Last week, I had the privilege of standing on the TEDxVaasa stage, sharing a message I believe we all need to hear right now: trust is not a nice-to-have—it’s our glue, our anchor, our future.
We live in a world where everything seems optimized, politicized, and increasingly digitized. But the real work—the hard work—of connection still happens in real life. That’s what TEDx reminded me.
And yet, getting to that stage was anything but easy.
In the weeks leading up to the talk, I wrestled with doubt.
The pressure to say something meaningful in a world so fractured… it almost broke me. DEI work feels heavier these days. Headlines feel louder. Burnout lurks.
There was a moment I nearly gave up.
But then came a voice of encouragement—my coach, Jovin Hurry, reminded me:
“You did it before. You can do it again.”
Sometimes, that’s all we need: someone who believes in us before we do.
I dug in. I rewrote, reshaped, and rewired my talk. Slowly, I started trusting my voice again. And that’s exactly what the talk became about—what it means to trust in an age where everything can be faked, scanned, or scheduled.
When I finally stepped onto the stage, I brought all of that with me.
One moment I’ll never forget?
A fellow Uzbek, Linn Frondelius, showed up just to hear me speak.
“I came because I knew you were coming,” she said.
That single sentence captured everything I hoped this talk would do: rebuild belief in each other—one small gesture, one shared experience, one story at a time.
And TEDxVaasa made space for that.
Thank you to the brilliant team behind the scenes
You created not just an event—but a community.
I urge you to watch all 13 TEDxVaasa talks. Each voice added something vital to the puzzle. Together, they show how interconnected we are—and how much we need one another.
To anyone wondering if TEDx talks still matter in a hyper-digital world, I’ll say this:
Trust isn’t built through clicks.
It’s built through presence.
Now more than ever, we must show up. For each other. For trust. For the conversations that will shape what comes next.
With gratitude and growing belief,
Kamilla
📸 Photos: PJ, Ahmed Hashim, Shuvendu Mallick
🎤 TEDxVaasa, April 2025
📌 Stay tuned for the YouTube link!
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