By Maya Ganesan and Adora Svitak
When you think of the teenage generation, you might envision a sullen group of plugged-in, tuned-out young people. The tweens and teens behind TEDxRedmond would like to put a different image in your head. Organized by students, for students, TEDxRedmond is a youth conference to be held on September 10th, 2011 in Redmond. TED is a notable non-profit which runs several high-profile conferences a year, with past speakers including Bill Gates and Al Gore. Their TEDx program licenses local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
After speaking at the main TED conference in Long Beach, California, thirteen-year-old author and speaker Adora Svitak decided to bring a similarly mind-opening experience to her peers in Washington State. “I’d heard about the TEDx program, and I started thinking about how I could get kids my age thinking about learning and leadership—from speakers their own age,” says Svitak, who will host TEDxRedmond for a second consecutive year.
TEDxRedmond 2010 was a great success with a lineup of inspirational speakers (all youth) and over 700 people in attendance. “This year, we are excited to host TEDxRedmond again and hope to make it even bigger,” remarked Priya Ganesan, the event’s public relations manager and a speaker last year.
At TEDxRedmond, live speeches, exciting performances, and ‘TEDTalks’ videos will combine to spark deep discussion and debate. Speakers share their inspirational experiences and visions for the future in order to motivate and encourage other students to recognize their full potential. This event is targeted towards students ages 11-17 (grades 6-12) from across western Washington. A live streaming video will also be available on the website. More information about TEDxRedmond, how to register to attend, and videos from last year’s event can be found on the event website, www.tedxredmond.com.