TEDWomen editorial director Pat Mitchell, activist, filmmaker and entrepreneur Maya Penn and TED’s head of curation Helen Walters host Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
TEDWomen 2023 kicked off in its new home of Atlanta, Georgia with a moving and wide-ranging session of talks and performances about the future of global democracy, the pursuit of freedom in Russia and Ukraine, the path to recovery for survivors and more.
The event: Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023, hosted by TEDWomen editorial director Pat Mitchell, TED’s head of curation Helen Walters and activist, filmmaker and entrepreneur Maya Penn
When and where: Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia
Speakers: Yordanos Eyoel, Irina Karamanos Adrian, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Jane Ferguson, Dasha Navalnaya, Ava DuVernay, Christine Schuler Deschryver, Chris Anderson
The Merian Ensemble performs at Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED)
Music: Introduced by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra music director Nathalie Stutzmann, chamber music group The Merian Ensemble open the week with an evocative and transporting performance of Nicole Chamberlain’s “Atalanta” for flute, oboe, bass clarinet, harp and viola.
Democracy entrepreneur Yordanos Eyoel speaks at Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED)
It’s not news that democracy is under attack globally. In order to encourage new democracies (and protect established ones), we need more than robust institutions — we need grassroots action, says democracy entrepreneur Yordanos Eyoel, who explores innovative ways to nurture nascent pro-democracy groups wherever they’re threatened.
Former First Lady of Chile Irina Karamanos Adrian speaks at Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
As a feminist, Irina Karamanos Adrian was not thrilled to become Chile’s First Lady. She shares how she overturned the position’s institutionalized responsibilities in an effort to make them more transparent, asserting that it’s undemocratic for an unelected position to have such power.
Human rights defender Oleksandra Matviichuk speaks at SESSION 1 at TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward. October 11-13, 2023, Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
How do we defend people’s freedom and dignity against authoritarianism, asks human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk. In the face of Russian troops occupying Ukraine, she emphasizes the extraordinary capabilities of ordinary people — and urges us all to stand together.
War reporter Jane Ferguson speaks at Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
Women journalists shape the way the world sees wars, says war reporter Jane Ferguson. Illuminating the historic impact of female-led reporting, she highlights the perspective-broadening power of humanizing stories from war zones.
Corruption fighter Dasha Navalnaya speaks at Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
Dasha Navalnaya is the daughter of an important man: Alexey Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition and one of Vladimir Putin’s top critics. She shares the story of her father’s poisoning and imprisonment — and why Russians need your help to bring down Putin’s authoritarian regime.
TEDWomen editorial director Pat Mitchell and writer, producer and filmmaker Ava DuVernay speak at Session 1 of TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
In conversation with TEDWomen editorial director Pat Mitchell, writer, producer and filmmaker Ava DuVernay discusses how she turned Caste — Isabel Wilkerson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning nonfiction analysis of race in the US — into Origin, a gripping narrative film exploring both the book’s thesis and the author’s life story.
Human rights activist Christine Schuler Deschryver speaks at SESSION 1 at TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward. October 11-13, 2023, Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
Human rights activist Christine Schuler Deschryver shares how her organization, City of Hope, is modeling a new recovery program for women survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one that allows women to reclaim their bodies while developing skills to become future community leaders.
Head of TED Chris Anderson speaks at Session 1 at TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
We’re well aware of how quickly hate and misinformation go viral. But in a one-of-a-kind preview of his upcoming book, head of TED Chris Anderson argues generosity can be infectious as well — creating powerful ripple effects that help us thrive.
Dance group Mahogany-N-Motion performs at Session 1 at TEDWomen 2023: Two Steps Forward on October 11, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. (Photo: Jasmina Tomic / TED)
Closing performance: Mahogany-N-Motion, a student-run women’s dance group from Spelman College — a historically Black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia — close out the session with an energetic, drumline-infused performance that brought the TEDWomen crowd to its feet.