TEDxYouth@BSN is first and foremost for our student body. From the speaker and workshop curation to the audience selection, every decision was made with them in mind. This includes their participation on stage at the main event. After a round of speaker pitches at each campus, 10 students were chosen to take the stage. We are proud and honoured to announce them all here:

Rose: Labels
Rose has grown up in the Netherlands and enjoys playing with her friends. Interested in new technology and curious about the world, Rose is excited to tell you about her personal experiences at TEDxYouth@BSN. One day in the future, Rose hopes to become an inventor or to write a book about her experiences.

Elizabeth: Tackling our Future
Elizabeth is an eight-year-old rugby enthusiast. More often than not, she can be found outside, knee deep in mud, whether on the rugby pitch or off. She believes girls can do anything boys can do.

Rory: Give Animals a Break
Rory moved to the Netherlands this year after two years in Guangzhou, China. He likes school, sports (especially football) and reading books. His experiences visiting Indonesia whilst on holiday inspired his TEDx talk.

Abigail: Education Orchestra
Abigail is an interesting girl of 11, who loves to read and write her own stories. Having lived in many different countries, she is able to see things from different points of view. Abigail thinks that TEDxYouth@BSN will really be an interesting experience for her.

Rayyan: Batman Returns – A Dream to be an Ethical Hacker
Rayyan is a 12-year old maths, coding and puzzles enthusiast, an avid debater and regional round champion. His hope is to make the world a better place for unprivileged children. He believes in hard work, loves to take on challenges and enjoys supporting people with their ideas. Rayyan contends that there is a clear need to feel secure in our second home – the online world.

Sophie and Felix: The Game of Life
After playing the board game, The Game of Life, Sophie and Felix noticed that chance dictates this world. After lots of reading and debating, they think that it is important for us to feel empathy and try to understand that sometimes, people are not responsible for the situation in which they find themselves.

João: Rethinking Friendship Criteria (The Coolness Factor)
Joao believes there is much more to friendships than meets the eye. We, subconsciously, look for certain qualities in people and it is this unhealthy judgement that prevents us from making meaningful friendships. If we recreate and modify our ‘friendship criteria’ João thinks that our rapidly progressing world shall change for the better.

Elisa: Questioning the Sayings we Choose to Live by
Elisa is a year 12 student currently following the International Baccalaureate curriculum. She believes that everyone should have their own point of view and question things they are being told, especially if they are things that everyone seems to agree on. She enjoys public speaking and feels most engaged when in discussion.

Oscar: Changing up my Education
Oscar is an eleven year old who is passionate about schooling and has been educated in three continents, four countries, and six schools. He has grown to believe that modern curricula do not include the full story: they focus on the wrong subject matter or are missing crucial information. This has driven him to stand up and speak his mind.