DOHA — TED and the Qatar Foundation launched TEDinArabic this week. The project is a joint two-year initiative that will provide TED’s signature platform to thinkers, researchers and artists across the Arabic-speaking world to share their ideas with a global audience.

TEDinArabic is TED’s first initiative to focus on sharing solutions, inventions and stories in the Arabic language. The organization said the initiative aims to profile ideas that can change perceptions, benefit societies, and inspire others.

TED is a non-profit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”, often in the form of TED Talks or other open and free initiatives. TED lectures have a wide audience and have grown immensely popular in the last decade. The talks touch on all manners of contemporary subjects, including science, technology, the arts, and social and political issues.

The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1995 by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir, and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, in order to bring a modernized education and research program to Qatar, foster life-long learning and help its students thrive in a global economy and contribute to nation development.

The Qatar Foundation

The organizations have said TEDinArabic will spread the ideas of Arabic speakers to new and diverse 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.”

“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,” said Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, vice chairperson and CEO of the Qatar Foundation. “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.”

TEDinArabic seeks to amplify high-quality content produced in Arabic by native-speaking creators. A foundational part of the initiative’s engagement approach will include an ideas search stretching across the Middle East. Selected ideas will be celebrated at events throughout the region in 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.

Additionally, TED will build out a custom digital destination that will serve as the vault for the initiative’s content library aimed at topics that matter to the Arabic-speaking world. This will include a combination of TED original and TED translated content, such as blog articles, TED-Ed video lessons and custom video content.

The TEDinArabic website and its content will remain live and accessible even after the culmination of this partnership.

Find out more information at TEDinArabic.ted.com