News 14th March 2024
TEDxShaftesbury Youth returns
Amplifying the voices of tomorrow’s leaders with innovative ideas and bold perspectives, young people hoping to shape our future took to a global stage for a special event in north Dorset on 9th March.
Back for a second time, TEDx Shaftesbury Youth, organised by Shaftesbury School, brought together passionate young people from a variety of backgrounds to deliver powerful talks on a range of topics from diversity in education, to why we should all learn sign language, and the creativity crisis, to why we should all love bugs, the day showcased a series of passionate talks of an incredibly high standard.
The 14 speakers – who are all aged eighteen and under – came from secondary schools across Dorset including The Gryphon School in Sherborne, Shaftesbury School, Sturminster Newton High School, Sherborne Girls, and Poole Grammar, and from further afield across the UK, and with one flying in from Taiwan for the event!
Fatimah Hussain, entrepreneur and two-time TEDx speaker flew in from San Francisco to host the event. She has started multiple successful business ventures in America and has received the Gold Presidential Service Award from President Biden and wanted to return to be involved in the event after speaking at the first TEDx Shaftesbury Youth in 2022.
Event organiser Alex More says: “Ideas are the currency of the present and will shape the future. There are few things more inspiring than a bold idea, delivered by a great speaker. Our TEDx event is a day for curiosity, for inspiration, and for action. We hope the ideas shared will find new life in the hearts and minds of others. Good ideas can travel and the TEDx community is far-reaching. We hope that the talks will inspire change and encourage more children to take to a public platform in the future”.
The audience at the sold-out event was impressed by the passion of the young speakers. From Alex Tucker talking about why the history of Northern Ireland should be taught at GCSE history, to Leo Oxford talking about why we should all learn about cryptocurrency, these were well-researched and thought-provoking talks. The event was livestreamed to global audiences on the day, and the talks will be uploaded to the official TEDx website where they can be viewed by everyone.
Tom Massey from The Gryphon School, gave a talk entitled “The silent language we should all be learning”, which was about sign language. Tom learnt sign language to communicate with his deaf cousin, and believes that it should be taught in all schools. Tom said after the event, “TEDx is a special journey, as you meet people from different schools and different countries to share things we are truly passionate about. The best part is, no one is the same, we all are different with different views on life. So we learn from each other things that we didn’t know. If I could choose anything to take away with me as a main point, it’s that even if you are small, you can make a big change to the world around you”.
This year the TEDx Shaftesbury also launched Lightning Talks, a brand-new addition to the TEDx programme, which are talks on a specific topic or idea delivered in a short, sharp, clear, concise, and entertaining manner intended to immediately capture the attention and interest of young audiences. On a separate stage, the Lightning Talks gave the TEDx speakers of tomorrow a chance to talk to a captive audience about a topic and take questions. With speakers as young as 10 years old from SAST primary schools, the audience was wowed by the articulate nature of the talks, with topics including equality in girls football, the benefits of gaming, why we need to tackle space junk, and the positive effects of the pandemic.
Josie Rossiter talks about the Creativity Crisis in arts education
Leo Oxford talks about cryptocurrency
Toby Bowers spoke about how we should all love bugs
Tom Massey delivered part of his talk in sign language
