This special event for kids, by kids, is shaping up to be a remarkable day!
TEDxRedmond will feature speakers who have done amazing things. They have climbed mountains, started successful businesses, written books, raised millions for charity, and much more. Remarkable achievements - especially when you find out that all speakers and the organizing committee are under the age of 16! Moderated by Adora Svitak, author, speaker, and the youngest TED speaker, TEDx Redmond will be an event like none other.
All youth in the Western Washington area under the age of 16 are invited.
The event is on Saturday, September 18 from 2 to 7 PM on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA. Admission and dinner is free. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to attend a premier event that will leave a lasting impression on all who attend. Students who register in advance will be admitted, and there may be some admittance at the door if space is available. But register to be sure to get a spot.
Please pass this information along to school personnel, student groups/clubs, and to students you know. Registration, directions, and other information can be found at tedxredmond.com.
The event will also be webcast live but there is nothing like being in the audience.
Generation YES is happy to join Microsoft Bing in sponsoring the first TEDx event that is organized and delivered by youth for youth.
Check out Adora and one of the featured speakers on the local Seattle news program.
Generation YES is a proud co-sponsor of this first ever TEDx event created, planned, and run by youth for youth under age 16. TEDx Redmond will be held September 18, 2010 at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond WA.
Check out this list of speakers, all accomplished young people:
Jessica Markowitz - created a non-profit helping Rwandan children, especially girls go to school.
Brennan LaBrie - the youngest reporter at the 2010 Winter Olympics and a seasoned journalist at ten years old.
“The Pink Polka Dots” Maddy Berkman, Sierra Alef, and Kelsey Josund - Founded ”The Pink Polka Dots Guild” to raise money for pediatric brain tumor research at Children’s Hospital in Seattle after losing a friend to the disease. Over the past four years, they’ve raised over $250,000 for the cause.
Jordan Romero - the youngest person ever to climb Mt. Everest as part of his “7 Summits” project-the goal of climbing the tallest summit of each continent.
Maya Ganesan - a published author, blogger, and poet, also competes in spoken word competitions.
Alec Loorz - founded Kids vs. Global Warming, an organization dedicated to encouraging other kids to speak up about climate change. Alex has given over one hundred and fifty speeches, presentations, and keynote addresses and serves on advisory boards for several organizations.
Priya Ganesan - varsity tennis team member and pianist is not only skilled in mathematics (she’s received awards at statewide and regional math competitions), but is also a prolific blogger and writer.
Austin Gutwein - founded Hoops of Hope in 2004. Hoops of Hope has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through basketball free-throw marathons. Hoops of Hope funds emergency relief in Haiti, provides backpacks for children and mosquito nets for houses, and building schools, clinics and water systems in countries ranging from Kenya to India.
Moderated by Adora Svitak, author, speaker, and the youngest TED speaker, TEDx Redmond will be an event like none other.
So back a few months ago, before I devoted my life to airplane seat testing, I got a chance to attend TEDxNYED. TEDx events are independently organized small conferences, typically one day filled with invited speakers who, in TED style, speak for a short time about a common theme. This TEDxNYED was held in New York City and the theme was education. It was a great day filled with inspiring speakers and terrific hallway conversations. I had every good intention of writing my reflections about the day, the speakers, and the theme, but time slipped away and I never did it.
Perhaps this is a good thing, because sometimes reflections need to percolate through the brain for a while. Plus, waiting this long means that the videos are all online for your enjoyment! So don’t take my word for it, enjoy the videos yourself!
First off, the facts -
TEDxNYED: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at the Collegiate School. 14 speakers in a day-long program about education: past, present and future.
A TEDxNYED Reflections wiki with links to other reflections and posts about the event.
All the videos archives of all the speakers: TEDxNYED videos
Now that some time has passed, my reflections are coalescing around a few key points:
I am hopelessly attracted to people who DO stuff. Yes, thinking is important and I did enjoy some of the more cerebral speakers. But the one I recall most is Andy Carvin, who spoke about how quickly the Internet has changed response to disasters by crowdsourcing information. His slidedeck, The New Volunteers: Social Media, Disaster Response, and You, is worth a look. I think that K-12 students could be playing a huge role in completing local databases and maps that could be essential in a crisis. His video is embedded below.
I really enjoyed Dan Cohen’s talk, “The Last Digit of Pi”. It was geeky, historical fun. There is a sort of transcript here. But it did have a point about how hard it is to change ideas in education.
A couple of favorites I’d heard before: Chris Lehmann and Dan Meyer. Both did nice jobs, Chris talking about why this is all important and keeping the crowd going very late in the day. Dan did a great job of deconstructing a textbook math problem to remove the layers of “help” that it provides for students, and explaining why that “help” is not helpful in the long run. When students ask their own questions about the world (and there is a teacher there who can provide enough of an answer or just a bit of motivation), they become less dependent and more imaginative, critical thinkers. Be sure to watch their videos!
The diversity issue
I had more than one person whisper to me that it was a real shame how underrepresented women and people of color were as speakers. I KNOW the organizers tried, they told me they did and I believe them. What’s worse is that of the three women speakers, two were disappointing to me. Yes, I’ll be brave and name names. My two least favorite speakers of the day were Gina Bianchini, co-founder and at the time CEO of Ning (she has since left the company) and Neeru Khosla, co-founder and Executive Director of CK-12 Foundation. Gina Bianchini gave a generic speech about using technology to connect optimists, and then made a left turn into education, where it was immediately apparent that she knew nothing about the subject. Her idea of taking the “models” of open source software and agile product development and using it for teacher evaluation was breathtaking in its lack of understanding of any of these subjects. But there she was, simply being “optimistic” about it. Sorry, just not good enough. Neeru Khosla, on the other hand, is a woman with a plan, which she repeated over and over again in a relentless sales pitch. Her non-profit has taken textbooks and put them online for free. So without any thought to whether this is a good idea or not, but lots of buzzwords about digital literacy and 21st century skills, she pitched her website to the group. Digital textbooks are certainly worth talking about, and it would have been interesting to discuss if they have relevance or if it’s simply putting an old content model in new delivery system. But no, that was never touched on. It was simply a blatant sales pitch for a free product. Her session unfortunately stood out like a sore thumb for its commercialism and lack of thoughtfulness.
But… back to the good stuff. Here’s Andy Carvin - TEDxNYED Talk: The New Volunteers: Social Media, Disaster Response And You
Generation YES is proud to announce that we are co-sponsoring a TEDx event with Bing. TEDx Redmond will be held September 18, 2010 at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond WA. TEDx events are locally run events similar to the popular speaking series TED.
Unlike all other TEDx events, this TEDx will be completely planned, organized, and run by youth. The organizers and speakers will be notable youth in grades 6-10 who are making a difference in their communities.
A group of GenYES students from Western Washington area is working with Adora Svitak to plan this event. Adora is 12 years old and the youngest person to ever speak at TED. Her TED talk, What adults can learn from kids, is available online.
While there have been other TEDx events focusing on youth, this will be the first one planned completely by youth and where all the speakers will be young people in grades 6-10. Planning meetings have already begun, and if you know someone who would be a good speaker, see the call for speakers on the website. Video submissions are required.
I’m excited to be participating in a new kind of event this weekend, March 6, 2010. You may have heard of TED - a once a year, incredibly expensive (but free online), invitation-only event where “riveting talks by remarkable people” are showcased. TEDx events, in contrast, are locally organized and run with a minimal entry fee. These events are meant to bring people together to share and talk around common interests.
