This year's theme was acceptance. Talks ranged from accepting our role as eco-consumers to accepting compliments and loving ourselves.

14 Martin Luther King Str
Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 53175
Germany

Abigail Conner

Although originally titled "You Are the Creator", Abigail Conner's speech "The Magic of Literature" describes the amazing effects absorbing or creating both fictional and factious works has on one's life. Based on her interest in neuroscience (which she aspires to study "when she grows up") and life-long love of literature, she goes into not only the biological and physiological benefits of reading, but the its philosophical significance as well. She is 15 years old and from the USA, although she has lived in both Brazil and Germany for a great deal of her life.

Adi Mazumdar

9th grade student at Bonn International School

Akarsh Verma

Akarsh is a grade 11 student in his first year at BIS. He has lived in Chennai, India for 5 years and Ann Arbor, Michigan for 10. His speech is about the acceptance of technology in our daily lives and the neccessity of involving all ages in this technology boom. His interest in this topic came from the apparent lack of integration of technology into society when he lived in India.

Alexander de Silva

Alexander de Silva, 13, was born to Sri Lankan parents in Boston Massachusetts, and he lived there until moving to Germany at age 11. He has attended BIS for three years, and this is his second presentation at TEDxYouth@BIS. Alex feels TEDxYouth@BIS is a very nice opportunity to present, to write speeches, and to collaborate with other people who can provide tips on public speaking.

Bente Koelink

Bente Koelink, 14, was born in the Netherlands, and was nine years old when she moved to Germany. ‘Accepting yourself’ has always been a topic close to Bente. She and other teens often doubt themselves over who they are and who they want to be. Peer pressure often complicates this problem. In her TEDx Talk, Bente asks, How can one withstand peer pressure by accepting yourself?

Britt Koelink

Grade 7 student at Bonn International School

Chawisa Staman

Chawisa Staman was originally born in Thailand but was raised in the United States. She has traveled to many countries and seen how each prefers their fashion trends and how their definition of "perfection" differs within their respective cultures. She, like other girls, has dreamed of becoming 'perfect', and will share how to overcome these ideals.

Crystal Singh

Crystal Singh was born in the USA, living in Singapore for 4 years, and now n Germany for the past 2.5 years. Her speech explores how being a third culture kid can present teenagers with struggles and challenges, and how being a TCK can help in more ways then you think. Crystal's interest in this topic grew from her own experiences of integration into diverse communities and dealing with the changing requirements of fitting in.

Daria Nicotera

Daria Nicotera, 13, was born in Leicester, England and lived there for 7 years before moving to Bonn, Germany in 2009. Daria is currently in 7th grade and this is her first TEDx presentation. She has decided to connect her speech to her move from England to Germany. The difficulty of change can be overcome by accepting losses and being open to a new reality.

Desiree Winns

Desiree Winns is in tenth grade . She was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Germany in 2014 after living in the United States for twelve years. Her personal experiences with racism inspired her to make this TED talk and hopefully encourage and inspire others.

Emma Vincar

Emma Vincar, 11, was born in Kansas, USA, and lived there 4 years before moving to Bonn, Germany. She has been attending BIS since EL5. Emma is now in 6th Grade.

Inga Jörß

Grade 8 Student at Bonn International School

Jarl Bentzen

8th grade student at Bonn International School.

Joyesha Shrestha

Grade 8 Student at Bonn International School

Juanita Aidoo

I am Juanita Aidoo and 16 years old. I am passionate about football and I have been playing it for 4 years. I am hoping to play college football.

Kaitlyn Fox

Kaitlyn Fox was born and raised in Livonia, Michigan, USA, and is finishing her fourth year in Germany. This is her second time presenting for TEDxYouth@BIS, and she has organized two other TEDxYouth@BIS events. Her talk evaluates stress in the teenage life and tells her personal story. She was inspired to speak about this when her own life got out of control.

Kelma Jean

Kelma Jean is a 10th grader at the Bonn International School located in Bonn, Germany. She is of St.Lucian heritage and was born in this Caribbean island on April 7th, 2000. Kelma later moved to Bonn, Germany in 2013. This student has a passion for singing, acting, dancing, public speaking and being a helping hand.

Laura Gonzalez

Picture Laura Gonzalez comes from Madrid, Spain. When she was six years old, she moved to the US and stayed there for three years before moving back to Madrid for two year. Her family then moved to Bonn, where she joined BIS. She went to the TedxYouth@BIS 2014 show and decided that she wanted to participate in the next year's show. Her speech explores responsible consuming and our role in deforestation.

Mackenzie Mattos

Mackenzie Mattos was born and raised in the USA, living in Germany for the past 3 years. Her speech explores the implications and consequences of rape and the taboo surrounding the subject. Mackenzie's interest in this topic arose from the explosion of social media juxtaposed with a lack of information in the news.

Mary Dolgoff

Mary Dolgoff has lived most of her life in the United States but is now living her second year in Germany. She is interested in video games and chose the related topic of "Gamergate: Accepting minorities and new ideas within Gaming" for her speech. She will share this emerging field, and how it connects with deeper psychological tendencies of humans.

Nathalie Canteli

Nathalie Canteli, 13, was born in Barcelona, Spain, and lived there for 9 years before moving to Saõ Paulo, Brazil. She began attending BIS in grade 5. Nathalie is now in grade 7, and her speech is about accepting and integrating disabled children into society. She deeply connects with this topic as her brother is disabled and she has felt excluded in the past because of that.

Nicholas Hughes

Nicholas Hughes, 13, was born in Michigan and has lived in the United States until he moved to Germany in 2013. Nicholas will present a poem he wrote titled "Size Doesn't Matter". His inspiration came from observing kids who were bullied about their sizes, and he was often was made fun of because of his size. He hopes his poem will help people realize that size is not that important.

Rachel Filozof

Rachel Filozof was born in the USA, and lived there until moving to Germany last year. Rachel's speech relates to modern-day slavery, a subject that she admits she knew almost nothing about until she read an article in a magazine a couple of years ago. Rachel is interested in spreading awareness so that every person, even those very removed from the problem, can have an understanding of this very current, and heartbreaking, issue.

Serin Oh

Grade 7 student at Bonn International School

Shivani Rajhansa

Shivani Rajhansa, 14, comes from India and has lived in Germany since the age of six, when she began attending Bonn International School. Since a young age she has understood that the fear of failure can be devastating and bring down ones’ self confidence. She has learned everyone will experience failure, but the best thing is that you can decide how to take it. You can choose to see it as the end of the world, or simply a great learning experience. In her speech, Shivani will talk about how someone with a fear of failure can take their desire for perfection and self acceptance in a way that will enhance their performance.

So Jung Lee

So Jung Lee is from South Korea where she noticed a common fad is to have plastic surgery to look prettier. So Jung delivered a previous TEDx speech regarding this topic, encouraging people to have more confidence in themselves and feel secure. Continuing her research, she learned that many children in her school feel unsure of themselves. Her message is about gaining self-confidence and loving yourself.

Sophie Haselguber Dallalah

Sophie Haselhuber Dallalah, 13, was born in Berlin and lived in La Paz, Bolivia for her first three years. Bonn has been home since age 4 but Sophie only began attending BIS in grade 6. Now in grade 7. Sophie's speech is about accepting that most people will not achieve what many consider to be ‘greatness’. Nevertheless, most will achieve many things but may not take the time to appreciate them. She wants to help others to understand this topic with which she has personally struggled.

Valentina Grebe

Grade 7 student at Bonn International School