Oberoi International School organizes TEDxYouth@OIS
Mumbai: Oberoi International School shares TED’s vision of “Ideas worth spreading”; shaped by the school’s own motto “Freedom to think, empower to be…” OIS strives to ensure that every child in their care contributes to the community and penultimately becomes a responsible, curious, open-minded global citizens. Partnering with TED, the OIS community hosts a TEDxYouth event annually. This year, TEDxYouth@OIS was hosted by OIS students Natasha Mubeen and Tanishq Bindra on 18th January 2020 in the presence of a range of speakers from diverse backgrounds.
Being a school that constructs its curriculum and principles around the ‘IB learner profile’, students are able to find a considerable amount of common ground between what TEDx strives for and what Oberoi International School (OIS) seeks to instill in its students. At OIS, students are taught to be communicators, thinkers, and inquirers; these qualities are entailed by TEDx’s purpose of sharing and communicating new ideas that challenge our pre-existing ways of thinking, reflecting and contemplating over the lessons from the past. This is what the student organizers for this year’s TEDx conference have tried to inculcate in choosing the theme of ‘turning point’, trying to develop an understanding of how our past should defer from our present and how instrumental change is in today’s day and age. Along with the participation of stalwarts of the industry, this year included two firebrand student speakers sharing their bold ideas, tough truths, uplifting stories, and jaw-dropping visions. Sneha Masurkar, a 17-years-old professional Kathak dancer and student at OIS and Aashna Daru, another IB student of OIS were the student speakers on the panel.
The diversity was embodied from the speakers’ variety of professional backgrounds. The prominent guest speakers were Sanjiv Kapoor, former CSCO, Vistara and COO, SpiceJet, Vibha Bakshi, a renowned filmmaker with an Honorary Doctorate from Boston University, Suyansh Patankar, a board certified Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon, Pankaj Garg, a graduate in Ceramics Technology and an Alumni of IIM Ahmedabad, Smruti Jukur, an urban development professional and Siddhant Karnick, popular TV artist. All inspirational speakers, who shared their insights and experiences on these interesting topics, left the audience thoughtful every time they left the stage.
Commenting on the occasion, the organizer of the event Zarine Khan, said, “TEDxYouth@OIS is one of the most creative events of our school since they are organised by and catered towards students. This event lends a platform to inspirational ideas of students and achievers of the society who strive to create a better world with their ideas and examples.”
The students who collaborate to prepare for the conference are chosen through a multiple-stage selection process, involving writing supplements and face-to-face interviews. There are 5 core committees in charge- Finance and Sponsorship, Logistics, Design, Publicity, and the Speakers’ committee- each headed by two students. OIS strives to celebrate the vast range of talents and skills offered by the student body and TEDx serves as a strong example of how students at OIS work collaboratively to make the most of their abilities.
The many factors involved in an event like TEDx makes the planning as we all as the execution process a rigorous and challenging one for the students but the invaluable learning experience students take away from engaging with such a globally renowned platform makes everything worth their while.