TEDx! Everyone has heard this acronym in town meetings and around the halls. What is it? TEDx derives from a 
nonprofit organization called TED. Its purpose is to gather innovators working in three different categories: technology, entertainment, and design. TEDx is the mini TED, licensed by TED but independently organized. Tedx events follow the unique format promoted by TED to circulate “ideas worth spreading”: no keynotes, no question/answer, no podiums, but instead free flowing conversation among participants during the scheduled intervals among speaker slates.
This year Hewitt is hosting a TEDxYouth event organized by the Action Club. The Action Club stands for A.wareness, C.ommunity, T.olerance, I.nformation, O.pinions, N.ow and “the club’s mission is to educate its members and our community on issues of social justice that are important today,” stated Dr. Burgess, supervisor for the Action Club and English teacher at The Hewitt school.
On November 20, Hewitt will be hosting TEDxYouth@Hewitt at the school, joining organizations around the globe in honor of the United Nations’ Universal Children’s Day. At the event, students in grades 8-12 from Hewitt and area NYC schools will be discussing topics related to the theme: “Be the Change.” Interested students still have time to register and add their list of passions to the discussion agenda.
Here’s a sampling of the panels. For more information, visit the TEDxYouth@Hewitt web site.
The first topic that will be discussed is “Be the Change: Giving Voice.” This slate includes guest speakers like Amita Swadhin, an educator, media-maker, public speaker, writer, and nonprofit consultant, who advocates for the elimination of interpersonal and institutional violence against young people. Most recently, Ms. Swadhin has created a theater project called Secret Survivors to bring attention to child sexual abuse.
Audrey Stone is the Second Deputy District Attorney for the Westchester Country District Attorney’s Office and the chief of the Special Prosecutions Division which investigates charges domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse. The third speaker is Krupali Tejura M.D., who is a radiation oncologist. She blogs about the struggle of the cancer patients she treats as a way to advocate for their needs and for changes in our health care system. Our own Dana Laurie, a senior at the Hewitt school, a fledgling entrepreneur of organic and vegan cosmetics, and a cancer survivor, will discuss why it is important for cancer survivors to tell their stories. Finally, Lo Anderson will perform her social justice poetry, art honed through her work with Urban Word NYC, which provides free and developmental programs for the youth, along with their annual events.
The second topic that will be discussed at the TEDx youth event is Be the Change: Becoming Leaders. The first speaker is Fiona Lowenstein, a junior at the Calhoun School, singer, songwriter and poet; she encourages young women to get involved in politics and to continually learn about feminism. The next speaker is our own Molly Lippert, 8th grader of the Hewitt School, an ambassador of the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) and Best Bones Forever (BBF), she promotes healthy bones among young people. Another speaker is IIeana Jimenez, an independed school teacher whol founded the New York LGBT Independent School Educators Group in 2006.
The last topic at the TEDx youth event answers the question, “What’s next?” The ACTION leaders decided this question
had to be the focus for the final slate of the day, as it puts the responsibility on the shoulders of the young people in the audience. Arthur Levine, President of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, will call upon students to see their education as a call to responsibility. What can we do to “Be The Change”?
There are many crucial reasons why students should come to the TEDx event on November 20. In school, there are some topics that we don’t get to talk about. At this event, we can discuss such a great range of topics that are major problems in our society today. It is our duty, as the next generation, to fix or decrease these problems. “Sure we can’t vote yet, but I think it’s crucial to start exposing ourselves to the problems facing the world today in order to try to solve them when we are adults,” stated Erika Manouselis ’11, an ACTION club leader.
Erika’s co-leader, Elena Gelber ’11, added, “I think students should attend the Tedx event because it is going to be an informative and fun event for students. Not only will we all be hanging out and meeting new friends, but we will also be listening to incredible speakers and performers who want to speak about their experiences”
Dr. Burgess concluded, “[TEDxYouth] is a space for young people to come together and hear some terrific speakers… who are going to talk about a host of different kinds of issues ranging from advocacy for victims of violence as well as reasons to get involved with politics or to be committed to feminist, or woman centered concerns, as well as to learn about how education is key to social justice.”
Don’t miss your chance to “Be The Change.”