Most women have spent years changing their bodies for the wrong reasons: to impress a partner, to look good at a reunion, to respond to comments online. Amitis argues that this is why health habits collapse when life gets hard — because the goal was never personal. Drawing on her own experience of losing a business, gaining 65 pounds, and being criticized at both ends of her physical journey, she shares a practical framework for building what she calls ‘Crisis-Proof Confidence’, which is where self-love, not approval, becomes what keeps you going when life gets hard.Amitis Nate is a professional bodybuilder, fitness coach, and founder of Iron Transform Factory and GuiltlessSweet, where she has helped hundreds of people develop a ‘Winner Mindset’ alongside their fitness goals. With over a decade of experience training women, she brings both professional expertise and hard-won personal insight to the intersection of body image, mental resilience, and lasting confidence.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Intelligence is getting cheaper by the day... AI can out-think us in seconds. But cheap intelligence comes with a hidden cost: it's quietly replacing our ability to think, question, and grow wise. This talk unpacks why intelligence and wisdom are not the same thing, and introduces a framework for staying irreplaceable in a world that's automating thought itself. David Ajibade is a digital strategist, product and project manager, and AI educator. His work sits at the intersection of technology, profit, business growth and human responsibility This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

AI may be the most powerful general-purpose technology ever built, but its costs are intensely local. Drawing on lessons from the fracking boom, this talk explores how we can design AI infrastructure so communities share in the upside -- not just the burden. Daniel Ketyer is an energy and infrastructure investor and strategic advisor. He is the founder of Riverview, a boutique advisory firm helping companies building the future of energy, robotics, and infrastructure. Daniel grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania during the fracking boom, an experience that shaped his focus on who benefits -- and who bears the costs -- of large-scale technological change. He is a Duke University '16 alum and teaches an undergrad seminar on climate tech venture investing each Fall. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Did you know you’re a subject-matter expert based on the experiences you’ve lived through? In this uplifting and inspiring talk, Cassidie Carmen Bates, grief researcher and lived expertise advocate, explores how to identify your most aligned passion and effect resonating change by grounding your pursuits in the expertise only you possess. Cassidie Carmen Bates, MPP, is a grief researcher, a certified grief support specialist, and public policy practitioner. Her work explores how bereavement policies are strengthened when informed by the lived expertise of grievers, in combination with subject-matter data. With nearly a decade of public policy experience, she transitioned into grief policy following the sudden passing of her dad, John. At 25, Cassidie served as the sole executor of her dad’s estate, an experience that demonstrated how little infrastructure exists to support grieving workers. Cassidie spent over five years in nonprofit leadership within the Feeding America network, developing and implementing award-winning legislative advocacy models nationwide. Cassidie is an alumna of UC Berkeley and earned her Master's of Public Policy from the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. She is the Founder of Soul Executor, which provides 1:1 estate settlement navigation to those with fiduciary roles to their loved one’s estates, in a grief-informed manner. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Every other industry has evolved—so why does education still look the same?This talk challenges outdated ideas about schooling and explores why meaningful change has been so slow. It invites audiences to rethink what education should prepare students for in a rapidly changing world. Yahya Ali is an aspiring education reformer with a deep interest in chemistry, learning, and the science of how education shapes human potential. From a young age, he has been driven by curiosity—not only about the natural world but also about how people think, learn, and grow. He believes that education should inspire understanding, creativity, and character rather than memorization alone.Passionate about lifelong learning and meaningful change, Yahya hopes to contribute to building education systems that empower young minds to think independently and solve real-world problems. Guided by kindness, empathy, and a strong sense of purpose, he believes that progress is most meaningful when it is rooted in humanity. His vision is to help revive and awaken the world through compassion, knowledge, and ideas that bring people together. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

The excess of institutional violence and dehumanization not only silences Black bodies but attempts to strip them of the very capacity to recognize themselves as human and to envision the future. Faced with a State that fabricates the most impossible justifications to validate its brutality, and where collective pain is turned into spectacle, how can affection and the right to tomorrow be sustained? This poetry-manifesto confronts structural racism to show that where the system plans an end in an instant of terror, the word demands humanity. A multifaceted Afro-artist, TAYÁ makes the word a territory of creation, memory, and resistance. An actress, singer, poet, slammer, visual artist, producer, and cultural activist, she has built a trajectory marked by the meeting of art, ancestry, and social transformation. Vocalist of the band Original Comscience and author of the book Leia-me nas Entrelinhas (2023), she takes part in literary and artistic projects that circulate throughout different regions of the country. Born in São Paulo and based in Santa Catarina, TAYÁ makes art a bridge between past, present, and future, recovering histories, affirming identities, and expanding horizons through writing and artistic expression. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

The poet Luan Renato Telles draws on the oral tradition of Slam Poetry (spoken word poetry competitions) to explore masculinity and affection from the perspective of a Black, LGBT man. Luan Renato is a poet of terreiro and a researcher of orality. Two-time Santa Catarina state spoken word poetry champion (2022 and 2025). Currently pursuing a master's degree in Performing Arts at UDESC. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Success is often associated with big milestones such as graduation, launching a business, or standing on a stage. In reality, those moments are only the visible result of countless small decisions made long before anyone notices. In this talk, Abdullah Amir explores the power of the silent shift, the gradual process through which everyday habits, consistent actions, and intentional choices shape our identity and future. Through stories from entrepreneurship, content creation, and public speaking, he demonstrates how ordinary decisions can lead to extraordinary opportunities. This talk challenges the audience to stop waiting for the perfect moment and instead focus on the small choices they make every day, because those choices ultimately become the life they live. Abdullah Amir is an entrepreneur, content creator, podcast host, public speaker, and an undergraduate student at BNU Lahore. A LUMS-certified entrepreneur, he has been invited to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab to speak on youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. Abdullah has delivered multiple public speaking sessions at universities and private events, inspiring young audiences to embrace innovation and leadership. He is the co-founder of SoftStack Solutions, a software solutions agency, and ClipCrew, a content agency serving international clients. With extensive experience in e-commerce and digital marketing, Abdullah has helped businesses grow, scale, and build impactful digital brands. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Fear of failure is often seen as a massive obstacle, but its most destructive form is a silent shift: surrendering to self-doubt, perfectionism, and self-deceit. A single failure can reshape how we view ourselves, leading to the consequence of living life halfway. This talk explores these internal patterns by connecting literature's timeless questions, like Hamlet's dilemma, with the science of neuroscience. Inspired by how migratory birds navigate invisible pathways, it reveals how small, intentional habits can help rewrite our neural pathways, embrace imperfection, and live more deliberately. Mariam Babar is a student of English Literature, a published author featured in The Writer's Santuary (TWS) and Series of Words anthologies, and an Inspiring Women Ambassador (2025-26). Passionate about the transformative power of literature, she is currently researching children's literature and exploring its role in fostering education, creativity, and critical thinking among young adults.Her work reflects a deep commitment to storytelling, lifelong learning, youth empowerment, and meaningful dialogue. Through writing, research, and public speaking, Mariam believes that ideas have the power to inspire change, bridge perspectives, and encourage individuals to reimagine the world around them. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Every life is shaped not only by major turning points, but by quiet changes that happen so gradually we hardly notice them. Through stories of migration, grief, language, and belonging, Noor Fatima explores how the ordinary moments we accept eventually become the things we carry with us. Her talk reminds us that the habits, delays, and small choices we normalize today quietly shape the people we become tomorrow. Noor Fatima is a senior student at the Academy for Health and Medical Sciences and a dual-enrollment student at Raritan Valley Community College. She is a Columbia Science Honors Program Scholar, published author, poet, clinical research collaborator, Congressional Award Gold Medal recipient, and Congressional Award National Youth Ambassador. Her work spans healthcare, research, literature, and community service, reflecting her commitment to using science, storytelling, and leadership to create meaningful impact. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx