Breaking Barriers: 2022 Theme

For all who are interested, speaker applications for our new 2022 event are now open! See the homepage of our website to find the application form. Over the past year, many changes in society have rocked people’s lives around the world. With Breaking Barriers, our theme for this year, we hope to focus on defying the “norms” of society. How can we introduce new and contemporary ideas into even the most ordinary parts of our life? How can we evolve to make our world a more inclusive place? This theme is all about impact and change, whether that be on a personal level or a global scale. Most importantly, it’s about celebrating progress.

We are looking for speakers that come from diverse backgrounds and professions to speak to youth on how they can break barriers of their own. We encourage you to think outside the box with this theme, as we hope to get a variety of unique perspectives to display on the TEDx stage.

Successful TEDx speakers use the theme as a guideline for a topic in which they have the expertise, rather than building their idea solely from the theme. For example, if you work in STEM, how can you connect "Breaking Barriers" to science and technology? For entrepreneurs, what lessons from entrepreneurship explore pushing boundaries or use groundbreaking ideas to achieve innovative results?

Applications will be due on November 22nd at 11:59 PM EST. Please note that if you are selected to speak, you will be required to come to Philadelphia, PA in April 2022 to film the event - we will not be accepting pre-recorded talks. Thanks for your interest and we look forward to seeing your ideas!