TEDxAtlanta has unveiled 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 is part of TEDxAtlanta 2026's "Bold. Brave. Unbreakable." season and will feature speakers aged 16 to 23, along with an intergenerational "On the Spot" conversation. The program is divided into two parts: Seen and Unleashed, aiming to move from recognition to agency, as stated in the official announcement.
Jacqui Chew, TEDxAtlanta licensee and organizer, emphasized the conference's focus on the present rather than the future. "Young people hear constantly that they are the future. We were much more interested in what they have to say about the present," she said. The speakers will tackle questions that affect everyone, including whose ideas are taken seriously, what is lost when technology fails to understand culture, and what becomes possible when young people are given the opportunity to build rather than wait.
The Seen segment explores the impact of taking young people's experiences seriously. Temple Lester, a STEM advocate, will discuss her experience being sidelined at science camp as the only girl and the ideas we miss when young people are told to wait their turn. Nidhi Madam, a language and culture explorer, will share how a K-drama binge led her to Korean and back to Telugu, her family's language, and how artificial intelligence can translate words without understanding the culture behind them. The On the Spot conversation features entrepreneur Zoe Oli and her mother, Evana Oli, discussing what happens when a child's idea becomes a real enterprise and the dynamics of parental involvement.
The Unleashed segment focuses on young innovators who are questioning existing systems and building alternatives. Kanushi Dua, a circular systems designer, will address why garments are treated as disposable when children outgrow them, pointing to an unexpected role for AI. Ian Sun, a community-centered technologist, will question who gets a say in how AI is built and what communities stand to gain or lose. Akos Vida, an accessibility innovator, will discuss his experience building an accessible gaming controller and the difference between designing for someone versus designing with them. Ethan Benater, a possibility engineer, will present his work on a vaping-cessation solution, raising questions about what young people can create when they stop treating entrenched problems as inevitable.
The conference is part of TEDxAtlanta's year-round platform for ideas and community, organized by a team of volunteers led by Jacqui Chew. Since its first conference in 2009, more than two dozen speakers have been featured on TED. The event is an initiative of the nonprofit Ideas into Action. Back-to-school ticket prices for TEDxAtlanta, TEDxAtlanta Youth, and Complete Passes that include both conferences are available now. For more information, visit TEDxAtlanta.com.
The announcement underscores a growing recognition of young people as active contributors to societal change, particularly in technology and business. By focusing on AI, accessibility, and sustainability, the conference aims to highlight how youth-led innovation can address pressing global challenges. The inclusion of an intergenerational conversation also signals a shift toward collaborative problem-solving across age groups.
