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Resilient Momentum

How do we stay resilient while continuing to move?

  • FOM Essen
  • 10 speakers
  • one day
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Limited seats

Key visual: a speaker on a red stage looks out over the Ruhr skyline at dusk, with a pithead tower and an audience below.

Resilient Momentum

TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED's overall mission to research and discover "ideas worth spreading." TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through their events.

The YouTube channel has around 42 million subscribers and sees itself as an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere - celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage.

Under the motto "resilient momentum" in the middle of the Ruhr area at the FOM University of Applied Sciences, a special event will take place on November 7th, 2026.

We will be talking about how we want to shape the future ourselves with our ideas. The speakers are as diverse as the topics. But we have a common goal.

A better future.

Ideas worth spreading. Worldwide. Now in Essen.

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. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.

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-organized - subject to certain rules and regulations.

  • The two hosts presenting on stage
  • All speakers together on stage at the end of the day
  • Speaker in a black T-shirt mid-talk with a clicker

Speakers & topics

Ten voices. Ten ways forward.

  1. Portrait of Anastasia Barner

    Anastasia Barner

    Gen Z Doesn’t Need a Seat at the Table. We Need to Build a New Table.

    Founder of FeMentor, Europe's first reverse mentoring platform. DIE ZEIT calls her a "generation interpreter".

  2. Portrait of Aylin Boenneken

    Aylin Boenneken

    Framechanger: FIREPROOF

    Award-winning artist who turned a fire-safety "no" into the first non-combustible stretcher frame.

  3. Portrait of Holger Bröer

    Holger Bröer

    Change the Odds.

    20,000 sales conversations and one question: why do some people keep going when others stop?

  4. Portrait of Jörg Repschläger

    Jörg Repschläger

    Traveling for everyone.

    Paralysed from the neck down, he travels the world and shows what self-determination makes possible.

  5. Portrait of Luisa Wasilewski

    Luisa Wasilewski

    Beyond the Unicorn: Building Companies That Last.

    Digital health founder and investor on healthcare companies built to last, not only to scale.

  6. Portrait of Prof. Dr. Lukas Martin

    Lukas Martin

    Why We Know What to Do — and Still Don't Do It.

    Former intensive-care physician, now professor, founder and executive, on leadership under pressure.

  7. Portrait of Marcel Pesch

    Marcel Pesch

    What Comes After AI Agents? Your Clone.

    Runs a company with 3 humans and more than 30 AI agents.

  8. Portrait of Paula Brandt

    Paula Brandt

    The Idea You Can't Ignore.

    Led turnaround projects at Microsoft, then left to help founders build businesses with impact beyond profit.

  9. Portrait of Selina Völk

    Selina Völk

    Know Your Why. Choose Your Way.

    Fitness coach and former bodybuilding runner-up on why knowing when to pause is part of discipline.

  10. Portrait of Tom Solo

    Tom Solo

    Curiosity. Creativity. Concentration. Courage.

    Why resilience means having the courage to become a beginner again.

  11. Portrait of Wassim Saeidi

    Wassim Saeidi

    Who Answers When the Robot Stops at 3 A.M.?

    Founder and CEO of United Robotics Group, whose robots already work night shifts in hospitals.

  12. A performer on stage, arm raised, backlit by smoke and red light

    Special Guest

    Who is hiding behind the surprise?

    The identity stays a secret until they step onto the stage. There is only one way to find out.

    Be there

01 / 12

Anastasia Barner

Gen Z Doesn’t Need a Seat at the Table. We Need to Build a New Table.

Anastasia Barner is a business content creator and one of the prominent voices of Generation Z. In 2019, at just 20 years old, she founded FeMentor, Europe's first reverse mentoring platform. Today, she takes the stage as a Gen Z expert and TEDx speaker, advising companies on social media, generational dynamics, and how to attract and engage young talent. DIE ZEIT has described her as a "generation interpreter." Anastasia Barner regularly works as a speaker and moderator. In 2023, she published her first book, “(Ge)Gründet — Start-Up-Szene uncovered,” with Haufe Verlag.

Aylin Boenneken

Framechanger: FIREPROOF

Aylin is a visual artist and founder with German-Turkish roots from Witten, who uniquely combines art and entrepreneurship. After an exhibition at a university hospital had to be canceled due to an EU-wide fire safety regulation, she founded her own start-up and developed the first non-combustible stretcher frame with B1 certification, which is currently pending international patent approval. At the same time, she has made an international name for herself as an artist, receiving awards in Rome, Florence, and New York, including "Artist of the Year 2025". Her dedication also takes her to where art has the most profound impact: she volunteers her time painting with children in a hospice. Known for her directness and her courage to build something new out of a "no", Aylin speaks about innovation, resilience, and the power of embracing obstacles as opportunities. Her biography demonstrates that it is worth trusting your own ideas and reimagining boundaries, in art as well as in life.

Holger Bröer

Change the Odds.

Holger Bröer is a serial entrepreneur, international speaker, C-level mentor and bestselling author who has spent more than four decades exploring one question: Why do some people keep going when others stop? With more than 20,000 sales conversations, leadership roles at companies including D2 Mannesmann/Vodafone and WorldCom/UUnet, and 25 years as founder of Bröer & Partner, Holger has worked with executives, entrepreneurs and sales teams across Europe and the United States. His perspective was shaped less by theory than by thousands of rejections, business successes, failures and personal setbacks. His work challenges the idea that exceptional outcomes require exceptional starting conditions. At the heart of his work is a simple belief: intelligence, education and background matter less than we often think. Persistence, courage, learning and consistent action can change the odds. His latest book, POETRY, became a manager magazin business bestseller in 2026.

Jörg Repschläger

Traveling for everyone.

After a serious motocross accident in his youth, Jörg Repschläger was left paralysed from the neck down due to a C4 spinal cord injury. When faced with the prospect of living in a nursing home, he decided to take control of his own life. Today, he organises his care independently through the personal assistance model, acting as the employer of the people who support him. In his talk, Jörg shares what it means to travel and discover the world as a person with a severe physical disability. He speaks about the practical challenges, the importance of reliable assistance and the courage required to overcome physical and social barriers. His experiences demonstrate how self-determination, careful planning and a spirit of adventure can open up new horizons -even when travelling under demanding circumstances.

Luisa Wasilewski

Beyond the Unicorn: Building Companies That Last.

Luisa Wasilewski is a digital health entrepreneur, investor, author, and one of Germany's leading voices on healthcare innovation. For more than eight years, she has worked across the healthcare ecosystem - analyzing markets, advising organizations, supporting founders, and connecting promising innovations with the people who can move them forward. Throughout her career, Luisa has been driven by one central question: How can we turn today’s innovation momentum into healthcare companies that are resilient enough to create lasting change? She believes the sector needs a broader definition of startup success - one that looks beyond a narrow focus on hypergrowth and unicorns and recognizes the value of ambitious, sustainable companies capable of becoming the backbone of tomorrow's healthcare system. As the founder of Pulsewave and co-founder of the healthcare investment platform HALBZEIT.ai, Luisa brings together the elements she considers essential for resilient innovation: market knowledge, healthcare expertise, trusted networks, access, and capital. Her work encourages people from within healthcare not only to observe innovation, but to take an active role in building and financing its future. On stage, Luisa combines data, personal experience, and a long-term vision for a healthier innovation economy — one in which momentum does not end with the next trend, but creates companies that last and improve care.

Lukas Martin

Why We Know What to Do — and Still Don't Do It.

Prof. Dr. Lukas Martin is a professor of medicine, award-winning scientist, founder, and executive. He studied medicine and business administration and began his career as an intensive-care and emergency physician, before moving into entrepreneurship and business. As an author and keynote speaker, he shares his expertise on topics ranging from Artificial Intelligence and Digital Medicine to Performance Architecture, Identity Systems, and Leadership under Pressure. His passion is working with people and organizations who care about lasting success and effectiveness.

Marcel Pesch

What Comes After AI Agents? Your Clone.

Marcel Pesch is an AI serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, author, and founder of academy4.ai — a company recognized by the BVMID as a Top 100 organization and featured across major German media as a pioneering AI-first company. academy4.ai operates with just 3 humans and over 30 AI agents, proving that the future of scalable business isn't about headcount — it's about intelligence. Passionate about making artificial intelligence practical and accessible, Marcel helps organizations and individuals understand how AI is transforming work, leadership, and society. With more than 15 years of experience in coaching and innovation, he inspires audiences to embrace technological change with confidence and curiosity, empowering them to shape the future instead of being shaped by it.

Paula Brandt

The Idea You Can't Ignore.

Paula Brandt is a strategic advisor, SPIEGEL bestselling author, and keynote speaker helping entrepreneurs build businesses that create impact beyond profit. After leading some of Microsoft's most critical turnaround projects in Germany, she left corporate life in search of a different way of doing business rooted in purpose, responsibility, and long-term value. Today, she works with founders and business owners to align strategy with purpose, turning companies into catalysts for positive change.

Selina Völk

Know Your Why. Choose Your Way.

Selina Völk is a fitness and health coach, content creator, and former runner-up at the German Bodybuilding Championships in the bikini category. With a degree in Health Management, she helps people — with a particular focus on women — build strength, nourish their bodies, and develop the confidence to live fully and pursue what matters to them. Sport and ambition have always been a big part of her life. Her own experiences have also taught her that looking fit does not necessarily mean being healthy. Years without a menstrual cycle and a recent injury during marathon training have led her to question what she asks of her body and the price she is willing to pay for performance. Through her coaching and social media, Selina speaks openly about women’s health, athletic goals, and the pressure to keep pushing for more. Her work explores how we can challenge ourselves while respecting our physical limits and why knowing when to pause or change direction deserves a place in our understanding of discipline.

Tom Solo

Curiosity. Creativity. Concentration. Courage.

Tom Solo is a lifelong explorer of human potential, creativity, and reinvention. An entrepreneur, creative professional, and strategic connector, he brings together ideas, people, and opportunities across disciplines. Driven by an enduring curiosity, Tom has continually reinvented himself throughout his career—embracing new perspectives, new challenges, and new ways of creating impact. Today, he works with founders, investors, and organizations to build meaningful partnerships and unlock opportunities where creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation intersect. His work is guided by a simple belief: curiosity is one of the most powerful forces for resilience and transformation. In his TEDx Talk, Tom explores why resilience is not about resisting change, but about having the courage to become a beginner again—and why our greatest opportunities often begin on the other side of uncertainty.

Wassim Saeidi

Who Answers When the Robot Stops at 3 A.M.?

Wassim Saeidi is the founder and CEO of United Robotics Group, a European developer of AI-based robotics for healthcare. He started in 2014 with one company and a question that has not changed since: what would it take for a machine to make a hospital shift easier rather than more complicated? Today his robots work in clinical laboratories, hospitals and care facilities — handling samples through the night, moving supplies across wards, and, with the humanoid robot uMe, accompanying people in everyday care. uMe premiered at CES 2026 in Las Vegas and was first shown in a clinical setting at University Medicine Essen. In August 2026, United Robotics Group opened a robotics training centre inside a former hospital ward in Gelsenkirchen — because, as Saeidi puts it, robots for healthcare have to learn where healthcare actually happens. At TEDxEssen, he asks the question a laboratory technician once put to him: "Who answers the phone when the robot stops at three in the morning?"

Special Guest

Who is hiding behind the surprise?

This year’s TEDx event in Essen will offer more than inspiring talks, bold ideas, and exciting encounters. A special guest will join us and create a moment that no one in the audience will want to miss. For now, the identity remains a closely guarded secret. What we can reveal is that this guest will bring a fascinating story, a fresh perspective, and plenty of inspiration to the TEDx stage. It promises to be a memorable highlights of the entire event. Who is hiding behind the surprise? There is only one way to find out: join us in Essen, experience the excitement live, and be there when our special guest finally steps onto the stage!

Get your ticket

Here’s how it unfolds.

  1. 10:00Doors open
  2. tbaWelcome & opening
  3. tbaTalks block 1
  4. tbaBreak
  5. tbaTalks block 2
  6. tbaLunch & networking
  7. tbaTalks block 3
  8. tbaBreak
  9. tbaTalks block 4
  10. 17:00Closing & get-together
The full hall seen from the back rows towards the stage

Event location

FOM Hochschulzentrum Essen
Herkulesstraße 32
45127 Essen
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Parking
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300 seats. One day. Be one of them.

Resilient Momentum

Date
Time
10–17 h
Venue
FOM Essen

Admission

20 €

Get your ticket

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Limited seats. Once they're gone, they're gone.

What you take home

More than inspiration.

  • 01

    New perspectives

    from ten experts and one special guest.

  • 02

    Real conversations

    with founders, decision-makers and curious minds from the Ruhr region.

  • 03

    Certificate of Curiosity

    Proof that you invest in your knowledge. Share it, show it.

A guest smiles on stage holding her TEDxEssen certificate

Certificate of Curiosity

[Your name] proved their curiosity by joining TEDxEssen on 7 November 2026, expanding their knowledge on these topics, led by experts: [speakers + topics]

After the event you get an email to claim it. Short form, certificate sent instantly.

Partners

Partners that make the future happen.

TEDxEssen is non-profit. Every partner makes this day possible, and the next one.

Main Partner
Essen Business
Main Partner
FOM Hochschule
Communication Partner
QUICK NOT DIRTY
Tech Partner
Automatics

Become a partner.

Make the next TEDxEssen possible and show up where new ideas start.

Become a partner

Organizers

The people behind

  • Portrait of Dr. Viktoriya Sokolova

    Viktoriya Sokolova

    Dr. Viktoriya Sokolova is a distinguished scientist, TEDx speaker, and author. With a PhD in Chemistry and extensive experience leading biological laboratories, she has made remarkable contributions to science. Viktoriya is a passionate advocate for personal growth and empowerment, inspiring others through her writing and public speaking.

  • Portrait of Prof. Dr. David Matusiewicz

    David Matusiewicz

    Prof. Dr. David Matusiewicz is Professor of Medical Management at the FOM University of Applied Sciences and Dean of Health & Social Affairs. He is also an advisor and member of the supervisory board of numerous digital companies. Matusiewicz is one of the best-known voices in digital health in Germany - as a keynote speaker, moderator, editor, columnist and author.

  • Portrait of Prof. Dr. Jochen A. Werner

    Jochen A. Werner

    Prof. Dr. Jochen A. Werner is a German physician, scientist, university professor, and healthcare executive. He led University Medicine Essen from 2015 to 2025, driving its transformation into a smart, green, and human-centered hospital. Today, he heads 10xD and advocates for digitalization, artificial intelligence, prevention, and longevity in healthcare.

Is the next stage yours?

Apply as a speaker Speaker guide (PDF, 4 MB)

Contact

Questions? Viktoriya answers.

Portrait of Dr. Viktoriya Sokolova

Dr. Viktoriya Sokolova
Organizer, TEDxEssen
viktoriya.sokolova@gmx.de
WhatsApp: +49 172 869 62 73