Warwick hosts TEDxYouth

Saturday saw Warwick University host its first TEDxYouth event on campus.

Those who attended enjoyed talks by five distinguished speakers and an enthusiastic host, and the event remained unmarred, even by the dismal weather.

Part of TEDxYouth Day – a highly anticipated series of talks which coincided with Universal Children’s Day – the event presents speakers that are intended to “empower and inspire” young people, and Saturday’s experience was no exception.

The event was organised by Warwick students, and four of the five speakers are connected with the University.

Particularly popular was a discourse on the problems inherent in law, rules and regulations by Warwick’s own Professor Gary Watt, a renowned lecturer within the Law department for his ability to bring life to even the driest of subjects with his imaginative teaching style.

Another highlight was Danny Caverzaschi – a young student who appeared with his mentor, Angel. A Warwick economics student who qualified to play tennis in the London Paralympics during his degree course, he is currently ranked 45th in the world and delivered a particularly inspiring speech about tennis, his wheelchair and the terrific importance of “having balls.”

Other speakers included Ulysse Sabbag, another Warwick student and blogger – his blog on politics and technology, Warston, gets 5,000 hits per month. Ulysse spent his allotted time urging his fellow students to “put down the FIFA controller and stop getting high” – a surprisingly well-received message.

Warwick graduate Bianca Nobilo also made an appearance in order to deliver a powerful speech on turning tragedy into opportunity and her charity, Student Heart Health Trust, an impressive foundation dedicated to raising awareness of heart disease in young people.

Last but by no means least was Anton Chernikov, founding partner of GoodPeople.co.uk, a social enterprise site that Anton describes as “just a smarter, more effective way of doing business”. These were all tied neatly together by the hosting talents of Matthew Gill, a second-year Warwick student and aspiring actor.

TED also sent a series of short films to be shown in between talks. Combined with the infectious enthusiasm of the day’s host, these made the breaks between speakers just as thought-provoking as the talks themselves – particularly worth a watch was the video of comedian/musician Reggie Watts using a loop pedal to make complex a cappella compositions, which is available on the TED website.
Despite the rain, anticipation for the event ran high, and it didn’t disappoint. Tweets from attending students described it as “slick and inspirational” (@Jelliot08), while @EmilyE_1 left the conference feeling “inspired and motivated”.

Students’ Union President Nick Swain was also in attendance, and he described the day as “well-organised and professional”, going on to praise TEDxYouth for giving Warwick students such a great platform.

The day’s speakers were similarly full of praise. Ulysse Sabbag commented that “a lot of people turned up despite the rain and the TEDx team is very good; everything was well-planned and organised. The speakers were all inspiring, touching and most importantly delivered speeches with practical applications. It was very interesting and I’m happy and proud to have been a part of that.”

On the subject of giving such a personal talk to a room of strangers, Danny Caverzaschi said that “it’s a good thing. It’s introspective. Telling people my story helps me to understand it better myself”. Prof. Gary Watt agreed, suggesting that he talked to be “inspired, as well as to inspire”.

TEDx events are dedicated to “ideas worth spreading”, and though they are supported by the TED organisation, they are independently organised on a local level in order to encourage debate and conversation and, according to TED themselves, to “foster learning, inspiration and wonder”.

TEDxYouth operates under the same principle, except for the fact that the talks are organised and delivered by young people within the community. There is a great variety in talk topics at TED events, as the main requirement is simply to have a topic worth talking about. Though this is the first TEDxYouth event at Warwick, TEDx has had exceedingly popular events here before, and there will be another one on campus in March.

Videos and photos from the conference, as well as further information regarding future events, will be made available on tedxwarwick.com.