Nazanine is an Iranian born, Canadian/American who left Iran for the South of France. From a very young age Monaco has played a big role in her life. It is the one place that Nazanine keeps returning to regularly throughout her life.

Nazanine is a Mechanical Engineer, who loves to share her knowledge, loves connecting people and being inspired by innovation and those around her. Nazanine has worked as an engineer in bio-medical, in IT, Finance and Fashion.

Nazanine needs constant stimulation and so the TED Talks and TEDx was the perfect way for her to channel her energy and enthusiasm.

Nazanine believes in a few key things… "Actions speak louder than words." She also believes that it is not necessary to say what you have done or who you are… actions will speak for themselves and the right people will know!
 

"Be humble and respect your community (people & culture)", says Nazanine.

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I wanted to learn more from Nazanine about the upcoming TEDx event in Monaco and what her mission is for the future...

When did you first learn about the TED philosophy?

In 2009 I bought my first iPad and it was whilst I was looking for apps to install that I came across TED. Shortly thereafter, I learned more from a good friend of mine who heads her own TEDx in London. (TEDxCoventGardenWomen).

What inspired you to create the TEDxMonteCarlo?

I wanted to show the world that Monaco was more than just the glamour that we see on TV or in the media. There is a great deal of innovation that stems from Monaco and leaders who really inspire change. I wanted to showcase this local talent to the world. I also wanted to inspire the community by bringing them together in a multi-disciplinary fun way, such as that offered by TEDx. Monaco attracts a lot of the world’s most successful businessmen, influencers and leaders who either live in Monaco or pass through Monaco on an annual basis. I want to bring this community together the students, the different monegasque generations and the local community, so that we can spark change locally and globally.

"Its time we put Monaco on the TEDx map and contribute to this global archive of great ideas worth spreading with the global community."

What is your role within TEDx and what does it entail?

I am the founder, licensee & curator of TEDxMonteCarlo. My role is to think about topics/ideas that are important to the community and try to come up with a vision for the event, such as 'Why is the idea important?', 'Who could speak about this idea?' and 'What makes it unique?'. Then I develop a theme and go in search of speakers who can talk about the ideas. One of my roles is also to build a team of dedicated people, and together we work on attracting sponsors who will give us the possibility to create a dynamic event.

How and when do you start planning for a TEDx event?

Much of it depends on the size of the event and whether it is the first time the event has taken place and also if sponsors, suppliers, team and everything has been arranged. What takes the most time is finding the sponsors, the speakers and the curating.

Do you have specific TED talks that have influenced/motivated you?

There are so many it is hard to pin-point just one.  One of the most humourous is “This is what happens when you reply to spam email” by James Veitch, and another more scientific Talk by Jocelyne Bloch is, “The brain may be able to repair itself -- with help”.

These TED Talks highlight the range of topics shared with each audience. I would encourage TED and TEDx newbies to watch the 20 most popular TED Talks of all time as a starting point — www.ted.com/playlists/171/the_most_popular_talks_of_all

What is your vision for TEDxMonteCarlo?

My vision is to make this an annual event, with the community connecting, sharing ideas and, hopefully, a few of these TEDxMonteCarlo ideas become a reality and change the world.

"If people left the event inspired, not knowing what hit them… and if they keep speaking about the event for the weeks that follow, and start asking me about the 2017 event details... this would be amazing and a successful event in my eyes." says Nazanine

My wish is for TED Talks and the TEDx philosophy to reach a new audience in the Cote d’Azur, which in turn, will inspire, instill hope and empower each person to make a difference.

The TEDxMonteCarlo event takes place on Saturday 26th November and is themed “[r]EVOLUTION”. See more details HERE

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.