CityNews – Young people from around Chiang Mai will have an opportunity to be heard at the TEDx Youth event this Sunday.
September’s TedX conference at Le Meridien Hotel featured 22 Thai and international speakers.
Fourteen young people aged from 16 to 24 will give a total of 13 talks on a variety of subjects, with the theme of “Getting Ready”.
“Many of the talks are inspirational in the sense of listening to the speakers’ experience and how they managed themselves during their experience,” said one of the organisers, Richard Johnson.
“Others will be very uplifting, to see how the speaker has overcome some of life’s hurdles to become successful in accordance with their wishes and dreams.”
The event will be conducted in Thai and English, with simultaneous translations provided. It will take place on TEDxYouthDay, which will be celebrated in up to 100 cities worldwide. There will be a live internet feed connecting Chiang Mai to New York City and other locations.
“We chose this date to schedule our event because we wanted to be part of the global celebration and to draw more attention to Chiang Mai and its youth,” said Johnson. “What makes the TEDxYouth@ChiangMai event different is the kind of experiences our youth have had in the Chiang Mai and Thailand environment.
“The experiences our youth have are affected by our culture, beliefs and the economy in general. It is likely that, as a developing nation, our youths’ stories may be a bit more down-to-earth, and have a cultural influence that is different from those in other countries.
“Our future is our youth. It used to be that young people only learned from their elders and teachers, those who had more experience in their lives. But in the past two decades, with the advent of the internet, the ease of communication by email, Line, Facebook, YouTube, etc., youth can and do learn from many other resources.
“Consequently, it is our duty to support our youth and learn from them much in the same way they learn from us. They are the ones who will be leading our future in not so many years.”
The first TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference was held in 1984, and from 1990 it became an annual event in California. TEDxChiangMai organises independent events under license from TED.
The TedX Chiang Mai conference in September featured 22 Thai and international speakers, and organisers say it was one of the biggest events of its kind ever held in the country.
The youth event is a great opportunity to train young people in thinking and public speaking, organisers say.
It will be held at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Business Administration from 12-6pm this Sunday, November 16. Tickets cost 100 baht for students, 300 baht for standard seats and 2,000 baht for VIP seats.
Volunteers are also wanted to help set up for the event on Saturday and manage it on Sunday. Anyone interested can email Khun Bhummy at [email protected].
For more information about Chiang Mai TedX and Sunday’s event, visit www.tedxchiangmai.com.