The TED Fellows Program recognizes people working ideas that will shape the future and offer them tools to amplify their vision. The individuals get chosen for their remarkable achievements, the impact of their work, and their commitment to community building. The TED Fellows program celebrates its thirteenth year with a network of 532 Fellows from more than 100 countries.
The program supports TED Fellows with the individual capacity-building required to take the global stage. The TED fellows program supports the chosen individuals by helping them articulate and amplify their vision to take the international stage.
Melaku Belay was chosen for being a cultural ambassador who uses his unique Eskista dance with original choreography to bring Ethiopia’s traditional dance and music to global attention. He is the Founding Director at Fendika Cultural Center, a venue that brings people together through traditional and contemporary Ethiopian arts.
Melaku Belay will present a talk on the TED stage in April in Vancouver. He mentioned that he is very honored to be among this class of TED Fellows as the first Ethiopian. He went on to say that TED is a prestigious global forum, and it means a lot that his work was recognized and his dream was understood to show the richness of Ethiopian culture to the world. He added that he would learn from change-makers worldwide through TED, build more bridges between peoples and cultures, and promote societal healing through arts and creativity.
