All Eyes on Africa as TED Global Returns to Tanzania

TED Global, an annual conference that celebrates human inventiveness by exploring ideas, innovation and creativity from all over the world, will be returning to Arusha, Tanzania next week, a decade after it was first held in the East African country.

The conference, which will run from August 27 to August 30, will highlight Africa’s rich intellectual, artistic and problem-solving tradition while examining some of the main challenges the continent is facing.

It will bring together a group of incredible speakers from different spheres, including entrepreneurship, technology, and art.

Reigniting the Passion for Success

The ideas discussed during the first event in Arusha in 2007 have had an untold impact on the content and the event curators are optimistic that this year’s conference will help to rekindle the hunger for success.

“We want to reignite those sparks and invite anyone passionate about the future of Africa, and the future of the world to come and be part of something special,” the organizers have written on their website.

All eyes are now on Africa as hundreds of young game-changers from across Africa and the globe converge in Tanzania to share ideas and build connections at the TEDGlobal 2017 conference, whose theme is “Builders. Truth-Tellers. Catalysts.”

The four-day event will involve eight sessions of TED’s famous 18-minute talks, musical performances by local artists and other surprises, and a tour of nearby National Parks.

It will also highlight the great work being done by TED Fellows, an esteemed group of dreamers and doers in the early stages of their careers.

Previous Fellows are also expected to attend, including Juliana Rotich and Erik Hersman (co-founded BRCK and iHub), Alexander McLean (founder of African Prisons Project) and Andrew Bastawrous (founder of PEEK Vision).

Aside from TED’s main curator Chris Anderson, this year’s event is also being overseen by celebrated Nigerian philosopher Emeka Okafor, who co-founded Maker Faire Africa in 2008.

Okafor is hopeful that the event will form a narrative around what works for Africa and what doesn’t, while at the same time creating conversations that speak to practical and useful approaches that the continent should be looking to.