Which Idea Wins Over 4,000 People? | Amman | TED Idea Search

Dina Halles challenges fixed mindsets about math ability

The brain trainer argues cognitive skills can be developed like physical sports, transforming struggling students who believe they're 'stupid' into confident learners through targeted training.

Nelly Atar demonstrates how calculated risks create historic change

The mountaineer and entrepreneur shares how taking risks led her to summit K2 for Arab women and launch Saudi Arabia's first dance studio when the activity was forbidden for women.

Rema D Rosas exposes the paradox of teaching corporate resilience

She contrasts corporate burnout advice with the reality of living under F-16s, arguing that individual self-improvement means nothing without addressing systemic inequality and collective empathy.

Tala Alud reclaims mental health as indigenous to Arab culture

Working to dismantle regional stigma, she argues psychological well-being is rooted in local faith, poetry, and cultural history rather than being a foreign Western import.

Expert panelists provide intensive last-minute feedback on delivery

Coaches push speakers to abandon teleprompters for authentic human connection and dial up emotional contrast to ensure complex geopolitical ideas land with impact in just six minutes.

Speakers confront severe nerves in the ancient Roman theater

Performing in a vast 6,000-seat amphitheater requires different energy and projection, forcing speakers to transform anxiety into excitement while maintaining intimacy across grand distances.

Rehearsal process reveals challenges of compressing complex topics

Speakers struggle to balance deep substance with time limits, with some needing to simplify decades of personal and regional trauma into tight narratives without losing authenticity.

Nelly's narrative highlights personal risk catalyzing regional social progress

Her story of creating 'Move' as a national movement for Saudi women illustrates how individual courage can challenge restrictive norms and create spaces for collective liberation.

Rema critiques glorification of individualism in modern corporate culture

She argues that Global South collective values offer necessary correctives to Western individualism, warning that losing empathy for global suffering is the root cause of all injustice.

Tala addresses shame surrounding mental health in Arab professional settings

She highlights how mentioning psychological well-being in regional corporate meetings causes voices to drop and eyes to avert, demonstrating the urgent need for culturally grounded mental health discourse.