Theme: Truth and Dare

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).

Shekou International School
Net Valley
Shekou
Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518067
China

Alli Denson

Secondary Teacher

Alli is a secondary art teacher at Shekou International School.

Elly Van Sluytman

Student

Elly was born in Wuxi China and lived there until she was 6. From there she has lived in Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Canada. She enjoys reading, dancing, volleyball, and traveling. But most of all she loves relaxing. Elly is a firm believer that mental health should be talked about more, especially in communities of color. She practices self-care as much as possible because she believes is it important to take care of your emotional/physical health, and to keep growing.

Emma Lin

Student

Emma Lin (@emmalin31415) is a vertically challenged student who struggles in mathematics. She was first introduced to feminism in 5th grade, when her class explored the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Her favorite hobbies include forming unhealthy attachments to fictional characters and overthinking literally everything in her life. This is Emma’s second TEDx talk.

Felicity He

Student

Felicity is a young arts advocate currently living in Shenzhen, China. She is in grade 11 at Shekou International School.

Georgia De Andrade Machado

Student

Georgia is a grade nine student at Shekou International School. Georgia, and her friend Tracy, delve into the historical background of beauty standards with examples from their nationalities: Brazil and China. They discuss how media platforms have shaped these beauty standards, causing many to feel a sense of body dissatisfaction.

Harshil Thacker

Student

Harshil is a sixth grade student at Shekou International School. He currently resides in Shenzhen, China.

Jason Arnot

Secondary Teacher

Jason is a high school math teacher at Shekou International School.

Joanna Li

Student

Joanna is a 8th grader in Shekou International School. Living in China, she has an eye for the planet around her. Back in elementary school, Joanna participated in many projects about plastic pollution which inspired her to stand out and try to solve the ocean plastic pollution with many people around the world. Joanna loves the ocean and marine life, and at the same time, she hopes to solve the plastic problem. She is intrigued to help the planet overcome the ocean plastic crisis and Joanna hopes to inspire others to do the same as her.

Michael Hoe-Knudsen

Student

Michael Hoe-Knudsen (@3_balll) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He didn’t live there very long and doesn’t remember much since he was very young. He has lived in many places throughout his life living in 5 different countries including Argentina, Venezuela, the United States and more specifically Miami, Vietnam, currently lives in Shenzhen, China. He grew up mostly speaking Spanish and English. He loves and enjoys playing basketball and spending time with his family and friends. Michael’s talk was inspired by a couple of movies mentioned in his talk and the Chaos Theory showing how some decisions could completely change life as he knows it today.

Tracy Chen

Student

Tracy is a ninth grade student at Shekou International School. Tracy and her friend Georgia delve into the historical background of beauty standards with examples from their nationalities: Brazil and China. They discuss how media platforms have shaped these beauty standards, causing many to feel a sense of body dissatisfaction.

William Su

Student

William Su was born in Miami, Florida. Having lived in the United States and China, he speaks both English and Chinese fluently. He enjoys reading and learning, though not always at school. Inspired by his frustrating experiences of education, he promotes the improvement of the education system and its global implications in his talk, as well as exploring solutions inspired by Finnish education. He hopes to continue his passion for education by taking action at his school in Shenzhen, China.

Yelim Lee

Student

Yelim Lee is an international student that has studied in South Korea, Indonesia and currently is studying in China. She is fluent in Korean and English, and is learning Chinese. She is studying in the International Baccalaureate program, and is interested in chemistry, biology, and economics.