TEDxJIS presented its fifth annual conference at Jakarta Intercultural School on 16 February. The independently produced event, operated under license from TED, took place at JIS Elementary School, Pondok Indah.
With the theme of Solve for X, TEDxJIS 2019 explores intriguing questions: What happens when someone tells a child, “You’re no good”? Why does “na nana nananana” make a hit song? How could positive thinking possibly make you anxious? Just as there are many ways to solve a math equation, the TEDxJIS 2019 speakers take many routes to arrive at their answers.
“In mathematics, solving for x is finding a value that makes a given equation true,” says TEDxJIS co-advisor Lane Graciano, the lead organiser of the event. “So, at this conference, we set out to explore connections between different subjects to see if we can uncover some common values, and understand some truths about our world.”
The TEDxJIS 2019 speakers included: Aleka Bilan, counselor and global nomad; Ashley Soebroto, student and aspiring journalist; Beata Mirecka-Jakubowska, English teacher and educational project designer; Collin Junus; student, artist and musician; Daniella Fernandes, student and aspiring architect; Farheen Shamdasani, student and creative arts enthusiast; John Davey-Hatcher, choral and musical director; Julian Fernandez, student and explorer of cultural expression; Sadhvika Viswanath, student and Bharatanatyam dancer; Tom Bartlett, teacher and actor; Piotr Jakubowski, brand and marketing practitioner
Student performers, including a magician, also showcased their talents. Between the speaker sessions, students presented problem-solving projects including notebooks made of used paper, and a bicycle that shreds plastic to make it reusable.
Participants engaged in a shared experience of learning, dialogue and entertainment.
The TEDxJIS organizing committee comprised student volunteers supervised by faculty members at the JIS High School. The organisation was established five years ago by Jaewon Sim, who was then a 10th-grade student, under the guidance of founding advisor Beata Mirecka-Jakubowska, who was one of this year’s speakers. Mirecka-Jakubowska has been a teacher at JIS for 34 years.
“I hope Jaewon’s vision lives on and TEDxJIS keeps sharing ideas worth spreading for decades to come,”Mirecka-Jakubowska said. “I hope they continue to enlighten the JIS community: students, teachers, staff, parents, administrators, and of course, friends of TEDxJIS from the neighbourhood and abroad.”
In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TEDx is a programme of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com.
