The task was to deliver a presentation that was both meaningful and rich.  Their theme, as is the theme of this TEDx event is, “A Catalyst for Change”.  170 students delivered presentations as part of the curriculum in their English course.  Of those, 10 were chosen through a combination of peer selection, performance quality and the teacher approval.  Hope you enjoy the evening.

Milan and Maddie

MC’s for the night: Milan Babra and Maddie Laidlaw

Hi, my name is Maddie Laidlaw. I am a Grade 11 student from International School Bangkok. I am from Breckenridge, Colorado, even though I’ve grown up all around the world. I have been at ISB for the past 3 years, and previously have lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Atyrau, Kazakhstan.

Hi my name is Milan Babra, and I am an eleventh grade student at the International School of Bangkok. I am currently in my second year at ISB. I was born in the united states, but have lived overseas for most of my life, in Kenya, India, and now here in Thailand.

Bjorn Pattaphol HANSEN

Title: Why Offense is Important

Bjørn Hansen talks about preserving the sincerity of our voices in an increasingly censored and sensitive society. After all, our voices are something that should be equally appreciated and internalized, whether they are those of dissent or agreement.

Bjørn Hansen (17) is a Thai-Danish student at the International School of Bangkok. Having been raised in a rural Thai environment, his experience crossing across different cultural systems allows him to offer unique and fresh perspective on the world we live in.

Chantae Park

Title: A Third Culture Kid’s Hometown

In an international school, we are surrounded by many students who identify themselves as third culture kids. As being a Third Culture Kid myself, finding my hometown was not an easy job. Having lived in multiple countries such as Korea, Russia, USA, and Thailand, switching home was the norm, and finding one special one was difficult. In this TED Talk, I come to a realisation to where my hometown was and forever will be.

Christopher Rogers

Title: Words Fall Short

“When it comes to describing abstract ideas, words never truly capture what we mean. This often leaves humankind tongue-tied when faced with love, awe, and other immaterial concepts, despite how these are in fact some of the most central ideas of being human. However, just like philosophy takes precedence over logic when it comes to these topics, art communicates them far better than words.”
“Chris Rogers is a junior at the International School of Bangkok. He is an aspiring concept artist and writer interested in philosophy and theology. He has lived in many countries in South East Asia and the Middle East.”

Devi De Olivera

Title: Let’s Rage about the Wage
Looking at our modern, forward thinking world, we have made many accomplishments in the social issues but one still looms before us: The Gender Based Wage gap. We are further than we should be from closing this gap in our so called progressive societies, and this has to be changed. An analysis of where the gender based wage gap originates from and how we can work to shift our society to better equalise wages will be used with reference to different modern day examples.

Devi de Oliveira is a junior at the International School of Bangkok. She has lived in the United States, India and Thailand. She has had a passion for sports since a young age, and looks to continue playing soccer in her future. She has strong beliefs about social justice and equality and hopes to share those with you.

Hantz Heesouh

Title: The Importance of Mother Tongue

The Importance Of Your Mother Tongue:  My Ted talk is about the importance of keeping your native language focusing mostly on International Students. Overall I want the audience to understand that this is an important topic and will talk about why it is relevant as well as sharing some of the negative impacts losing your native language can have on an individual.

Biography: Hantz is 17 years old and a junior at the International School of Bangkok. He is Canadian-African and lived in Quebec, Canada for 10 years before moving to Ghana followed by Thailand. His first language is French and he started learning English upon his arrival in Ghana. He enjoys participating in activities such as basketball and track and field, as well as helping out with play productions. His Ted Talk focuses on the importance of your mother tongue and the effect losing it can have on you and the people around you.

Izzy Armitage

Title: Thinking Inside of a Box

In our modern day society, education is looked at as a mechanism for achieving academic success, rather than learning. My Tedx Talk addresses the disadvantages of our modern day education system, and the misconceptions we have regarding our intelligence, our learning, and our achievements. Why do we strive to push ourselves past our academic limits? Why have our definitions of the words “smart” and “intelligent” shifted to hold all power on grades and GPA? What can we, and modern school systems, do to improve this? One of the objectives of this oration is to help us all realize that our academic achievements in numbers do not define our ability to be smart, as there are so many different types of intelligence, in which all of us possess.

Miranda Onofre

Title: The Power of Bullying

There are many stories out in the world about bullying. This is mine. My Talk with be about the different types of bullying there is, the types that I have faced, a background of my bullying and how I have faced it along with the power of how bullying has had over me.

My name is Miranda. I am Mexican American. I was born in England and was there for five years and then moved to San Antonio Texas when I was about 5 or 6. I moved from Texas to Bangkok Thailand. I have now been in Thailand for 6 years. I have very low self esteem but I am still working on it! I am a very positive person and I beat to my own drum, so I am told by my parents.

Natasha Hardegen

Title: Mental Illness: The brain can get sick.  
I am a new student to ISB with goals to spread awareness of Mental health issues and discuss their stereotypes. I am 17 years old and junior. I am half American and Thai but have lived and travelled all my life from the U.S, Europe, Islands and now Asia. This is my first time sharing my story amongst a large community and hope to spread the truth, strong emotions and love. I tackle the deep concerns I have based around mental health, it’s facts and the events I have dealt and deal with on a daily basis in order to show the media and society that this is not something to be afraid of or discriminate about. Stay strong and enjoy.

Sammy March

Title: Why We Write Bad

Communication has reached an all time high, but has something been lost in the myriad of slang and text-chat used today? In this TED Talk, the effect communication through texting has had on the ability of teens and those alike to read and write proficiently will be explored.

Sammie March is a junior and cheese enthusiast at the International School Bangkok. When she is not running (from her problems), she enjoys correcting people’s grammar, reading about grammar, daydreaming about grammar, and evidently writing TED Talks about grammar. She’s doing good by giving this talk, but you’d have to ask her if she’s doing well.

Victoria Tarrega

Title: More Than Just One Word

In today’s society we categorize each other based a single aspect of a person’s life. My ted talk revolves around the idea that there is more to a person than just what society and their peers categorize them as. I am trying to raise awareness towards how we describe each other and how it affects our capabilities. The misuse of adjectives towards people can be very harmful.

Hi, my name Vikki Tarrega. I am 16 years old and I moved to the International School of Bangkok three years ago when I was going into 8th grade. I was born in New York and lived there majority of my life. I participate in various activities through out the school including maharaj boys home, varsity soccer, varsity touch and after school dance. My guilty pleasure is dark chocolate.