The recently opened Marriott Hotel Al Forsan Abu Dhabi hosted the third of five global TED Fellows salons series yesterday featuring TED fellows El Seed and Aziza Chauoni.

Renowned Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni and French/ Tunisian street artist El Seed took to the stage in The Grill restaurant of the 400-room five-star Marriott Hotel Al Forsan Abu Dhabi to present their ideas around the theme of ‘International Innovation – How our thinking can create a global ripple effect.’

Chaouni explained her journey focusing on projects that integrate architecture and landscape, and that ultimately give back to their communities while El Seed discussed the process behind blending historic Arabic art and graffiti to promote peace.

Each speaker’s respective perception of ‘International Innovation’ was met with eager responses from the audience, a blend of teams from TED and Marriott International, as well as hotel guests, media, additional TED fellows from the region and business travelers in Abu Dhabi.

The TED Fellows salons are a part of Marriott Hotels’ partnership with TED and has been conducted in Seattle and London, with upcoming events in Bangkok and Santiago.  Marriott International’s flagship brand announced its partnership with TED, the non-profit devoted to ideas worth spreading, in September 2016. This relationship brings creatively curated TED Talks, blogs and original quotes to hotel guests worldwide.

Themes and speakers for the salons coincide with the content themes of the in-room content during that period.  By featuring some of the remarkable TED Fellows as a source of motivation, Marriott Hotel guests have the opportunity to engage with TED’s trailblazers in an intimate conversation setting, addressing innovative and thought-provoking discussion topics to each region.
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Travelers staying at Marriott Hotels now have access to thought-provoking and inspirational content to help jumpstart their own original, inventive thinking. The content is expertly curated by TED, according to selected themes that are topical and relevant to guests, including curiosity, innovation, travel and entrepreneurship. The themes change every quarter.  

Speaking during the event, Brian McGuinness, senior vice president and global brand manager of Marriott Hotels, Sheraton and Delta Hotels, said: “At Marriott Hotels, we believe that travel expands the mind and triggers new ways of thinking. We know that travelers today look for more in a hotel experience and bringing salons like these to our guests helps to ignite conversation that are relevant to them.”

TED is a non-profit organisation 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, Monica Lewinsky, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.  - TradeArabia News Service