Youth-oriented TEDx event coming to the Collegiate School this weekend

Tickets are free to the TEDxYouth@RVA event Saturday evening at the West End school.

November 12, 2014; 8:51 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

For the first time, TEDxRVA will be holding a TEDx event geared specifically towards a youth audience. On November 15th, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM, TEDxYouth@RVA will be hosted at the Collegiate School.

TED is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to present “ideas worth spreading.” Through short speeches called TED Talks, speakers of TED have the platform to share their ideas in all topics with others around the world.

TED’s creation of TEDx allows communities and individuals around the world to generate ideas and conversation through TED-like events at the local level. TEDx events are independently organized to benefit the communities around them.

Each year TED and TEDx events revolve around a particular theme. TEDxYouth@RVA’s theme will be “Worlds Imagined” in conjunction with global TEDxYouthDay being celebrated worldwide, where participants will hear mind-shifting stories and big ideas in a broad array of topics that impact the world today. They’ll envision new scenarios for our future, and think through how they can contribute to its creation.

In addition to a live stream session of TEDYouth from the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, the TEDxYouth@RVA program will include local speakers who will be sharing their experiences and ideas around the theme.

The local speaker lineup includes:

Eric Edwards, Co-founder of Kaleo
Maya Criss, teenage entrepreneur
Abby Donelson, SpeakUp 5k Organizer
John Lewis, Founder of Renew Richmond
Kevin Tobin, Director of Passages Adventure Camp
Michelle Marquez, teenage scientist
Sarah Mullens and Richard Luck, Co-founders of UnBoundRVA
Alyssa and Emma Prillaman, youth musical performance

The event will also include interactive experiences and a reception at the end of the evening.

TEDxYouth@RVA is organized by James River High School student curators Emily and Paige Lawson with support from the TEDxRVA organizing team including Andy Stefanovich, Farrah Haddad, and Timothy Couillard.

The goal of TEDxYouth@RVA is to positively impact as many youth from the Richmond area as possible, with an ongoing effort to engage youth from a host of different organizations such as Art 180, Partnership for the Future, CHAT, Team Excel, and many more.

Admission to the TEDx event is free. To register for a ticket or more information, visit the event website.