TEDxTeesside 2025: global ideas, local impact

TEDx returned to Teesside earlier this month, bringing global conversations and local inspiration together in a day that celebrated imagination, courage and community.

As the only TEDx event currently taking place in the region, TEDxTeesside has become a platform that places Teesside firmly on the international stage - attracting speakers, thinkers and audiences who believe that powerful ideas can start anywhere.

Highlights included a talk on neurodiversity and autism, reminding the audience that “none of us get hired because we’re the same – maybe the beauty is in the difference”.

Kim McDermottroe’s message was clear: workplaces thrive when we see people as humans first, appreciating their unique ways of thinking and communicating.

Joel Bailey of Arwen AI explored the world of social media and AI, challenging us to “reclaim” our online spaces.

While only seven per cent of content is toxic, algorithms amplify drama - making it feel like far more. “If each of us do something every day to promote positivity, we can make social media more social,” he urged.

Meanwhile, sisters Naomi and Natalie Evans, founders of Everyday Racism, discussed their mission to tackle racism in the UK by treating it as a safeguarding issue, giving people the language, tools and courage to speak up.

Spoken word artist Kemi Gates inspired the audience with her call to “take the limits off – it’s completely free to dream today,” while Tabby Kerwin’s moving talk on widowhood reminded us that “grief isn’t a prison - it’s a landscape”.

From dancing in the aisles to tear-filled reflection, TEDxTeesside captured the full spectrum of human experience, all hosted wonderfully by Ben Pechey.

It was a day that proved Teesside isn’t just hosting global ideas, it’s helping to shape them.

Follow TEDx Teeside on LinkedIn to find out more about next year's event.

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