Apply to be a 2023 Speaker

Do you have an idea worth spreading?

Selecting speakers for the TEDxTinHauWomen stage is one of the most exciting parts of our year. We are always looking for fresh perspectives and voices that would be of interest to women of Hong Kong and the world. We want to showcase trailblazing women in different fields, to enrich the conversation on equity and inclusion, and to share parts of our Hong Kong community and culture.

We source our speakers from a combination of research and applications from the public. You can nominate yourself, or you can nominate someone else. It could be your colleague, your friend, or someone you’ve heard with an inspiring idea. We carefully review every application, and selected applicants are invited for a short audition in front of members of our TEDxTinHauWomen committee.

There is no difference whether you nominate yourself or someone else nominates you.

Fundamentally, we are looking for ideas from our speakers that can showcase women in Hong Kong who are leading scientific breakthroughs or social movements, who can inspire the audience to think in new ways, and who will challenge and educate us through their talk. TEDx gives us an opportunity to showcase our ideas to the world and from the first year we have made it our responsibility to make sure that our program reflects diversity in the line-up, both in terms of ideas as well as representation of Hong Kong communities. We look for credible speakers who need a platform and have an inspiring story to share.

How to apply for yourself or someone else

Whether it’s yourself or someone you know with a great idea to share, fill in this online form to tell us more. The deadline for 2023 applications is 11:59pm on Monday 15 May.

Nominees will be notified in late May if they are invited to the live auditions.

What can you expect at the auditions?

This is an invitation for us and our community to get to know you.

Set in a casual, relaxed and intimate environment we hope our committee will gain better insights into you as a speaker and into the topic of your TEDx talk. There are no slides – it’s just you, a mic, and a small room full of people waiting to hear your Idea Worth Spreading.

What is the selection criteria?

During the Open Mic process we invite potential speakers to share their idea in a 3-minute slot where a small representation of the committee partake in voting based on three main factors:

1. Link to current theme: this year’s theme from TEDWomen is 2 Steps Forward.

2. Relevance of the topic to HK and Global Women: to ensure our talks are locally grounded, with international relevance

3. Wow factor: this is quite subjective and gives the committee a chance to debate the ‘wow’ factors of each idea. Credibility of the speaker also plays a role. We ask ourselves – is it a trending topic (vs overdone and passes), is it groundbreaking, does it bring a new perspective?

Throughout this assessment process we also keep an eye and close liaison with TED Global so all talks keep to the TED Content Guidelines, including the don’ts:

• No selling from the stage

• No political agendas

• No religious proselytizing (including new age beliefs)

• Only good science

Speaking at TEDx is more than a simple talk – it’s people from our community sharing a big idea. We advise all potential speakers to consider the time commitment: from August until the event in November, the talk development and rehearsal process, supported by professional coaches, requires work on a weekly basis to make sure the talk is a success.