Apply for zenith Talk

The publisher of Zenith Magazine, the nonprofit Candid Foundation has initiated a series of live and online presentations called “zenithTALK“. We believe that the societies surrounding the Mediterranean and beyond are moving closer everyday. Yet challenges prevail. With this new format “zenithTALK“, we want to provide a platform for valuable ideas to spread. Small ripples can become waves of change to better the lives of people in the MENA region.

ZenithTALK shines light on outstanding individuals from around the world, who are developing innovative ideas and offering creative solutions for the common challenges MENA communities face today. ZenithTALK speakers come from a wide and varied background. Whether they are artists, academics, activists, researchers, entrepreneurs or others, they all share a refreshing and creative approach to make positive developments happen in the MENA Region. Candid Foundation is committed to share these valuable ideas to a larger audience and thus, contribute to a better future.

ZenithTALK empowers people representing the MENA region - to stand up and speak out.

ZenithTALK is curated by a global, interdisciplinary team of MENA region experts. We search year round for new faces who can inform, inspire, surprise and delight audiences. These emerging voices are given an important platform to be seen and heard by audiences in Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. We have high expectations of our speakers; the zenithTALK team works with speakers well in advance of the presentation day to help shape the talk and power the delivery. We want speakers to succeed on both the live and online zenithTALK platforms.

We want our speakers to give THE talk of their life here!

Each zenithTALK features 4-5 speakers with breathtaking, groundbreaking ideas for the future of MENA region. If you know someone who belongs on the zenithTALK stage or if you belong there yourself, we want to hear from you!

Time Limit

ZenithTALK strictly enforces a maximum of 1000 seconds on stage. We find that when carefully-prepared speakers condense their ideas into a compelling 16.5 minute talk, it can have an astounding impact.

Copyrights

All ZenithTALK speakers agree that they will be professionally photographed, filmed and broadcasted through the media channels of www.zenith.me, as well as by our media partners.

Compensation

ZenithTALK does not pay speakers. We do, of course, cover travel costs and provide excellent hotel accommodation. Other benefits include professional coaching and training via video and live on location, as well as the opportunity to network with important voices and stakeholders on MENA region affairs. An additional benefit of speaking at a zenithTALK is that we capture your talk in a beautifully produced, broadcast quality video for online viewing.
We are committed to creating a tremendously fulfilling experience for our speakers, our audiences, and ourselves.

Speaking format and style

We believe there are many formats and styles to give a compelling talk. We do not adhere to just one format. We agree that public speaking tools can greatly improve the ability of your talk to inform, inspire, surprise, and delight your audience.

ZenithTALKS should:

  1. get and hold a general audience's attention, both live and online.
  2. be simple in their message and clear in their structure, so that listeners can easily understand, remember, and internalize it.
  3. move people to act: consider an idea, change a behavior, attitude, undertake an action.

ZenithTALKS should not be a platform for advertising your latest project, product, service, or yourself!

How in-depth should your talk be?

ZenithTalks uses a strict 1000 second time limit because we want to share dots of inspiration and intrigue rather than depths of knowledge. Our goal is to help audiences create a broad vision of the brilliant ideas that exist and help them to connect meaning and relevance in their world of knowledge.
That is why we do not want to present all your ideas. We would rather you shape your talk so that a general audience can quickly understand, remember, and internalize your core big idea.

Speaker Coaching

When you are selected to speak on the ZenithTALK stage, you will be professionally coached and trained well in advance of the presentation date. We want to help you reach the next level in your public speaking life.

Please be aware of the following terms and conditions as a zenithTALK speaker:

  • Invited speakers consent wholeheartedly to work with a speaker coach in order to prepare the talk to be effective for the ZenithTalk format. This collaboration means respecting deadlines and scheduled video sessions, following through with edit changes/suggestions, attending the live coaching session on location.

  • Invited speakers agree to begin the coaching 6-8 weeks before the scheduled talk. This coaching process will consist of video calls, written correspondence, and live one-to-one session(s) on location.

  • Invited speakers agree to send the whole script of the speak plus presenting material like pictures or graphs to the speaker coach as well as the organizers latest four weeks before the talk starts.
  • After this preparation period, if we feel that invited speakers are not ready to give an amazing talk, we maintain the right to cancel or postpone these talks for a future date.

We are interested to know

(in maximum 2000 characters or less):

  • Please tell us in one sentence your big idea. (Bear in mind: this is “the“ headline that should capture live and online viewers' curiosity and should be “tweetable”.)
  • How does your idea create new ground, break old conventions, and make your world (country / region / city) better?
  • How does your idea bring cultural, social, or economic innovation in the MENA region?
  • What is your personal experience (your story)?
  • Why you do what you do? What is your motivation / needs / desires / beliefs?
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