Two Saturdays ago, our students gathered in the cafeteria to listen to their peers talk about issues close to their heart at TEDEdISAK 2018! Centered around the theme ‘Awareness and Understanding’, nine students addressed a variety of topics, including gender inequality, the Rohingya crisis and Thai politics.
This was the second year that the event was held, and for Zoe (Class of 2018, Cayman Islands), who organised both iterations, it was a “definite improvement from last year’s event as we were a bit more coordinated”. She had attended TEDx Tokyo Youth with some other club members, and that had helped them to come up with more ideas on how to make this year’s event better, such as the addition of refreshments to the programme.
Similarly, Bertine (Class of 2019, Marshall Islands), who was both a speaker and on the organizing committee, shared that while it took months of effort and some amount of stress to put together the event, it was an experience she feels everyone should have at least once in their life. “It was the first time I ever participated in a huge event that needed lots of planning. At first, it was a huge pain that caused me a lot of stress. I guess it was mainly due to me wanting everything to really work out. I wanted the event to go well, I wanted the audience to be entertained, and I really did not want to forget any of my lines. It would have been so embarrassing to forget a line in front of such a large group of people!”
“Although this definitely wasn’t my first speech, it was the first time I shared my personal goals and aspirations on stage at an actual public event. I was very tense up until the moment I walked on stage, as I was unsure whether I would stumble over my words while speaking or if my speech would be well-received by the audience or not. However, I regained confidence once the audience started cheering and I felt the nervousness fade away as I started talking. In the end, it went much better than expected, and I was glad that I was part of TED-Ed club and the event this year. I’ve already started thinking about my next topic, and I’ll probably join again next year!”
– Tony (Class of 2019, Thailand)
Zoe, who is passing on the torch to Bertine and Eduardo (Class of 2020, Mexico), is excited for what the club will look like in the next year. “Their passion for TED-Ed makes me confident that when TED-EdxISAK returns next year, it will be even better!”
