TEDxSaiGon 2026: 7 SPEAKERS & HOST EXPLORE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM & PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
Ho Chi Minh City, August 28, 2026 – TEDxSaiGon successfully hosted “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), bringing together nearly 200 attendees and seven speakers from diverse fields. Through personal stories, professional experiences, and diverse perspectives, the event explored different approaches to the question: “What makes a city vibrant?”
Focusing on the creation of spaces for sustainable tourism development and the preservation of cultural and heritage values, the event opened up conversations on how a city can continue to grow while preserving its identity, creating value for its communities, and building meaningful experiences for the future.
As Ho Chi Minh City continues to transform, “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” explores what it means for a city to be vibrant through the interconnected lenses of development, culture, people, and the ability to shape the future.
A journey of connection beyond the stage
The journey of the speakers at “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” extended far beyond the TEDx stage. Before and after the event, TEDxSaiGon, together with its community partners, created opportunities for speakers to meet, experience, and connect more deeply with the local culture and community.
Among these experiences was a lunch at Bếp Mẹ Ỉn, hosted with the support of a community partner. The gathering offered speakers an opportunity to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine in a warm and intimate setting, while experiencing a different side of local culture beyond the event itself.
In addition, the Speaker Gathering and Teabreak at Saigon Prince Hotel provided a space for speakers, the organizing team, and event partners to meet, exchange ideas, and connect ahead of their time on stage.
These experiences extended the speakers’ journey beyond a single appearance on stage, creating opportunities to connect with the people, culture, and communities of Vietnam. In doing so, TEDxSaiGon not only provided a platform for ideas to be shared, but also created meaningful touchpoints where relationships and conversations could continue beyond the event.
This reflects TEDxSaiGon’s broader vision of connecting Vietnamese stories with the international community - bringing Vietnam’s culture, people, and perspectives on sustainable development closer to audiences around the world.
Seven voices. Seven perspectives. One vibrant future
“Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” marked a new chapter for TEDxSaiGon, and the first time the program partnered with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism as part of ITE HCMC 2026.
The event brought together seven voices from the fields of tourism, culture, creativity, technology, and sustainable development, creating a space where diverse perspectives could connect, engage in dialogue, and offer new ways of seeing a city that continues to transform. The Talks were organized around two thematic tracks: “Imagining Sustainable Worlds” and “Culture and Media Transformation.”
Under “Imagining Sustainable Worlds”, conversations explored how we can envision and create more sustainable spaces for living, from responsible tourism and the relationship between people and the environment to new approaches to urban development. As Mr. Peter DeBrine, Senior Project Officer for Sustainable Tourism at UNESCO, shared: “For a brief moment, when we travel, we become part of someone else’s place, economy, culture and story.”
This message offers a broader perspective on tourism: every travel experience is not simply a journey undertaken by the visitor, but also an interaction with the local community, culture, and the values of the destination.
Meanwhile, “Culture and Media Transformation” explored how culture, media, and creativity are reshaping the way we perceive a city. The stories shared on stage highlighted that culture is not merely a heritage to be preserved, but also a living and evolving force - one that can adapt, innovate, and create new connections between people.
“To an algorithm, your life is just data - but to another human being, your story might be the very thing that changes theirs.” - Mr. Andy Ho (Co-founder of RICE Content and Media)
The story of a city is therefore shaped not only by what is built or preserved, but also by how people tell its stories, experience its culture, and connect with its values.
As Vietnam becomes increasingly connected with the world, developing and preserving cultural values is not simply about safeguarding the past. It is also about finding new languages through which these values can be expressed, reaching new communities, and bringing Vietnam’s stories to the world.
When culture finds a new language
Alongside the Talks, Bamboo Circus by Lune Production brought an artistic dimension to “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City.” Through movement, music, and contemporary theatrical expression, the performance reinterpreted elements of Vietnamese culture in a fresh and emotionally engaging form, bringing them closer to audiences through a new creative language.
The combination of ideas and artistic expression expanded the event’s conversation around cultural preservation: preservation is not only about keeping what already exists, but also about finding new ways for culture to remain alive, be experienced, and connect with contemporary audiences.
When cultural values are expressed through creative languages, they can reach not only new generations in Vietnam, but also serve as a bridge for Vietnamese culture to be discovered and experienced by international audiences.
From the stage to the community
One of the ways the conversation continued beyond “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” was through the connections formed outside the stage. The event created opportunities for speakers, attendees, and community representatives to meet and exchange perspectives on shared areas of interest, from sustainable tourism and cultural heritage preservation to technology, innovation, and the creative industries.
With nearly 200 registered attendees, seven speakers from different countries, and the support of more than 10 partners and communities, the event became a meeting point for individuals and organizations who share a common interest in the future of the city.
Through this gathering, TEDxSaiGon continued to expand the meaning of a TEDx stage, not only as a place where ideas are shared, but also as a space where people with shared interests can meet, continue conversations, and build new connections.
When ideas move beyond the stage
For TEDxSaiGon, “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” was more than an event on stage. It was a space connecting ideas, people, and communities. The event brought together seven speakers from different countries, nearly 200 registered attendees, and the support of more than 10 partners and communities.
The conversations initiated on stage continued through opportunities for connection, bringing perspectives on tourism, culture, creativity, technology, and sustainable development closer to the community.
From Ho Chi Minh City, stories of a dynamic and evolving city of sustainable tourism, development alongside cultural heritage preservation, and the creativity of Vietnamese people, have the potential to reach wider audiences and become part of a broader global conversation.
TEDxSaiGon will continue to share the stories and highlights from the event, while creating more spaces for ideas to connect, grow, and travel beyond the stage – from Vietnam to the world.
Contact
For partnership discussions or to explore collaboration opportunities, please reach out to: Mrs. Ngoc Anh Hoang – Founding Organizer, Licensee at TEDxSaigon today.
We welcome proposals, ideas, and introductions from organizations interested in working with TED and TEDxSaigon.
For partnership and collaboration inquiries, please contact:
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