Theme: Finding Ourselves

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks 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).

125 Hall
125 Waterloo Road
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, n/a
Hong Kong

Choa Mun

Pointless Conversation Advocate

Choa Mun was born in Suwon, Korea, but spent most of her schooling in the States. Generally, she speaks Korean with her family and English with her friends, thus being fluent in both languages and possessing the ability to easily fluctuate between the two. Choa has moved several times and has lived in Suwon, New York, New Jersey, Daejeon, Yongin, Houston, Indiana, and is now in Hong Kong. As a result of her frequent moves, she realized the importance of communication in building and maintaining relationships, as well as the value of pointless conversations.

Edria Li

PC Challenger

Edria Li was born and raised in Philippines. When she was 9 years old, she was shipped to the land of Hong Kong, where she was left to study at the American International School. There, she learned to be fluent in English, and intermediate with Mandarin and Cantonese. In the year of 2016, she was fueled with disbelief, as Americans voted for Trump's inauguration to office. She questioned the thought processes of Americans, as they voted for a man who called women, "fat pigs" . What were they thinking? Why did they vote for him? Did they agree with him? After deliberation over deliberation, she arrived to the answer. Political Correctness. How long have the American people suffered under being PC she wonders. Her journey to seek answers has led to a understood comprehension of both the good and evil sides of Political Correctness.

Effie Li

Future Architect

Effie Li was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. Her family is Chinese. She moved with her family to Hong Kong in the summer of 2011. Effie is fluent in Tagalog, Fukien, and English. When she was living in Tondo, Manila, she became interested in architecture as she wants to design flexible housings for the poor and working class. Her desire has led her to realise that hostile architecture is an urban design trend that heavily affects the poor and unhoused community.

Esha Mahbubani

Mental Health Advocate

Esha Mahbubani was born and raised in Hong Kong. Her parents are both Indian, though her father was also brought up in Hong Kong. She has been at AIS since 2007, and has been an active member of numerous clubs and sports. Growing up, she met a number of people who struggled with mental health issues, and has been adamant on resolving the stigma surrounding psychological problems and stress in terms.

Florencia Emulo

Hollywood Critic

Flor Emulo was born in Buenos Aires. She was raised in Spain. In 2016, she moved to Hong Kong. She is Argentinian, but comes from both an Argentinian and Italian background. Flor is fluent in Spanish and English, but knows some bits of French and Mandarin. When she moved to Hong Kong, Flor was amazed by the clash of cultures, and by the change in lifestyle that was implied on her. She is also interested in the film industry in Hollywood, and activism. That's why, diversity in situations, like the Hollywood industry, is something that she finds really interesting.

George Alex

FIFA Critic

George Alex was born and raised in Bangalore, India. Living there for most of life, George moved with his parents to Hong Kong at the age of 13. He is fluent in English and Malayalam. George has always been a massive fan of football since a young age. That journey showed him that the sport was severely deteriorating due to corruption which led him to believe that action needed to be taken for the sport to find the best path forward.

Jessie Choy

Education Reformer

Jessie Choy was born in Hong Kong. She moved with her family to California in 2006 and lived there for four years. Jessie is fluent in English. Since 2014, Jessie has led a group of volunteers to teach ethnic minority children in Hong Kong. Through this, she has realized that the traditional teaching methods can be improved and has led her to think of ways to make learning more effective.

Lilia Law Chijing

Bioengineering Advocate

Lilia Law was born in America and raised in Hong Kong. She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Since Lilia was little, she has always been interested in bioengineering; however, she notices the controversy regarding bioengineering and hopes that people can view bioengineering in a more positive light. This talk focuses on the necessity to promote bioengineering in terms of the entropic imbalance between AI and humans.

Paarban Nath

Numismatist

Paarban Nath was born and raised in Hong Kong to Bangladeshi parents. He is fluent in English and Bengali. Paarban enjoys food, travel, film, economics and history. He started collecting coins from places visited during his family vacations but eventually graduated to collecting coins and notes from around the world and throughout history. His love of learning history through objects is one he wants to share with others.

Red Brick Studios

Musicians

Red Brick Studios was founded in 2016 by Tommy Leung to create a platform for people who enjoy contemporary music to perform. Throughout the years, the band has performed multiple events in American International School such as the annual Winter Fair and Red Brick Studios Music Festival, playing genres such as pop, rock, metal, etc. The band aims to perfect its performances while pushing all the members' musical abilities. Red Brick Studios Members: Leo Szeto, Taby Khan, Jason Au, Emily Cao, Evelyn Chan, Tim Chen, Justin Cheung, Aahan Gohil, Nadia Khan, Teresa Li, Alex Patel, Angaj Roy, and Vidushi Singh. Club Advisor: Ms. Shawna Grimes.

Rosalyn Shi

LGBTQ Activist

Rosalyn Shi was born in New Jersey but grew up in New York and Shanghai; as a result, she is fluent in English and Mandarin. Her parents are both Chinese and her family moved to Hong Kong in the summer of 2013. She's always been sensitive and empathetic, so the realization that countless people are discriminated solely for their identity hit her hard. She grew up in restrictive environments that didn't allow her to express herself, but upon moving to Hong Kong, she steadily gained confidence and found her own identity: a proudly queer Chinese American who loves cats and strives for equity.

Saamyak Sharma

Alternative Facts Hunter

Saamyak Sharma was born and raised in India. He moved to Singapore before moving to Hong Kong. His parents are both Indian. Saamyak is fluent in English, Hindi, French and knows a little bit of German. Saamyak enjoys playing the drums, badminton and cycling. He has been around media and that is what got him interested in his talk.

Tarak Parikh

Education Reformer

Tarak Parikh was born at the heart of India: Mumbai. After the age of five, Tarak and his family came to Hong Kong and have been living in there since. During his time in Hong Kong, Tarak was able to pick-up three different languages fluently. Which include Gujarati, Hindi and English and is currently learning how to speak Mandarin. Tarak worries that this generation of teens are not ready to enter the "Real World" because of how focused students are on their grades and memorising content, instead of understanding and applying that knowledge.

Tony Yang

Street Art Analyst

Tony Yang was born in Beijing, but began moving back and forth between Beijing and abroad since the age of 4. He has lived in the cities of Beijing, Washington D.C., Pretoria, and now Hong Kong. These experiences have made him fluent in both English and Mandarin, having used both in school settings. Through his travels, he has learned to appreciate the unique culture and beauty of each place he's visited, which was why he was drawn to the street art of Sham Shui Po, as he believed a new lens to view Hong Kong through.

Yusia Xiao

Amateur BS'er

Yusia Xiao was born in Shenzhen, China. During her primary years, she has studied in Albania and Turkey. She came to Hong Kong in 2015. Even though Yusia's mother tongue is Mandarin, she speaks English more fluently.