The People Behind the Stage

All volunteers. All passion.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED Events

The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self-organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

About TEDxZurich

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.) TEDxZurich has a focus on topics related to the city of Zurich and its surroundings, but also caters to bring ideas, knowledge and talks about broader topics.

 

TEDxZurich Event

TEDxZurich is a yearly returning day of wonder, inspiration and awe. We hope to connect you to our knowledge thirsty audience and uncover exhilarating, fascinating and eye-opening topics together. The event is a series of short talks, ranging from approximately five to eighteen minutes in length. In between speakers you will have the opportunity to enjoy performances, eat some eclectic food choices and wander around our creatively inspired event spaces.

 

Core Team

Georgia Tagara profile picture

Georgia Tagara

TEDxZurich Lead

Georgia’s first volunteering experience with TEDx was in 2019 when TEDxZurich was celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and Georgia was a wardrobe volunteer. With more than 600 attendees and not a single jacket or umbrella lost on the day, evidently, the TEDx team would invite Georgia to support again. What wasn’t evident, is that in April of 2022, Georgia would be nominated to lead Audience Experience for the TEDxSalon events, and to eventually co-lead TEDxSalon.
If Georgia hadn’t been trying to save the planet with sustainability and innovation projects for a Fortune 500 company, she would have had a career in interior design, in astrology, or in smoothie-making.

Magda Kern

Speakers Lead

Magda Kern is a public speaking trainer, psychologist, and PCC coach. In 2021 she was chosen as one of the top 11 public-speaking coaches worldwide. The experience of giving many interviews, singing in Cuban musical, and in many jazz concerts gave her the push to start helping people with public speaking. By combining her business, psychological, and stage experience, she supports people in dealing with stress, preparing for their speeches in front of hundreds of people in the audience, and conducting small meetings or presentations. She has been coaching TEDx speakers for already six years. Magda joined TEDxZurich as a coach in 2021, and after a few months, she was nominated as Speakers Team Lead. After working in small enterprises and corporations, she opened her own company. She is an entrepreneur with a passion for learning new skills. Magda is a big fan of tea, swing dances, traveling, and playing the cello.

Uma Muthuraaman

Marketing Lead

Uma is a marketing and communication strategist, writer, and photographer based in Zurich. She is a huge fan of TED events because the platform amplifies important voices who are often overlooked but can be catalysts of social change. She champions brands that foster inclusivity, diversity, and human connection. With an educational background in computer science and an MBA in marketing, she has worked with many well-known brands in India, Singapore, Germany, and Switzerland. Together with her family, Uma has traveled to over 50 countries. She shares her journeys with wit and wisdom on Instagram. She is engaged in many social projects such as leading meditation & breath workshops, homeless animal adoption, and literacy projects in rural India – she calls them heart work because they fill her with an immense sense of purpose.

Doris Dario

Volunteers and Participants Lead

Doris is originally from the ski slopes of South Tyrol in Northern Italy but left her beloved Dolomites early to study, live and work all over the world. Her passion for the real language within its culture and region got her a masters’ degree in translation and interpreting and has her speaking four major European languages fluently. She has a strong background in transcreation and localisation, high cultural sensitivity and large project, account and talent management experience in the exciting world of marketing. Doris is best described as a creative mind with a human approach and a passion for intercultural communication. Her love for travelling and exploring the world through all senses has taken her to over 70 countries and when she isn’t abroad you can find her snowboarding down some Swiss mountain with her kids.

Clemens Merk

Location Lead

Due to his passion and curiosity for his vocation, Clemens decided to leave his home country of Germany many years ago. He went on to enrich his experience in the food and beverage industry in Scotland where he developed a love for peaty whiskey. His journey then took him to the Netherlands, and after that, wanting some sun, he moved to Dubai. Now he is to be found continuing the next chapter of his adventure in Switzerland. If he is not surrounded by his passion, food and beverages, you might find him lost in a puzzle or creating music with the trombone.

Stefanie Hetjens

Production Lead

Steffi’s passion is to bring human emotion and connection to everyone world-wide. Some years ago, she started her own production company for digital experiences, and she creates global events, that stretch over multiple time zones. And now, she spreads ideas with TEDxZurich. Software engineering and entrepreneurship and working for digital agencies is her professional background. Steffi lived in six countries – from the US to Japan – before she settled for good in Zurich. When Steffi needs to disconnect, she takes her bow and does archery.

Viola Klink

Viola Klink

Finance Lead

 Viola is an international business-, tax- and transfer pricing expert with a strong and passionate background in financial analysis. She is always seeking novel, better and more efficient ways to solve problems and reach visions. Viola is excited about new and disruptive digital technologies to support the market share expansion of the leading companies she works with. Viola is passionate about change and transformational leadership. She strongly believes in the power of support. 

When she’s not at the office you’ll find her in the surrounding nature (walking dogs or swimming) or diving deeper into the topics of health and continuous improvement, as well as philanthropy (i.e. performing supportive activities for the environmental protection, for the general well-being and for the public welfare).

Klára Kult

Salon Lead

Klara moved to Switzerland because of her job, where she is managing clinical research in oncology treatments. She has a very curious and inquisitive personality, broad interests, likes to connect people and share knowledge, that’s how she landed in the TEDxZurich team. TED for her is a perfect combination of the things she is passionate about: ideas, sharing knowledge and bringing people together to initiate positive change. Klara started as a volunteer translating talks, and supporting the Women and the main events, and now she is leading the Salon Team as a permanent member!

Viola Klink

Viola Klink

Head of Legal and Finance

 Viola is an international business-, tax- and transfer pricing expert with a strong and passionate background in financial analysis. She is always seeking novel, better and more efficient ways to solve problems and reach visions. Viola is excited about new and disruptive digital technologies to support the market share expansion of the leading companies she works with. Viola is passionate about change and transformational leadership. She strongly believes in the power of support. 

When she’s not at the office you’ll find her in the surrounding nature (walking dogs or swimming) or diving deeper into the topics of health and continuous improvement, as well as philanthropy (i.e. performing supportive activities for the environmental protection, for the general well-being and for the public welfare).

Associates

Charlène Guillaume

Charlène Guillaume

Marketing (Social Media)

Miriam Palopoli

Miriam Palopoli

Marketing (Design & Animation)

Filippo Santangelo

Marketing (Growth Hacker)

Camila Méndez

Marketing (Visual Design)

Jihyun (Jay) Kim

Marketing (Visual Design)

Plengpai (Pin) Ratnajarn

Marketing (UX/UI Design)

Ralph Schmidhalter

Speakers

Erik Slabber TEDx Zurich

Erik Slabber

Speakers

Christina Haupt

Christina Haupt

Speakers

Charizze Wong

Speakers

Stefania Cattani

Speakers

Divya Shori

Speakers

Ralf Soboczinski

Production

Hugo Schotman

Production

Jacqueline Degen

Jacqueline Degen

Production

Marko Panjek

Marko Panjek

Salon

Sahar El Khoury

Salon

Julia Sharonova

Salon

Dana

Dana Steger

Salon

Aleksejs Okolovskis

Salon

Konstantinos Miachas

Salon

Ming Ming Khov

Partnerships

Assia Gueorguieva

Volunteers and Participants

Board Members

Tim Duehrkoop

TEDx License Holder

Martin Steiger

Nina Schneider

Fareena Chaudhry

Florian Bucher

Nicolas Blanchard

Hanna Brahme

Advisors

Urs Bucher

Urs Bucher

david

David Nydegger

chris mccall tedx Zurich

Chris McCall

About

8000 Zürich

Email: info@tedxzurich.com

TEDxZurich is a non-profit association based in Zurich and recognised as such by the Canton of Zurich. Our association is exempt from direct taxes.

VAT number CHE-376.577.316 MWST

This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED.
Copyright © 2023 TEDxZurich
Sarah Ebling

          Sarah Ebling holds a professorship in Accessibility Studies at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and is a senior researcher at the University of Zurich. Her research focuses on natural language processing in the context of disabilities and special needs, specifically, sign language technology and automatic text simplification. Her groups’ contributions involve artificial intelligence techniques with a strong emphasis on user involvement. She is involved in various international and national projects and leads a large-scale Swiss innovation initiative entitled „Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies“ (2022-2026; https://www.iict.uzh.ch/).