digital conference's themes.

"TED annually brings together a community to take on some of the most interesting ideas, which is why we are excited to partner with TEDWomen," said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. "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."

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.

"We are thrilled both by this year's line-up of speakers for TEDWomen Presents, as well as the new format," said Monique Ruff-Bell, Head of TED Conferences. "We will be introducing a fresh approach to live, virtual engagement at this year's digital experience. By utilizing a variety of levers, we look forward to creating a program that engages the TEDWomen audience from around the world in meaningful conversation on some of the most pressing issues facing us today."

To participate in the festival, interested attendees may purchase a Gallery "view only" pass for on-demand access or apply for an interactive Connector Pass, which provides increased networking opportunities. The price point for passes ranges from $175 - $450.

TEDWomen Presents is supported by longtime TED partners BCG and the Skoll Foundation.

Visit TEDWomen Presents online for more information on the digital event or to see the full line-up of speakers.

*NEW* — TEDWomen 2023 will be held October 11-13, 2023 at The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

TEDWomen Presents x Sundance Film Program

Calendar Girls - Sweden (Directors, Screenwriters and Producers: Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen) — A coming-of-golden-age look at Florida's most dedicated dance team for women over 60, shaking up the outdated image of "the little old lady," and calling for everyone to dance their hearts out, while they still can.

The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future - Chile/France/U.S.A/Germany (Director and Screenwriter: Francisca Alegría; Screenwriters: Fernanda Urrejola, Manuela Infante; Producers: Tom Dercourt, Alejandra García) — Cecilia and her children travel to her aging father's dairy farm after he has a heart attack. Back in her childhood home, Cecilia is met by her mother, a woman dead for many years, whose presence brings to life a painful past chorused by the natural world around them. Cast: Leonor Varela, Mia Maestro, Alfredo Castro, Marcial Tagle, Enzo Ferrada, Luis Dubó.

Hive - Kosovo, Switzerland, Macedonia, Albania (Director and Screenwriter: Blerta Basholli; Producers: Yll Uka, Valon Bajgora, Agon Uka) — Fahrije's husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo. She sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision: to wait for his return, or to continue to persevere. Cast: Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi, Aurita Agushi, Kumrije Hoxha, Adriana Matoshi, Kaona Sylejmani.

Klondike - Ukraine/Turkey (Director and Screenwriter: Maryna Er Gorbach; Producers: Maryna Er Gorbach, Mehmet Bahadir Er, Sviatoslav BulakovskyI) — The story of a Ukrainian family living on the border of Russia – Ukraine during the start of war. Irka refuses to leave her house even as the village gets captured by armed forces. Shortly after they find themselves at the center of an air crash catastrophe on July 17, 2014. Cast: Oxana Cherkashyna, Sergey Shadrin, Oleg Scherbina, Oleg Shevchuk, Artur Aramyan, Evgenij Efremov.

To The End - U.S.A. (Director: Rachel Lears; Producers: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon) — Stopping the climate crisis is a question of political courage, and the clock is ticking. Over three years of turbulence and crisis, four remarkable young women of color fight for a Green New Deal, and ignite a historic shift in US climate politics. Documentary.

Additional TEDWomen Presents Film Programming

Mission: JOY — Finding Happiness in Troubled Times - U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos; Co-Director & Producer: Peggy Callahan) — As part of a special joy initiative planned with the BIG JOY Project, which is the largest-ever citizen science project on Joy, TEDWomen will be showcasing a screening of the documentary Mission: JOY — Finding Happiness in Troubled Times. The laugh-out-loud funny documentary shares the humor and wisdom of two of the world's most beloved icons, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In their final joint mission, they give a master class in how to create joy in a world that was never easy for them. The film was inspired by New York Times bestseller, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, the film. Documentary.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of TED Talks are published to TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.

TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; The Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TED Translators, which crowdsources the subtitling of TED Talks so that big ideas can spread across languages and borders; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also offers TED@Work , a program that reimagines TED Talks for workplace learning. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Steven Johnson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi and How to Be a Better Human.