“425 Voices can share their stories with TED x one city at a time.”

- David Hudson

TED x: 169 to 1

Photo By Aykut Kılıç

Your Target. Your Voice. Your Legacy.

One target. One ripple. One global platform to share your story.

TEDx: 169to1® is coming. From January 2026, your institution can be part of it.

85 Cities

425 Voices

1 Story

The Vision

TEDx: 169to1® is the storytelling arm of our global ecosystem. Over five years, in 85 cities, we will platform 425 voices, one for every Sustainable Development Goal and its Target, every year leading to the close of 2030.

The framework is live. The systems are being finalised. And from January 2026, institutions across the world can join.

Every event is local. Every voice is real. Every story is proof that change is already happening.

How It Works The Structure

It’s simple… 17 SDGs, 85 Cities, 5 Years, and 1 Global Story Grid.

Each year, 17 cities will host one TEDx: 169to1® event, each spotlighting a different SDG. Over five years, every goal and their targets will be told through five distinct, local perspectives.

The Format

  • Speakers include youth, educators, SMEs, NGOs, and frontline leaders

  • Stories will be recorded, subtitled, and archived

  • All events follow TEDx licensing and quality standards for global sharing

The Commitment

  • Each host city must have at least one institution activating a verified SDG target

  • Host partners can include schools, universities, SMEs, NGOs, or local governments

  • 169 to 1® will provide a full Event-in-a-Box toolkit: branding, speaker guides, coaching materials, and templates

What You Can Do

For Cities:
Apply to host a TEDx: 169to1® event. Represent your target. Share your story.

For Institutions:
From January 2026, activate one SDG target. Track your progress. Put forward a speaker.

For Youth:
Join the Born in 2015 storyteller stream. Share your vision. Shape the future.

For Everyone:
Watch the archive grow. Follow the ripple. Be part of the next wave of voices.

The Role of Storytelling

Storytelling is not an afterthought, it’s how we build trust, track change, and turn isolated efforts into collective proof.

Behind every activated target is a person, a place, and a decision. When we share those stories, clearly and honestly, we show others what’s possible. Communities define their own contribution in their own words.

This is how 169 to 1® moves from idea to impact.

Why It Matters

With just 0.01% of the world’s institutions formally acting on the SDGs, the issue isn’t ambition. It’s visibility.

All over the world, institutions are stepping up — often without recognition — to act on one target. These efforts may not make headlines, but they are real, measurable, and already in motion.

TEDx: 169to1® makes that work visible.

It brings local action into the global record — shifting the conversation from what was promised to what was delivered.

This isn’t about performance. It’s about proof. It’s about ensuring the efforts of schools, clinics, councils, cooperatives, and youth groups are seen, shared, and remembered.

Because in the end, the real measure of the SDGs will be how they were implemented — one voice, one ripple, one target at a time.

Join Us

This is your global invitation to speak from where you stand, and show the world what action really looks like.

The first cycle begins January 2026.

If you're ready to share your story, and your impact, we want to hear from you.

"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Inspire me and I will get involved."

― Benjamin Franklin