Michael Saunders Named TEDxMcGill 2026 Speaker

Michael Saunders, a fourth-year Science and Business student at the University of Waterloo and a Turks and Caicos Islander, has been announced as a speaker for TEDxMcGill 2026, scheduled for Saturday, February 8th, 2026, in Montreal, Canada.

Michael Saunders

Saunders, the son of Minister of Innovation, Technology and Information, Hon. E. Jay Saunders, brings both personal experience and academic focus to global conversations on climate change, innovation, and Caribbean identity. Raised in the Turks and Caicos Islands, he offers a perspective shaped by life in a small island territory navigating environmental vulnerability, historical inequities, and the search for sustainable development pathways.

His interests sit at the intersection of climate resilience, innovation, and Caribbean identity. According to the official TEDxMcGill announcement, Saunders’ talk is driven by a central question: how can historically overlooked regions transform vulnerability into opportunity and leadership?

Drawing on his lived Caribbean experience, Saunders explores how climate change and structural inequalities continue to shape the future of small island communities, while also emphasizing their potential as hubs of creativity, resilience, and global leadership. His talk challenges audiences to rethink how they view the Caribbean, not as a region defined solely by risk, but as one capable of reimagining what global progress can look like.

He also seeks to highlight ecological and historical debt as catalysts for innovation and to underscore the power of young people from small islands to influence international conversations and solutions.

TEDxMcGill is one of Canada’s most prominent independently organized TED conferences, known for elevating emerging voices alongside established thinkers. The 2026 theme, Between Worlds, centers on ideas that bridge cultures, identities, and systems, making Saunders’ contribution especially timely.

His selection as a TEDxMcGill speaker represents a significant moment of international visibility for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the wider Caribbean, reflecting the growing impact of Caribbean youth on global intellectual and innovation platforms.