Local TEDx conference inspires next-gen ideas from youth
On Dec. 12, students from Sammamish and other nearby cities gathered at the Seattle Marriott Redmond hotel ballrooms to host TED talks ranging from the impact of social media to the gender gap in aviation. The event was this year’s edition of TEDxYouth@SahaleeRoad, an annual TEDxYouth event run almost entirely by local teens.
“TEDxYouth@SahaleeRoad is an opportunity for voices, not only of youth but of people from all different backgrounds, to be amplified,” said Angie Zhu, a senior from Skyline High School and head of the event’s public relations design team.
As its name implies, TEDxYouth conferences always target a young audience. But TEDxYouth@SahaleeRoad goes above and beyond. Not only does the event host youth speakers, but it is also almost completely student-organized. “We’re the only fully student-organized conference in the entire Pacific Northwest,” said Zhu.
“TEDxYouth here is by youth, for youth,” said Nicole Chen, a senior at the Overlake School in Redmond and president of the event’s organizing committee, “and that’s a very different perspective than when adults do it.”
These perspectives were on full display during the event’s variety of talks. The afternoon started with a talk by Interlake High School senior David Ball, who urged the audience to not let social media hinder their communication with others.
Artist Chelsea Hu, 17, followed, speaking about the power of art and its potential to transcend boundaries and encourage open discourse.
During his talk, Skyline High School senior and artificial intelligence researcher Adarsh Kumarappan dispelled misguided fears about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
Seattle-based freelance writer Aleenah Ansari asked the audience to perceive jealousy in a new way, as a lens for introspection.
Also invited to speak was Easton Lemos, CEO of Seattle firm LifeNLight, a creative agency that specializes in visual media. He inspired confidence in the listeners with his message that all humans have inherent creativity.
Karolina Dubiel, 17, founder of the Girls in Aerospace Foundation, spoke on how the often-ignored gender gap in aerospace starts early, with children.
Harjaisal Brar, a high school junior and accomplished inventor from California, discussed his creation of a novel ventilator to address shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The conference ended with a seminar on philosophy by Skyline High School senior Rishi Hazra. Hazra emphasized the need for philosophical inquiry when searching for meaning, and why meaning is itself important to society.
Despite the rousing talks, TEDxYouth@SahaleeRoad wasn’t quite the same as in years past. There were around 100 attendees, down from a pre-COVID peak of 300 attendees. Also, most of the audience was adults.
“We want to see more youth attend these conferences,” said Chen. “Previously, before COVID, it was a bunch of middle and high-schoolers that came.”
When asked about the future, Chen encouraged youth to not only attend the conference, but also help organize it.
“If you put yourself out there and volunteer and see how it goes for a day,” Chen said, “I think you’ll learn a lot. Especially if there are no adults.”
