Theme: Stop Hitting Snooze

As a collective group of people, we are unsure about what our future holds. In this time of uncertainty, we need consolidation. In the past, it has been the unknown who have come forward, broken the stereotype and changed the world. People have stood up for themselves, for the community and have only done good things with their innovative and unexpected ideas. Society needs such people who have dared to think differently.

We as a community need to approach the present in a new light. The name of “Stop hitting snooze” comes from our every morning action of hitting snooze over and over again as we choose to sleep in. This could easily apply to our world right now. The more we hit snooze on the things we could change, or rather the more we postpone action, the worse our state gets. It is the small steps that we take today that can have an everlasting impact on society tomorrow. There is no right moment except for now. As the future of this planet, it is us the student community's responsibility to bring about the change for the greater good of what is to come. TEDxYouth@OFS 2020 will give students of our generation the opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives.

Overseas Family School
81 Pasir Ris Heights
Singapore, North East, 519292
Singapore

Aditya Sil

Student

A 16 year old student starting his first year of IB, Aditya is no stranger to high school drama and petty feuds. Toxic relationships is a subject that is all too familiar for him and it is definitely something that he has had his fair share of experiences with. However, only recently did Aditya have the chance to sit down with himself and realise that spending his free time being angry and posting shady Instagram stories to cope with his emotions would not get him very far. What he needed to do was understand. What constitutes an unhealthy relationship? How should one react when they are presented with hurdles in a friendship? Surprisingly, it was not until he took a glance at a plate of sushi that all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place. What that actually means with regard to friendships and toxic relationships is exactly what Aditya aims to explain through his speech.

Gautam Balasubramaniam

Student

Gautam Balasubramaniam is the oldest of our four speakers. He is in Grade 12 and has been at OFS since Grade 1. Gautam has a deep-rooted passion for Literature. In his very limited spare time, he enjoys writing prose and poetry, with varying degrees of success. He will be discussing the paradigm shifts that are taking place in the field of Literature, and the roots many arts have in Literature. Not only will he describe this new era of literature, he will also discuss how we need to adapt to this new normal of literature, as individuals.

Leah Verma

Student

Leah Verma is a sixteen year old, eleventh grader. Being a student in High School she kept noticing the gradual increase in work, clubs, sports and other time consuming activities. Before we were subjected to quarantine by the COVID-19 pandemic, she says she had never before thought or had the time to think about her own personal state, as well as if she was acting effectively and efficiently. After much reflection, she decided that with all the extra time she had, she was going to work on herself. So, through trial and error, Leah developed a system - the RAG (Reflection, Action and Grit) System. A system based on the basic principles that make people really think about the way they act daily. Leah’s TEDx Talk will explain the way that she believes this system can be used to make everyone the most efficient versions of themselves.

Rebecca Husgard

Student

Rebecca is a Grade 11 student in Singapore. From a young age, she was labelled as emotionally sensitive and fragile because of her father’s death. She felt these labels affect her and saw people presume things she could do in life—many probably thought public speaking was never in the cards for her. She also saw other people getting labelled too and how it affected them. Society put them in boxes and say what they can and cannot accomplish. Through storytelling, they can invoke empathy that can help society understand that labels can damage a person’s self worth. Moreover, they can build bridges to other minorities and groups who have been labelled. Curiosity is a two-way street. It is important to enquire about stories; what makes people label certain groups and say that those groups aren’t as worthy or can’t do certain things. Therefore, Rebecca will explore the importance of storytelling, the ultimate weapon to open-mindedness that can lead to acceptance.