TEDxAtlanta has announced the speaker lineup for its inaugural TEDxAtlanta Youth conference, scheduled for the afternoon of Oct. 3 at Atlanta International School in Sandy Springs. The event, part of the TEDxAtlanta 2026 season themed 'Bold. Brave. Unbreakable.', will feature young innovators, entrepreneurs, and advocates whose ideas span artificial intelligence, accessibility, entrepreneurship, language, and sustainability.
'Young people hear constantly that they are the future. We were much more interested in what they have to say about the present,' said Jacqui Chew, TEDxAtlanta licensee and organizer. 'These speakers are asking questions that affect all of us: Whose ideas get taken seriously? What gets lost when technology doesn't understand culture? And what becomes possible when young people have the opportunity to build rather than wait?'
The conference is divided into two parts: 'Seen' and 'Unleashed.' The first part explores what changes when young people's experiences and perspectives are taken seriously. Speakers include Temple Lester, a STEM advocate who, after being sidelined at science camp for being the only girl, now questions what ideas are missed when young people are told to wait their turn. Nidhi Madam, a language and culture explorer, will discuss how a K-drama binge led her to Korean and back to Telugu, and how AI can translate words without understanding the cultural context.
The 'Seen' segment also features an intergenerational 'On the Spot' conversation between entrepreneur Zoe Oli and her mother, Evana Oli, exploring what happens when a child's idea becomes a real enterprise and a parent must decide when to step in, step aside, or step forward together.
The second part, 'Unleashed,' focuses on action, with young innovators questioning existing systems and building alternatives. Kanushi Dua, a circular systems designer, will discuss how a forgotten bin of nearly new children's clothes led her to question why garments are treated as disposable, and the unexpected role AI could play. Ian Sun, a community-centered technologist, will ask who gets a say in how AI is built, and what communities stand to gain or lose. Akos Vida, an accessibility innovator, will challenge assumptions about who belongs in the design process, drawing on his experience building an accessible gaming controller. Ethan Benater, a 'possibility engineer,' will share his work on a vaping-cessation solution and the larger question of what young people can create when they refuse to accept entrenched problems as inevitable.
TEDxAtlanta is Georgia's largest TED affiliate and a year-round platform for ideas, conversation, and community. Since its first conference in 2009, more than two dozen speakers have been featured on TED. The event is an initiative of nonprofit Ideas into Action, and ticket information for TEDxAtlanta and TEDxAtlanta Youth is available at TEDxAtlanta.com.
