TEDxMiddlebury
What is TEDx?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxMiddlebury, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxMiddlebury event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.
TEDxMiddlebury is run by a 10-member student board. Created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading.”
About TED
TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through the Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED’s many programs and initiatives.
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History
TEDxMiddlebury was started in 2010 by Cloe Shasha. The organization has grown steadily each year and is run by a student board. If you are interested in volunteering or leading next year’s event, please email tedx@middlebury.edu.
Student Speaker Competition
Every year TEDxMiddlebury holds a Student Speaker Competition. We invite all students to enter in the competition. Students share a four minute speech of a topic which they are passionate about that is related to the year’s theme. A panel of faculty judges elect the winner, who will give a full, 18-minute presentation at the TEDxMiddlebury event.
TEDxMiddlebury
Saturday, November 8, 2025 Roots and Reach Tickets on sale soon!
Inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk, our theme – Roots and Reach – explores the journey from where we begin and where we dare to go. Like Jack, who climbed into the unknown with courage and curiosity, we hope to reflect on the foundations that ground us and the aspirations that drive us. In a world of both limitless possibility and constant complexity and unrest, Roots and Reach emphasizes the importance of grounding ourselves while pursuing ambitious goals. It celebrates both the power of stability in honoring our foundations and the courage to imagine and build breakthrough ideas and transformative change.
You can follow us on the TEDxMiddlebury instagram.
Fall 2025 Speakers
This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED.