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 is part of TEDxAtlanta 2026's Bold. Brave. Unbreakable. season and will feature speakers ages 16 to 23, along with an intergenerational On the Spot conversation. The program is divided into two parts: Seen and Unleashed.
"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 Seen portion explores what changes when young people's experiences and perspectives are taken seriously. Temple Lester, a STEM advocate, will discuss what ideas are missed when young people are told to wait their turn, drawing from her experience being sidelined at science camp as the only girl. 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 AI can translate words without understanding the culture behind them. The On the Spot conversation will feature 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 Unleashed portion turns from voice to action, with young innovators questioning existing systems and building alternatives. Kanushi Dua, a circular systems designer, will address why garments are treated as disposable when children outgrow them, 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 design by sharing his experience building an accessible gaming controller, emphasizing that designing for someone isn't the same as designing with them. Ethan Benater, a possibility engineer, will discuss his vaping-cessation solution and the larger question of what young people can create when they stop treating entrenched problems as inevitable.
Together, Seen and Unleashed move from recognition to agency, asking audiences to consider young people not simply as inheritors of the future, but as participants in creating it now. The event is part of TEDxAtlanta's broader mission as Georgia's largest TED affiliate, a year-round platform for ideas, conversation, and community. Since its first conference in 2009, more than two dozen TEDxAtlanta speakers have been featured on TED. The organization is an initiative of the nonprofit Ideas into Action, and all events are planned by a volunteer team led by Chew.
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.
