Insight
Language is far more than a way of communicating.
It shapes how we think, how we express ourselves and how we understand the world around us.
Our mother tongue carries our culture, our traditions, our humour, our beliefs and our identity.
People don't simply think in their mother tongue. They reveal more of themselves through it.
Opportunity
The opportunity wasn't simply to launch TED in Arabic.
It was to create a platform where Arabic speakers could express, share and shape ideas in the language that best reflected who they are.
Objectives
Position TED in Arabic as a platform for original Arabic ideas, not simply translated content.
Celebrate Arabic as a language of knowledge, innovation and creativity.
Encourage Arabic speakers to contribute their own ideas to the global conversation.
Position Qatar Foundation as the catalyst behind this cultural initiative.
Reinforce Arabic as a living language of ideas by encouraging future generations to continue thinking, questioning and expressing themselves in their mother tongue, not only at home, but in education, innovation and public life.
Strategic Response
Qatar Foundation believed that ideas have the power to change the world.
But ideas are never separated from the language in which they are born.
Rather than treating Arabic as simply another language to translate into, we positioned it as a language capable of contributing entirely new perspectives to the global conversation.
The launch became an invitation for Arabic speakers not simply to consume ideas, but to create them, debate them and share them with the world.
The Belief
Every language gives the world a different way of thinking.
The Idea
OUR IDEAS. OUR VOICE.
Our role wasn't simply to launch a platform.
It was to give Arabic a global voice.
The campaign celebrated Arabic not simply as a language, but as a source of identity, culture and original thought.
Typography became architecture.
Language became a stage.
Ideas became the bridge between cultures.
Every execution encouraged Arabic speakers to participate in the world's exchange of ideas through the language that best expressed who they are.
The campaign invited people to ask questions such as:
Can ideas ever be fully translated?
Does language shape the way we think?
Can our traditions inspire new ideas?
What idea would you share with the world?
What happens when more voices join the conversation?
Rather than speaking for Arabic speakers, the campaign encouraged them to speak for themselves.
Outcome
Voice
TED in Arabic became far more than an Arabic version of TED.
It established one of the world's largest platforms dedicated to original Arabic ideas, reinforcing Arabic as a language capable of generating knowledge, innovation and intellectual leadership.
Participation
The platform encouraged millions of Arabic speakers not simply to consume ideas, but to engage with them, discuss them and contribute their own.
Within its first years, TED in Arabic generated:
36 million website visits
14 million video views
More than 16 million people reached
More than 36 million social media views
The initiative also evolved beyond digital content, culminating in the first TED in Arabic Summit, bringing together more than 3,000 participants to continue the conversation in person.
Representation
By creating a platform for original Arabic ideas rather than simply translated content, the partnership broadened the diversity of voices contributing to the global exchange of ideas and reinforced the value of linguistic and cultural diversity in shaping how the world thinks.
Legacy
The partnership helped strengthen Arabic as a living language of ideas, encouraging future generations to continue thinking, questioning and expressing themselves in their mother tongue across education, innovation and public life.
What This Taught Me
All ideas deserve to be heard. But when they're spoken in their native language, they bring unique identities, cultures and perspectives that enrich and challenge how the world thinks.
Yasmina Toak
Insight
Language is far more than a way of communicating.
It shapes how we think, how we express ourselves and how we understand the world around us.
Our mother tongue carries our culture, our traditions, our humour, our beliefs and our identity.
People don't simply think in their mother tongue. They reveal more of themselves through it.
Opportunity
The opportunity wasn't simply to launch TED in Arabic.
It was to create a platform where Arabic speakers could express, share and shape ideas in the language that best reflected who they are.
Objectives
Position TED in Arabic as a platform for original Arabic ideas, not simply translated content.
Celebrate Arabic as a language of knowledge, innovation and creativity.
Encourage Arabic speakers to contribute their own ideas to the global conversation.
Position Qatar Foundation as the catalyst behind this cultural initiative.
Reinforce Arabic as a living language of ideas by encouraging future generations to continue thinking, questioning and expressing themselves in their mother tongue, not only at home, but in education, innovation and public life.
Strategic Response
Qatar Foundation believed that ideas have the power to change the world.
But ideas are never separated from the language in which they are born.
Rather than treating Arabic as simply another language to translate into, we positioned it as a language capable of contributing entirely new perspectives to the global conversation.
The launch became an invitation for Arabic speakers not simply to consume ideas, but to create them, debate them and share them with the world.
The Belief
Every language gives the world a different way of thinking.
The Idea
OUR IDEAS. OUR VOICE.
Our role wasn't simply to launch a platform.
It was to give Arabic a global voice.
The campaign celebrated Arabic not simply as a language, but as a source of identity, culture and original thought.
Typography became architecture.
Language became a stage.
Ideas became the bridge between cultures.
Every execution encouraged Arabic speakers to participate in the world's exchange of ideas through the language that best expressed who they are.
The campaign invited people to ask questions such as:
Can ideas ever be fully translated?
Does language shape the way we think?
Can our traditions inspire new ideas?
What idea would you share with the world?
What happens when more voices join the conversation?
Rather than speaking for Arabic speakers, the campaign encouraged them to speak for themselves.
Outcome
Voice
TED in Arabic became far more than an Arabic version of TED.
It established one of the world's largest platforms dedicated to original Arabic ideas, reinforcing Arabic as a language capable of generating knowledge, innovation and intellectual leadership.
Participation
The platform encouraged millions of Arabic speakers not simply to consume ideas, but to engage with them, discuss them and contribute their own.
Within its first years, TED in Arabic generated:
36 million website visits
14 million video views
More than 16 million people reached
More than 36 million social media views
The initiative also evolved beyond digital content, culminating in the first TED in Arabic Summit, bringing together more than 3,000 participants to continue the conversation in person.
Representation
By creating a platform for original Arabic ideas rather than simply translated content, the partnership broadened the diversity of voices contributing to the global exchange of ideas and reinforced the value of linguistic and cultural diversity in shaping how the world thinks.
Legacy
The partnership helped strengthen Arabic as a living language of ideas, encouraging future generations to continue thinking, questioning and expressing themselves in their mother tongue across education, innovation and public life.
What This Taught Me
All ideas deserve to be heard. But when they're spoken in their native language, they bring unique identities, cultures and perspectives that enrich and challenge how the world thinks.
Yasmina Toak
