TEDxIE Madrid Celebrates a Decade of Successful Conferences

The TEDxIE Madrid conference marked its 10^th anniversary on May 21^st, uniting the speakers and the audience under this year’s theme of "Mirror, Mirror".

The theme served as a reminder to look at how our choices shape the world. In the reflective surface of our world, every decision casts a shadow, shaping the contours of families, communities, industries, cultures, trends and societies. Just like a mirror reflects our image, society reflects our decisions—what we do and don’t do. 

The lineup of speakers consisted of remarkable individuals from diverse backgrounds, spanning both the IE community and beyond. The auditorium stage was taken over by Ian Mues, an IE Bachelor student; Diana Daniels, CEO of the global superior service company Cronos Group; Erica Njoki, an IE Bachelor student; Freddy Mutanguha, a Rwanda genocide survivor and a CEO of the peace-promoting organization Aegis Trust; Alvaro Arenas, a professor at IE Business School; Sam Hernández, a cognitive neuroscientist, biopsychologist, and an adjunct professor at IE Business School; and Paula Pomares, an IE Bachelor student.

"We are all walking mirrors and reflections of our culture and our heritage," said Njoki, a student of Bachelor in International Relations and Business Administration at IE University, during her speech about profound influence of cultural heritage and ancestry on our identities.

The impressive list of speakers was the result of hard work of the curations team, organizing the event. 

"As a team, we looked into the IE community and professional networks to engage as many people as possible. We prioritized searching for the most impactful and creative ideas," said Saman Ghajar Davalu, a current Master in Talent Development and Human Resources student.

The conference was entirely curated by 35 IE Bachelor and Master students, divided into teams and led by Elena Pizzorno and Camila Gomez, third-year Bachelor in Communications and Digital Media students. Their years of experience in organizing the TEDxIE Madrid event, with the help of the institution, enabled them to execute the conference with a great success.

"IE Business School helped us as a sponsor, as well as with staff, speakers and resources such as the access to the Media Lab."
Elena Pizzorno

For 10 years now, TEDxIE Madrid has been uniting the community and the city with a different topic every year. This year’s conference was no exception: 100 attendees, the maximum number of guests allowed by the TEDxIE Madrid license, enjoyed the talks of seven speakers, a raffle, and a closing cocktail. 

"It’s a pleasure to support this event because it’s at the core of the IE values such as diversity and community building," said Geoffroy Gérard, Director of IE Foundation.