TED and Qatar Foundation have launched TEDinArabic. The joint two-year initiative, featuring an ideas search, live event and custom digital destination, will provide a global platform for thinkers, researchers, artists and change-makers across the Arabic-speaking world to share their ideas with a global audience.

As part of its mission of “ideas worth spreading,” TED is committed to enabling inspiring ideas to crisscross languages and borders. TEDinArabic is TED’s first initiative to focus on sharing solutions, inventions and stories in the Arabic language. Qatar Foundation — a nonprofit organization supporting Qatar on its journey to becoming a diversified and sustainable economy — believes in unlocking human potential. It is committed to preserving, promoting and celebrating the Arabic language and providing platforms for people to share their knowledge, perspectives and ideas.

TEDinArabic is where these two beliefs meet. Recognizing the value of diverse perspectives, TEDinArabic will spread the ideas of Arabic speakers to new audiences, magnifying their reach and impact.

“We are thrilled to partner with Qatar Foundation to bring ideas from Arabic-speaking regions to the world,” said Chris Anderson, head of TED. “We at TED have always valued the power of delivering talks in one’s native language, and the nuance and richness that comes with doing so. The TEDinArabic initiative is an important step in that journey. As we bring this program to life, together with Qatar Foundation, we are grateful for the support of an organization that shares our passion and dedication to education and ideas.”

Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, said: “Language is more than just a means of communication: it influences the way we think and how we frame our perceptions on a subconscious level. With TEDinArabic, I hope we can continue the process of amplifying ideas from our region to a global audience in a language that is synonymous with innovation and new thinking. We are proud to be partnering with TED, with whom we share the belief that everyone’s mind and voice can make a difference, as together we aim to build a new culture of idea-generation that stretches across the Arab world and beyond.” 

A foundational part of the initiative’s engagement approach is an ideas search spanning the Middle East, during which selected ideas will be celebrated at regional events throughout 2021. The idea search will result in the selection of 16 speakers to give TED Talks at the partnership’s culminating flagship event in Doha, Qatar, in 2022. This event will offer the TED conference experience in the heart of the Middle East, and showcase the boldest and most inspiring ideas to emerge from the Arabic-speaking world. 

To house the initiative’s content library, TED has built a custom digital destination. Content will focus on topics that matter to the Arabic-speaking world and will include a combination of TED-original and TED-translated content, such as blog articles, TED-Ed video lessons and custom video content. 

The impact of TEDinArabic is intended to endure long after this two-year partnership, with the digital destination and its content remaining live after the culmination of this partnership.

You can find out more at TEDinArabic.ted.com. Or, check out a conversation hosted as part of TED2020: Uncharted, in which TED global curator Bruno Giussani sat down with Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah of Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University to discuss education amid the pandemic.