I went to TED x Warwick’s Faces & Phases and here’s how it went

This year’s TED x Warwick event was the first event hosted by Warwick’s TED team to be fully booked out in five years – and rightly so.

The event was held on International Women’s Day 2025 and featured exclusively successful female speakers to commemorate this important day for women worldwide. The event started around 11 am and finished around 6 pm, with a lunch break and networking sessions with the speakers in between talks. There is a lot to be said about the organisation of the event, which required complex planning, from decoration and venue, to sound, light and video quality. It was clear that the Warwick Ted x Society put hours of work into curating this near perfect event for the public to enjoy – with tickets as cheap as seven pounds to ensure student affordability.

The twelve speakers that were featured in this event were as follows.  Amber Rose Badrurin, known for her appearance on the BBC’s show “The Apprentice” as well as being a business entrepreneur with over 500k followers on TikTok. Next, there was Ella Greenwood, a filmmaker, writer and mental health advocate who founded a female focused acting company. Following her was Sharon Gaffka, known for her appearance on ITV’s hit reality TV show “Love Island” and an award-winning VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) activist. Cayana Adjei Freeman was the next speaker, known for being a multilingual presenter for Amazon Prime UK and Germany, covering world recognised sporting events such as the Olympics, F1 and the Champions League among many others.

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The next speaker was Iqra Ismail, a women’s football advocate and content creator who spoke of her experience being a Muslim woman of colour in a white, male-dominated sport. There was also Kuldip Sembhi, a patient solutions manager at Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) who spoke about her experience being a woman in STEM and managing important life decisions and raising a family. Venetia La Manna followed her, famously known for being a fair fashion campaigner, content creator, and broadcaster as well as being one of Warwick’s very own alumna. Taz Alam was the eighth speaker, who gave a talk about her life becoming a content creator (@ClickForTaz on YouTube) and the struggles she faced in doing so. Lastly was Jade Bowler (@unjadedjade on social media), famously known for her study content on YouTube and Instagram, as well as being an author and a mindfulness advocate.

There was not a single lull throughout the day, each talk was unique and inspiring. The diversity displayed by the selection of individuals was admirable. Women of all cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, ages etc… Not one single thing was said twice, and yet each woman who took the stage brought with her a new branch of inspiration and a refreshing take on life based on her trajectory. Each of them faced adversity and personal challenges, but the strength they cultivated on their journey ultimately brought them success and perseverance. The addition of break out rooms where some ticket holders could network with the speakers was a brilliant idea, allowing the public to ask questions directly to the participants. During the breaks, different performers came onstage to entertain the audience. From rap and a live band performance to spoken word poetry, each act was lively and brought an element of fun to an ultimately serious event. The Ted x Warwick event was a brilliant way to spend International Women’s Day and it was clear that all the women in the room left feeling inspired, powerful, and ready to take on new challenges.