TEDxJakarta: Text and the City
This year, we began by reading Jakarta. Its streets, histories, people, infrastructure, and the invisible forces that shape how we experience the city. Text and the City invites us to see Jakarta not simply as a place we inhabit, but as a living text that is constantly written, rewritten, and interpreted by those who live within it.
At the end of the day, let’s wonder: if a city like Jakarta could give a TED Talk, what would it have to say? And if Jakarta stood on that red circle tomorrow, would we be kind enough to stop, listen, and hear what it has to say? Perhaps the answer lies in the people who live within it. They are the text. They are the city. And just as we come ready to listen, they are ready to talk.
Meet Our Speakers
Raisa Kamila is a writer and historian from Banda Aceh who reads places as attentively as she writes about them.
Through oral histories, landscape narratives, and the lives of people who have grown alongside these places, she traces how memory, identity, and belonging are woven into the places we inhabit.
In Text and the City, Raisa invites us to look beyond the places themselves and towards the relationships that give them meaning. Because the places we inhabit are shaped not only by what surrounds us, but by the people and stories that live within them.
Pipit Pitriana is a marine researcher and scientist at a national research and innovation agency, where she also leads the crustacea research group.
She has spent years venturing into Indonesia’s waters, from West Papua to the Sulawesi Sea.
In Text and the City, Pipit takes us beneath the surface to discover the biodiversity that remains largely unseen. From documenting new species and deep-sea ecosystems to studying the impact of environmental change on marine life, her work reveals how much more there is to understand about the waters surrounding us.
Nadia Habibie leads a foundation dedicated to preserving and advancing Indonesian arts and culture and serves on the executive board of an independent think tank.
Working at the intersection of legacy, technology, and sustainability, Nadia explores how the lessons we inherit can help us imagine what comes next. Her work is deeply rooted in creating spaces where young people can be heard and take part in conversations that shape Indonesia’s future.
In Text and the City, Nadia invites us to think about the future we are collectively building, and the role each of us can play in turning ideas into something tangible, meaningful, and shared.
Ardzuna Sinaga is an urban design leader and practitioner. With experience across Asia, his work spans CBDs, new towns, resorts, public spaces, and urban regeneration.
Beyond designing cities and spaces, Ardzuna is interested in something closer to everyday life: placemaking. How do the spaces around us become places that feel meaningful? How can a sidewalk, a park, or a public space bring people together and become part of how we experience a city?
In Text and the City, Ardzuna invites us to look at Jakarta a little differently, and consider how the places we move through every day can shape the way we live, connect, and belong.
More Speakers Coming Soon
Counting down to seeing you!
Saturday, 26 September 2026
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