TED Democracy
As democracies worldwide face mounting challenges, communities across the globe are mobilizing to reform systems and reignite civic culture. TED is excited to bring these voices together to spark a new kind of conversation with leading thinkers, practitioners, and communities around the globe – focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future.
TED Democracy | Our Impact Agenda
TED Democracy believes in the power of stories to educate and inspire. Through a catalytic TED-style event and by engaging our TED-Ed and TEDx communities, TED Democracy aims to:
- help shift the narrative around the future of global democracy from a defensive, crisis-oriented story to an optimistic vision of a democratic future
- accelerate solutions to support a more robust civic culture and more effective, representative democratic systems
- contribute to a more collaborative pro-democracy community globally.
Let’s Create a Better Story
As democratic pressures continue to mount, our tent is only getting bigger. Join us in inviting more civically-curious communities into the movement by sharing this TED Democracy short film across networks and divides.
Explore the best of TED’s democracy-related content
We've collected talks from around the world that imagine our common future, made possible with the support of Visit Philadelphia. Here are a few to get you started.
Jordan Klepper
A comedian's take on how to save democracy
Tessza Udvarhelyi
How to build democracy — in an authoritarian country
TED Democracy + TEDx
TED Democracy is supporting TEDx events around the world to inspire locally-adapted conversations and to advance solutions on the ground. To anchor this global conversation in key regions, we’re partnering with seven TEDx communities in 2024 to produce bespoke TED Democracy activations. We’re also enabling hyperlocal democratic ideas to become full-scale activations through a microgrants program. Small grants will allow 5 international TEDx communities and 10 American swing state communities to deliver innovative civics programming to unlikely audiences.
Explore the TEDx anchor events partnering with us to advance democratic solutions in their communities
Our 3000+ member TEDx community is now armed with the resources needed to bring high quality democracy content to their community. The TED Democracy TEDx “Host Kit” includes curation guidelines, illustrative project examples, and next steps to deliver meaningful civic action.
Democracy Lab
TED Democracy and TED-Ed teamed up to deliver a one-stop-shop for lessons in exercising your voice. Through curated content and supporting lesson materials, Democracy Lab lays out the problems we need to tackle, the solutions we must explore, and the exciting initiatives already making a difference. This site is home to the best of TED + TED-Ed’s democracy-related content, as well as other resources for meaningful civic engagement –– all for students and educators. It was created in collaboration with young civic leaders and experts in curriculum design.
Our Partners
TED Democracy is made possible by our visionary supporters and by our partners, including:
Arnold Ventures
Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
Bohemian Foundation
Visit Philadelphia.
For more information or to learn about partnership opportunities, please contact impact@ted.com.
TED Democracy: Imagining our common future
On November 14 and 15, 2023, more than 100 leaders from across the democracy landscape gathered in New York City to explore a compelling vision of our global democratic future, and the tactics required to make it a reality. Talks given at this event will be featured on TED.com.
More about this event