Together with a team of volunteers, Deepak Mehta and Jeroen Toelen are the driving forces behind TEDxAntwerp.
Shaped by one of the biggest seaports in the world, Antwerp is one of the most diverse cities in the world, counting more nationalities than New York City. Boasting a rich history of banking, trading and arts -with painters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens; and bookprinters such as Christoffel Plantijn-, the city has grown into a young and modern economic hotspot, highly attractive for everything that’s fashion, diamond trade, and both classical and modern art.
With TEDxAntwerp, we try to bring a new generation of changemakers in our city together. We therefore gather a well-balanced mixed audience of students, creatives, business leaders and technologists.
In the heart of the Antwerp theater district, the Arenberg is an established venue for the culture lover. It’s an open and strong cultural house with a wide and varied range of options. At the Arenberg, you can enjoy from pop and rock music to comedy, literature, and theater. With a beautiful large stage and a little brother for new or unique performances, permanent values and talent go hand in hand here.
But there is more! The Arenberg is a pioneer in the field of ecological work, talent development, cultural entrepreneurship, and intercultural exchange. The metropolitan, international, and diverse nature of Antwerp forms the breeding ground for creative processes that stimulate the social debate. In this context, the Arenberg wants to be more than a stage, it aims to stimulate meeting and exchange between the diverse citizens of Antwerp and become a breeding ground for young and new artistic talent.
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.
The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; TED Translators, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established The Audacious Project that takes a collaborative approach to funding ideas with the potential to create change at thrilling scale; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.