A couple of weeks ago, GSB hosted its first ever TEDx conference. It was our second time through as a school participant, though; last year we partnered with Blair Academy for a TEDx conference in Blairstown. This year, we again partnered with Blair while hosting the event.
What is a TEDx conference? How does it differ from a TED event. Is it connected to TED Talks?
Decades ago, in the 1970's, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) idea was born. The idea centered on bringing people together to hear speeches about a wide range of topics connected to technology, entertainment or design. Speeches were both personal and analytical so the audience not only had new ideas to think about but could also connect ideas to human concerns. These TED conferences occurred once or twice a year in specific west coast locations. Over time, the popularity of the TED conference idea led to notable growth. A YouTube channel, a smart TV app and podcasts all addressed growing interest. The development of the TEDx concept, in which licenses are distributed for local communities, non-profits and schools to organize and host their own TED events allowed for TED-style talks to be heard in persons by tens of thousands of people every year.
Our TEDx conference involved two schools so it is officially a TEDx Youth event. We have a tag for our event, searchable on the TEDx site: TEDxYouth@GSBSchool. Click on the link and you'll open our TEDx page. On this page you'll see information about our conference, notably biographies for our eight speakers.
Four of the speakers are Blair Academy students. Three of the speakers are current GSB students. Adam Aresty, the day's final speaker, is a GSB alum. All gave speeches on our conference day, November 16, and the topics vary quite a bit. Below, a listing of speakers and speech titles in the order they were delivered:
Alex Schachne (GSB '18) - Unlocking Motivation, Applying 10,000 Hours: A Rational Approach to Success
Emily Choi (Blair '17) - La Conexion: Connecting Voices From Within the Latino Community
Patrick Reilly (GSB '17) - Using Math to Your Advantage
Helen Mercedes (Blair '18) - #BlackGirlMagic: Issues of Race and Social Media
Chris Liu (Blair '18) - Your Mind is Bigger on the Inside: Using Imagination for Individual Empowerment
Helena Digney (GSB '18) - What's the Fascination with Superheroes?
Gareth Patterson (Blair '18) - The Pale Blue Dot
Adam Aresty (GSB '03) - Transitions in Art and Life
All eight videoed speeches have been uploaded and accepted to our TEDxYouth@GSBSchool site. Click on a highlighted title above for a speech. Every TEDx speech is recorded, made into a viewable video and uploaded to the TEDx site. Then each is viewed by a TEDx staffer and approved or flagged. This process is time consuming but guarantees quality control of the video content. It's great to see all eight of our videoed speeches accepted online.
Hope you enjoy listening to our students, and Blair's students as well, speak about topics important to them. Without exception, each presenter gives us all food for thought.
