Want to give a TED Talk? Apply to our Global Idea Search

Have a great idea? Apply for the chance to give a TED Talk, either virtually or in person, and join past TED speakers like environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, pictured above at TEDWomen 2019. (Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED)

Do you have a TED Talk to share with the world? TED is hosting two global idea searches in 2021 with a mission: to hear big, bold ideas from every corner of the globe! We’re looking for people who can offer new, unique insights and fresh ways of thinking to a very large audience.

Applications for the first 2021 Global Idea Search are now open. You’ll be required to create a two-minute video as a part of your submission, and the deadline for this round is January 31, 2021 (11:59pm ET).

Applicants who are selected for round two will be invited to a virtual event where they’ll talk more about their idea and participate in a Q&A with members of the TED community.

Winners will be invited to give a TED Talk, either virtually or in person.

Learn more and submit your application!

Not ready to apply yet? That’s OK — the second global idea search of 2021 will open in June.

In the meantime, check out just a selection of speakers who were discovered during past idea searches:

Adie Delaney: An aerialist on listening to your body’s signals (444k views)

Adeola Fayehun: Africa is a sleeping giant — I’m trying to wake it up (1.5 million views)

Ariel Waldman: The invisible life hidden beneath Antarctica’s ice (1.1m views)

Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle: What Saturn’s most mysterious moon could teach us about the origins of life (1.3m views)

Tamekia MizLadi Smith: How to train employees to have difficult conversations (2m views)

Zak Ebrahim: I am the son of a terrorist. Here’s how I chose peace (6.4m views and a TED Book)

Richard Turere: My invention that made peace with the lions (2.6m views)