Srinagar: A new effort to place Kashmir at the centre of conversations around ideas, innovation, peace and progress is taking shape with TEDxDalLake 2026, being organised under the theme “Changemakers of India.” The initiative aims to bring voices from across India to Kashmir and create a platform for meaningful dialogue, ideas and national engagement.
The event is being led by Irfan Attari, Organiser and TEDxDalLake Licensee, a local Kashmiri who says the vision behind the event is to create a platform where Kashmir is not merely discussed, but becomes a place from which meaningful ideas and conversations reach audiences across India and the world.
For Attari, the significance of TEDxDalLake lies in creating a bridge between Kashmir and the wider country.
“As a Kashmiri, I want to see Kashmir represented not only through the stories that are often told about us, but also through ideas, talent, innovation and the voices that can contribute to India’s future. TEDxDalLake is an attempt to create that bridge—to bring India’s voices to Kashmir and take the spirit of Kashmir’s ideas to a much wider audience.”
Bringing India’s voices to Kashmir
With the theme “Changemakers of India,” TEDxDalLake is being envisioned as a platform bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, academics, policymakers, social leaders, professionals and young changemakers from across India.
The objective is to create conversations that move beyond geography and bring together people with different experiences and perspectives.
The event also seeks to use the TEDx platform to encourage conversations around peace, innovation, leadership, youth participation and India’s progress, while creating opportunities for audiences in Kashmir to engage with voices from different parts of the country.
Kashmir as a platform, not just a destination
The organisers believe the location itself carries a message.
Kashmir has traditionally been viewed primarily through the lens of tourism, culture and news. TEDxDalLake seeks to add another dimension Kashmir as a place for ideas and national dialogue.
By hosting voices from across India in Srinagar, the event aims to demonstrate that the Valley can serve as a meeting point for diverse perspectives and constructive conversations.
For a local Kashmiri organiser like Attari, that message is particularly important.
“We want people to experience Kashmir not only as a beautiful destination, but as a place where ideas can meet, people can connect and conversations about India’s future can take place.”
Connecting a local stage with a global ecosystem
TEDx events are independently organised under licence from TED and are designed to bring the TED experience to local communities. Talks from qualifying TEDx events can subsequently become part of the wider TEDx digital ecosystem.
That creates a pathway for ideas shared in Srinagar to potentially reach audiences far beyond the physical audience at Tagore Hall.
TED reported that its ideas were watched and heard 1.7 billion times across 248 countries and territories in 2025, demonstrating the scale of the wider TED ecosystem.
TEDxDalLake’s ambition is therefore not simply to organise another event in Srinagar. It is to create a platform where voices from India can meet in Kashmir and ideas originating from this stage can potentially travel far beyond it.
A message of peace and progress
The organisers also see the event as an opportunity to promote a constructive narrative around Kashmir one centred on people, ideas, creativity, entrepreneurship and progress.
Rather than approaching peace as a political slogan, TEDxDalLake intends to place emphasis on the role of dialogue, human connection, knowledge and shared ideas in building greater understanding.
“Peace is also about creating spaces where people can meet, listen to each other and exchange ideas,” Attari said. “We want TEDxDalLake to be one such space.”
With “Changemakers of India”, the event aims to bring the country’s diverse voices together in Srinagar and create a platform that connects local audiences with national and international conversations.
From Kashmir to India. From India to the world. TEDxDalLake 2026 aims to make Srinagar a stage where ideas know no boundaries.
Written by: Jannat Wani
Organising Team, TEDxDalLake
jannat@tedxdallake.com