Theme: Think globally, act locally.

In the spirit of an extremely diverse community, the International School of Florence, TEDxYouth@ISF strives to host young voices and ideas to build their own future. This year, we are having the honor to host both local and international speakers, imbibing the spirit of "think globally, act locally" in the very essence. We are extremely proud of our current speaker line-up and we can't wait to share it with you. The venue of the event is right next to the world renowned Cathedral of Florence, what we call "the Duomo." The event is officially sold out.

Auditorium Al Duomo
Via de' Cerretani, 54/R
Florence, Firenze, 50123
Italy

Aditya Saggar

Student

Aditya is a senior at Kyiv International School. He has attended ten schools spread out over 3 different continents in the past 12 years. He is perpetually confused, but is always ready to help someone out. He has a wide range of interests and a childlike curiosity for the world.

Alexander Graylin

Alexander is currently a freshman studying at New york University. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, he is a passionate piano and trumpet player who enjoys performing any chance he gets.

Chelise Johnson

Chelise is an ISF Freshman, originally from Panama.

Dean Bogner

Dean Bogner was born and raised in NYC and move to Florence, Italy, three years ago. He was the Chair of the middle school student council and is now a part of the high school student council. Dean’s interests include but are not limited to, politics, technology, his two dogs, and sneakers.

Edoardo Innocenti

Born and raised in Italy, Edoardo has an avid passion for music, and more specifically, guitar performance. He is also an amateur of basketball.

Emily Volpe

Originally from England, Emily is a Junior at ISF passionate about speaking up for those who needed a voice.

Emma Goering

Student

A senior at ISF, Emma has traveled all over the world to every continent with the exception of Antartica and Australia. She likes History and Global issues. Her hobbies include biking and cosplay.

Gabbeh De Godoy Van Vijk

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Gabbeh is a half-Dutch girl who has lived in São Paulo until recently, when she moved to Florence with her family. She loves dancing, debating, and sweets.

Imogen Barrett

Student

Imogen has recently started the IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma Program at school in Oxford, UK. She has lived in England all her life, is half Irish, and enjoys her role of editor of her school journalism publication, as well as drawing, tap dancing, being in the countryside, cooking (and consequently… eating). She is a complete Italophile and is very excited about having just taken Italian up as part of the International Baccalaureate Program.

Ivanna Shevel

Student

Born and raised in Ukraine, Ivanna is currently a senior at Kyiv International School. Aside from being an IB Diploma candidate, she has great interest in acting, student council, history, and women’s rights. After graduating, she plans to pursue a degree in history and potentially teach at international schools. Ivanna is also a Harry Potter and cat enthusiast.

Jamie Peters

Originally from the U.S. and Zimbabwe, Jamie is a Junior at ISF.

Jeanne Bearthe

Originally from Paris, Jeanne is a Junior at ISF.

Jessica Russo Scherr

Teacher

Jessica Russo Scherr is an internationally exhibiting artist and IB Visual Art Teacher/Art Coordinator at the International School of Florence. In 2007 she was the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Grant by the U.S. State Department for her work in art education. Originally from New York, Jessica calls Florence home along with her husband and two daughters.

Kathryn Randene

Student

Forever short and tiny, Kathryn takes pride in being Filipina, Italian and American. Mother of three tomato plants and one eggplant plant, she loves biology and plans on becoming a dentist in the not-so-near future. She's interested in everything, but not everyone.

Luca Fagotti

Student

Born in Florence, Italy to a Florentine father and Italian-American mother, Luca has been attending ISF since the age of six, alongside his identical twin brother Dante. His passion, willpower, and drive have been essential in his dedication to rowing. He has been rowing competitively for two years and spent a portion of this past summer training in rowing camps in both Boston and Connecticut.

Ludovico Iannizzotto Venezze

Student

Ludovico is an ISF senior that was born and raised in Florence, Italy. He's a professional rower, sailor and skier with a personal passion for Astronomy. Ludovico also serves as the Goal Keeper of the school's soccer team.

Madeline Juletta DeWalt

Madeline is currently a student at New York University in Florence. She is originally from Danville, California. She enjoys singing, songwriting, and performing at a variety of local venues. Spending her freshman year of college in Florence, she strives to travel, explore, help and learn as much as possible about our shared global community.

Martina Vanni

Martina is an ISF freshman born and raised in Italy.

Michael Landolfa

Michael Landolfa grew up in New York State and eventually went on to Berkeley for his Ph.D. in Neurobiology. When he was a practicing scientist he researched the biology of invertebrate animals in various North American and European countries. He now lives in Italy with his wife and children and teaches at the International School of Florence.

Nikita Bezverkhniy

Nikita is a sophomore at ISF, originally from Russia.

Olivia Rogers

Student

Born and bred in England, Olivia has always been passionate about performing arts. Having trained at a drama school in London, she was awarded a drama scholarship to study A-levels in Oxford and is always involved in upcoming productions. She is currently also studying History of Art and English Literature.

Pierre Fisher

Born in Sweden, Pierre grew up in a small town outside Stockholm. He enjoys Language, Philosophy, and being social. In his free time, Pierre keeps his mind and his body busy by reading, writing, and working out.

Reza Sheikh

Reza Sheikh is a concerned citizen advocating "participation" in the daily life and in the professional career.

Sebastian Arora

Student

Sebastian Arora has been attending the International School of Florence since 2010. Both international and well-rounded, Sebastian was born in Pennsylvania, in part Peruvian, Indian and British. He plays the piano, tennis and is a member of the Student Council as well as the Model United Nations club.

Sebastian Lindmark

Sebastian is a senior at ISF. He was born in Oslo Norway and has lived in Italy for the last 10 years. Sebastian is passionate about sports sciences and music.

Sofia Gambetta

Sofia is a sophomore at ISF. She was born and raised in Oxford until the age of 11. She then moved to Florence with her family. She loves music, global issues and baking (and therefore eating).

Sophie De Godoy Van Vijk

Born in Brazil, where she has lived her entire life, Sophie is half Dutch and Half Brazilian. After traveling around Asia for six months with her family, Sophie moved to Italy and is currently a freshman at ISF. Music is a huge part of herself and she deems it as the ultimate medium to self-express.

Vittoria Conforti

A sophomore at ISF, Vittoria was born and raised in Florence and moved to California for 4 years to study English. She loves performing, spending time with friends, and learning about different cultures.