Youth TED talks explore shared humanities

The TEDxClub at Moorestown Friends School hosted its second annual TEDxYouth event on Nov. 7, with four of its students and one from Moorestown High School sharing their views on various topics.

TEDxMoorestown Friends School – created by seniors Ali Sabir and Livia Kam – showcases student speakers in the community who have ideas worth spreading. This year’s TEDx – dubbed “Our Shared Humanity” – produced topics that ranged from “Mindfulness in Music” to “Witches, Vampires and Fascism.”

Outside the classroom, Sabir is active in local government and community projects. His talk – “Teaching Civics to the Next Generation” – drew on his experience from Civics Week, a program he helped create to make civic engagement accessible for students. During that week, students get lessons on things like gerrymandering and local government and how they all connect to the community.

The program has now expanded to neighboring schools.

“When we talk about civics, civics isn’t just the federal government,” Sabir noted. “What happens in Washington affects (us) all less than what happens just down the street at town hall, especially for those of you who live right here in Moorestown.”

“(Civics Week) is solely focused on teaching kids local government, not just memorizing ‘This is what your congressman does,’ but telling them, ‘This is what they can do for you.’”

TED is a nonprofit that believes powerful ideas move audiences to feel something, to think differently and to take action. Created in the spirit of that overall mission, TEDx is a grassroots initiative that researches and discovers “ideas worth spreading” and spreads them to communities around the globe.

All TED events are organized by passionate individuals who want to uncover new ideas and share the latest research in their areas to spark conversations in their communities.

Rohan Dhulipalla, a Friends School junior, is the founder of Teenuscript, a publishing house run by and for teen authors; executive editor at several literary magazines; and a TikToker in his free time. His TEDx talk – “Why Teen Authors Should Publish Now” – explored the future of publishing as traditional models grow outdated, highlighting how technology, community and risk-taking can reimagine the industry.

Dhulipalla focused on how young or writers of any age can position themselves in that shifting landscape, raising the broader question of what it means and what it costs to wait in creative industries.

“Here’s the problem with waiting,” he explained. “Stories have an expiration date. While it’s always (good) to wait and develop and hone your craft in any industry, the story you write now is completely different than the story you’re going to write 10 years in the future, and that’s the same for the one you would have written 10 years in the past …

“With newfound introductions of technology, the internet and countless other tools I can’t even name off the top of my head, every single creative industry is changing, and for teen authors that means there are three forces that are converging right now to give (them) the biggest chance they’ve had in a long time or ever.”

Kam is driven by curiosity to uncover the truth and bring light to marginalized voices through advocacy, journalism and policy-making. She is the principal violist for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and the violist for the Braverman String Quartet of the Settlement Music School Advanced Chamber Ensemble, as well as a member of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Young Friends Steering Committee.

Kam’s TEDx talk – “Mindfulness in Music” – offered perspective on the never-ending journey of self-growth through the lens of mindfulness. Discussing practice methods using her viola, she explored how being mindful can improve quality of life.

“This idea of doing things fast and doing the most amount of things you could possibly do in the shortest amount of time is reinforced by our society through promotions, jobs and good grades,” she explained, “yet, this is detrimental to our mental well-being, our health and the quality of the things that we do because, in life, when you are so caught up in doing things, you are no longer being a human being.

“In my opinion, I think being a human being means being active and present in the moment, in the things that we do, in the things that we love.”

Iniya Malaikani, a Moorestown High School senior, is passionate about both literature and debate. She expresses the latter through heavy involvement in three debate clubs at the high school. Her TEDx talk – “Is Artificial Intelligence the Next Shakespeare?” – covered the vast and varied implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in literary spaces, as well as broader questions of what makes literature worth reading.

In short, why should humanity continue to write?

“Literature allows us, in a way that very few other art mediums do, to really dig deep into what it is that makes us human,” Malaikani observed, “what it is about discrimination, about prejudice, but also about love and peace that makes our lives something that we value … what makes life worth living.

“ … When we think about the kind of world we’re in, where it’s so easy to generate something in the blink of an eye and to pass it off as real,” she added, “doesn’t that make it even more important to share what it’s like to be human? …

“In times like these, let’s face it: We’re going to need a lot more Shakespeares.”

Jason Lin, a Friends School junior, enjoys reading novels, learning about history and performing in theater. Some of his favorite books are “Six of Crows,” “Scythe,” “Song of Achilles” and “Sunrise on the Reaping.” His TEDx talk – “Witches, Vampires, & Fascism” – focused on the history of scapegoating as well as its psychological roots.

It sought to explore much of the why behind atrocities like fascism and the Salem witch trials, and how they still haunt us today.

Lead organizers for the TED event included Zahra Mammadova, Nolan Phillips, Nolan Youssef, social media manager Sara Mammadova, technology manager Harrison Kutalek and adviser Clare MacKenzie.