TEDx Youth @ SWA Event 2019
On Saturday the 23rd of February 2019, Sinarmas World Academy put together a fantastic, independently organised TEDx event with the theme "Idea Trajectories: Collision, Impact, Orbit". The event attracted speakers and listeners from all over Asia and the world, including doctors, teachers, photographers, celebrities, influencers, and sports fanatics.
What is TED?
TED is a nonprofit organisation that stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It is devoted to the spreading of powerful ideas along those three strands in the form of short talks, usually 18 minutes or less. TED was born at a single conference in 1984, and today the various conferences cover almost all topics imaginable: from science, to business, to religion and spirituality, to pressing global issues. Put simply, TED's mission is to seek a deeper understanding of the world around us.
What is TEDx Youth @ SWA?
TEDx is an initiative of TED that "brings the spirit of TED's mission of ideas worth spreading to local communities around the globe". TEDx events are organised independently by people who share TED's mission of understanding the world more deeply, like the team at Sinarmas World Academy. TEDx Youth @ SWA 2019 was made possible by the hard work of our MYP Coordinator, Chris Hayden, and Grade 11 student Vijjasena Sugiono. It was themed Idea Trajectories: Collision, Impact, Orbit.
Ideas are born and die each day. Some remain unchanged for long periods of time while others disappear after being replaced. Some ideas find each other and come together becoming, often, a bigger idea but with roots in smaller ones. TEDx Youth @ SWA seeks to explore the histories and origins of a varied range of locally important ideas from different perspectives. We propose the metaphor of "Idea Trajectories: Collision, Impact, Orbit" to represent the history and fates of ideas as they come to prominence, interact with each other, and drive the evolution of new ideas
The Speakers and Their Talks
TEDx Youth @ SWA featured a range of compelling, captivating speakers from around the world who delivered powerful talks on ideas worth spreading. Check out their bios and talks below:
Ben Parsons: Science Fiction & Ecological Imagining
Ben is an educator, futurist, and science fiction enthusiast. He has taught a generation of students in countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. A digital learning transformation leader who is passionate about educational technology, Ben has been invited by Microsoft and Google education partners around the world to speak at EdTEch summits in South Africa, Singapore, and the Philippines. He is currently very interested in the role science fiction can play in imagining and solving real-world problems such as climate change, and recently wrote his MA dissertation on the topic. His talk, titled "Science Fiction & Ecological Imagining" explores this concept further.
Christopher Bristow: Handling Life's Competition and Conflict Through Sport
Chris is passionate about empowering young people through education and sport. He has taught an eclectic mix of students, ranging from tiny fishing villages in India to the top business schools in Vienna, and now teaches at SWA. He is fanatic about Ultimate Frisbee: a competitive sport that teaches conflict resolution and is soon to feature in the Olympic Games. He has founded and coached clubs, and achieved a first for Indonesia by taking a high school team to compete internationally. He led a talk about ultimate at the US embassy's venue in Jakarta, has directed international tournaments, and is currently Chairman of the Development Committee of the Indonesia Ultimate Players Association (IUPA). He aims to empower more local voices by developing this sport in Indonesia. In his talk, Chris explains how Ultimate Frisbee has the potential to not only revolutionise sports as we know them, but also change the mindsets of those who participate in them.
Ayden Haoken: Why Robotics Should be Central to all Education Programmes
Ayden, a top student at SWA, has been fascinated by robotics and computer coding ever since he can remember. His passion and initiative have driven him to achieve many things in the field of robotics and he seeks to share his unique perspective on the role of creativity in both his own success but also in how robotics can impact learning and development of skills important for success in a 21st Century Skills based world.
Vacya Tipa: Service Learning and the Power of One
Vacya is a passionate international school student whose service learning work with sea turtles in Lombok, Indonesia has been an ongoing project since she was in 6th Grade. She seeks to share the value of service learning, through her experiences, with others and highlight the power that service learning projects can have not only on the world but on the individuals who undertake them.
Hyunseo Park: Biology, the Greatest Tool of the 21st Century
Hyun Seo is an extremely passionate and driven science student. He has been taking initiative and engaging with the scientific community since middle school through independent research and projects. Driven by a deep fascination with insects and genetic engineering he provides a unique take on how the world should view, value and use biology. Hyun Seo is an extremely talented student with a diverse array of passions and talents. When it comes to Biology, he stands for his deep and long-standing desire to engage with the scientific community and enthusiasm for discussing powerful ideas, sometimes his own!
Gritte Agatha: How to be Different
Gritte Agatha is a young, successful and multitalented professional who has proven herself in the film industry through numerous successful parts. She is an actress, content creator, influencer and producer who reflects on her journey and the elements of her own approach that have supported her success. She demonstrates, through examples in her own life, how being positive can be the most important component of success. Gritte Agatha is an Indonesian actress who has starred in more than a dozen film and television series as well as numerous popular films including Rahasia Bintang (2008), Brandal-Brandal Ciliwung (2012), Surat Untukmu (2016), The Underdogs (2017) and Posesif (2017).
Karisha Alifputri: Be an Agent of Change
Karisha Alifputri explores the secret of being successful through self-development by examining several different world-renowned human success stories and shining light on the similarities in their lives. She presents a strong argument for the importance of these key elements in shaping mindsets through approaches that can be learnt and lived. Karisha is a proactive young professional with a wide variety of experience ranging from finance and business to event planning. She is active in several different organisations and works towards several philanthropic endeavours.
Timo Tjahjanto: My Journey into Film and the Horror Genre
Timo Tjahjanto leads an exciting journey through his development as a producer and director as well as his entry point into and lifelong fascination with the macabre and horror genre of film. He shows that there is much more to the industry and craft through wonderful insights into his experiences and successful career. Timo Tjahjanto is an award winning film and critically acclaimed film director and writer best known for his numerous successful films including May The Devil Take You (2018), Netflix’s The Night Comes for Us (2018), Killers (2014) and Macabre (2009). With no clear end in sight, he is transforming the film industry with his passion and creativity.
Benny Agus Prima: Why Human Rights Matter
Benny Agus Prima leads an exciting journey through a variety of issues related to historical and current human rights, ranging from religion, sex, collaboration and disability. He ties together important events in history that have contributed to the development of the world's current human rights movement and highlights key historical figures that were able to break stereotypes and act as examples for others. Benny is a human rights advocate and is currently working on the issue of human rights defenders and shrinking civic space in Asia. He works closely with grassroots civil society movements to advocate for structural change and a safe environment to allow people to speak freely without fear of reprisal. He has spoken in several international human rights forums organised by the United Nations and other human rights institutions. He is currently working with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a Bangkok-based regional network of human rights organisations covering human rights issues in 21 Asian countries.
Dr. Thomas Behrenbeck: Education in Medicine Today
Dr. Thomas Behrenbeck presents a unique and deeply informed argument as to why life sciences is a truly exciting field for young people to pursue. He argues that developments in medicine, genetics and other fields of biology give students of life sciences unprecedented opportunities for creativity and engineering design. Dr. Thomas Behrenbeck is a consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He has been a part of the Mayo Clinic since 1987 and has been deeply involved with teaching, being a Professor of Medicine, and medical research focusing on Cardiology. He is also Chair of the American College of Cardiology CV Network. He received his M.D. at Westphalia Wilhelm University in Muenster, Germany and his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Minnesota.
Rina Prasetyawaty: What I Have Learnt from Natural Disaster Relief
Rina Prasetyawaty presents a challenging and innovative approach to disaster relief that starts with educating people. Disasters are a way of life in Indonesia. We can't stop them from happening but we can change mindsets and help people be resilient in the face of natural disasters. Rina is a Disaster Relief Coach who has been involved with helping communities overcome disasters throughout the Indonesian Ring of Fire. She uses methods of collaboration, approaches to initiating cultural mind shifts and psychological first aid to help people overcome the devastation that is all to common in many areas of the world, such as Indonesia. Her methods employ LEGO and Points of You approaches to psychosocial and psychoeducational healing and mind set changes that empower community members and lead to positive changes following the ever-present disaster areas of the world.
Brata Santoso: Repeat After Me, "I Believe in Me"
Brata Santoso takes us through a fascinating account of how looking inward can lead to outward success. He shows that what it takes to be successful in business often comes from places you might not think. Brata is currently a Vice President at Indonesia’s biggest tech start-up where he helps Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverages industry across Indonesia to scale-up their businesses. Prior to that, he spent a few years at McKinsey & Company as an Analyst and has served clients across industries from financial institutions to the public sector. He has served on the Executive Board at the Young Leaders for Indonesia Foundation and is also interested in the topics of diversity and inclusion.
Jerry Aurum: Hidden Agendas in Photography
Jerry Aurum leads us through a truly breathtaking exploration of how photography impacts people and the world around us. He explores the power and impact that messages sent through visual media can have on the world. Jerry Aurum is a world recognised and award winning photographer whose professional career took off as he went "from worldwide corporate images of Microsoft, to articles for National Geographic". The variety and range of professional success he has achieved- from covering high-fashion to portraits of presidential candidates and superstars- marks him as a truly dynamic and innovative photographer who brings the impossible to life with a camera.
Overall, TEDx Youth @ SWA was an awesome event with some outstanding speakers spreading some incredibly powerful ideas. A big shout out to all the speakers, and to Chris Hayden and Vijjasena Sugiono for doing such as awesome job organising this event.
