Latest news with #TEDSports
Indianapolis Star
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
TEDSports will come to Indianapolis in September. Here's what to know
Local sports fans may be coming down from the highs of WNBA All-Star weekend and last month's NBA finals, but there will soon be more high-end sports festivities to enjoy. The first-ever TEDSports conference will be held Sept. 9-11 in Indianapolis, TED, a non-profit based in New York and Vancouver, Canada, has announced. Guests from six continents will attend the three-day event, which costs $2,000 to attend. Over WNBA All-Star weekend, TED Chief Program and Strategy Officer Monique Ruff-Bell, who is based in New York, and TEDSports curator Neelay Bhatt talked to IndyStar about the new conference in light of Indianapolis' growing sports ecosystem. TEDSports is a new conference by TED, a non-profit that organizes events spotlighting global changemakers. The sports-focused program will feature TED talks, workshops, panels and curated meals. Workshops will be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Lucas Oil Stadium and other sports facilities around the city, said Bhatt, who is based in Indianapolis. TED has put athletes on stage to talk about sports in the past, Ruff-Bell said. But its flagship conferences have never focused specifically on the evolving world of sports — until now. 'One of the things that, you know, I had been talking about with my CEO for a couple of years now is how impactful and powerful sports storytelling is,' Ruff-Bell said. 'And how people really just connect to the stories of resilience and teamwork and how to think differently.' Those stories are the inspiration behind the conference, which will present new ideas on climate change, gender equality and artificial intelligence, all through the lens of sports. Bhatt said the event will demonstrate sports' ability to create change. He said he's seen firsthand how sports have changed Indianapolis. In the last 15-20 years, Bhatt has seen Indianapolis become a major athletic epicenter. Not only did Indy host the weekend's WNBA All-Star game, but it's hosted numerous Big Ten championships, the Super Bowl and the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. In addition, Bhatt said, Indianapolis has been a leader in the growing sports technology industry. 'That's where we can see so much more focus on innovation that is driving change and affecting the whole sports system,' he said. For instance, Sports Tech HQ, established in 2022, is a collective of companies that create technology for sports fans, teams and athletes. Based out of Indianapolis, Sports Tech HQ aims to turn the state into 'a global hub for sports technology.' The collective has inspired some of the ideas that will be discussed at TEDSports, Bhatt said. Other speakers include Olympic medalist and refugee Cindy Ngamba, former Indiana forward Tamika Catchings and former Fever president Allison Barber. Thanks largely to the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark, Indianapolis has also played a role in the rise of women's sports in recent years, Bhatt said. Indiana is looking to become 'the global capital of women's sports,' he said. 'Women's sports is no longer a moment, it's a movement,' he said. 'And so it just makes sense for TED to further amplify that as well.' Both Ruff-Bell and Bhatt have felt inspired by sports storytelling in their own lives. Ruff-Bell has never been an athlete, she said, or much of a sports fan. Still, she's totally fascinated by sports documentaries. She's come to love how much storytelling can happen behind the scenes and off the field. That storytelling is an avenue to broach new ideas, Bhatt said. 'We're still bringing it all back to sports, but about topics that we deeply care about that TED has always cared about and promoted, but now hopefully brings a new audience in because of sports,' Bhatt said. The goal, Ruff-Bell said, is for the event to grow and hopefully be continued annually in other cities.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
TED Announces Inaugural TEDSports Event in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS, March 13, 2025 /CNW/ -- Today, TED announces the first-ever sports-focused event TEDSports, set to take place Sep 9 - Sep 11, 2025, at the Old National Centre in Indianapolis, IN. Held in collaboration with TED, the event is curated and organized by Indiana Sports Corp, and Next Practice Partners and promises to host the world's boldest thinkers and changemakers to share ideas that encapsulate the past, present and future of sports. TEDSports Indianapolis will include main stage TED Talks, interactive workshops, Discovery Sessions, panels, curated dinners and experiences that spark conversation and inspire attendees to impact the world through sports. "Sports have always been about more than physical excellence – they embody strategy, innovation, and human potential," said Monique Ruff-Bell, Chief Program & Strategy Officer, TED. "This inaugural event in Indianapolis will explore the powerful intersection of athletics, science, technology, and social impact, bringing together thought leaders who are revolutionizing how we think about sports and sparking conversations that extend far beyond the playing field into our daily lives. We're excited to add this important new platform and meaningful conversations to the TED ecosystem." The event, themed Game Changers, is co-chaired by Patrick Talty, President Indiana Sports Corp, and Neelay Bhatt, Founder & CEO, Next Practice Partners. Event registration and the first wave of speakers will launch on April 1, 2025 on Stay up to date on future announcements about TEDSports Indianapolis via @TEDSportsIndy on Instagram, @TEDSportsIndy on X (Twitter) and TEDSportsIndianapolis on LinkedIn. For more information, visit or contact Jim Perry at TEDSports-Indianapolis@ About TEDTED 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 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 TED on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE TEDSports Indianapolis View original content to download multimedia: Sign in to access your portfolio
