Theme: The Human Condition

The Human Condition refers to the shared experiences, emotions, and challenges that are common to all human beings, regardless of culture, race, or background.

In our rapidly changing world, mankind has to face problems and new experiences together. From the advancements of life-changing technologies such as AI, to new definitions of socially inclusive terms; people are evolving as a collective civilization. Simultaneously, there are things that stick to being human no matter what. TEDxSMICSchool 2024 hopes to use The Human Condition to engage in the continuities and changes of human properties. We embrace the distinct conditions that make us human, even if it shows the unity in our differences.

The SMIC Private School
169 Qing Tong Road
Zhangjiang, Shanghai, 201203
China

Karen Carrington

Executive Director (Volunteer) for Heart to Heart Shanghai

Karen was educated in the United States and Switzerland. She attended university and graduate school at Vanderbilt University (in the United States) where she graduated with high honors (magna cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa). She has been involved in many types of professions and businesses over the years, but was with First Data Corporation from 1995 – 2007 in the United States, Japan and China (Beijing and Shanghai). She retired from corporate life as Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Alliances / Business Solutions at First Data Asia Pacific in 2007. Wishing to dedicate herself to helping children in need once she retired, she runs (as a volunteer) a 100% volunteer not-for-profit organization which sponsors children from the Chinese provinces for heart surgery when their families don’t have the means to pay for it themselves. She has been with the organization since 2007. The organization has sponsored more than 3,000 children for heart surgery.

William Yip

Musical Theatre Director / Drama & Musical Theatre Education Expert

William is experienced in the educational drama field. Since 1997, he has been a drama educator and consultant at various schools, higher education, government departments, arts and social service organisations. Since 2003, he has developed a variety of educational drama programmes in over 200 local schools in Hong Kong. His "Learning English through Drama" curriculum was published by the Oxford University Press and adopted by the Hong Kong Education Bureau for its teachers’ training programme in 2009. In 2015, William moved to the mainland China, where his leadership and connections took him to more than 30 cities in the mainland, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Qingdao, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and much more. He has also been interviewed by a variety of major media press. Since 2018, William has been leading a project in collaboration with Teach for China and Linmon Pictures to promote education equity in rural areas through educational drama programmes.