On April 20th, students and teachers gathered in the presentation hall to share their experiences with identity and generational relationships. Groups of students and teachers crowded in the hall to see the speeches. This occasion is known as TEDxYouth, and the associated club promotes these thrilling events, organizing TED talks tackling the topic in a variety of ways.

This year’s topic for TEDx Youth at Daegu International School was “Generational Echos: Taking Steps to Understand each Other.” Ms. Loutsch, the group’s advisor, explained that “it was a great opportunity for students to learn and talk about gaps of generation and cultural identity, [especially at an international school].” Topics discussed include generational humor and stress, identity crises, and the myth of generational echoes. 

Behind the scenes, the TEDx staff members were hard at work to make this event happen. It was a difficult process: staff members had to carry out a multitude of steps, such as preparing presentations, posting speaker bios, writing scripts for the hosts, and receiving permission from the actual TEDx committee in order to host this event. Afterward, the TEDx club sent RSVP forms for students to join the event with a limited number of people. The occasion was also live-streamed on the DIS Instagram page.  

At the gathering, speakers were able to talk from the heart about their cultural and generational encounters throughout their lives. There were a total of 11 students who spoke at the event. One of the speakers, eleventh grader Anthony, was the last lector to decorate the night, and the message behind his oration reflects the depth of thought behind each and every speech. He commented that his “topic was about my ability to speak English and I wanted to tell the audience about how we can turn our weaknesses to our strengths.” Anthony spoke on his topic with motivation and molded the audience into both amusement and tears. 

The audience was touched by the amazing speeches throughout the night. Mr. Coleman, the math teacher, claimed “it was amazing to see how students talked about and organized their ideas into these amazing speeches. I was truly fascinated by the students’ abilities to do so.” Many other teachers took their time to come and visit the performances. 

Middle and high school students who were attending Korean Studies were able to watch the show for about an hour each due to COVID regulations, which limited the amount of people who could participate at a time. Thus, the middle schoolers came first and listened to the first half of the presentation, while the high schoolers filed in later on. 

The TEDx event was a success overall: both the speakers and the audiences enjoyed the atmosphere and the TED Talk videos shown in every intermission period; and of course, the amazing speeches the speakers made. The audience showed respect and welcomed the speakers with roaring applause for every speech, while also filling the air with laughter and smiles that encouraged the speakers to loosen up their nervousness. As the year folds into its end, the TEDx event concludes with great lessons to teach.