Theme: The Creation of Tomorrow

TEDxYouth events present creative and insightful conversations through extraordinary live performances. They are spoken by, organized by, and aimed at young people. We bring TEDxYouth to our community through Walter Murray Collegiate with the intention to introduce new ideas and open up new doors to the adolescents around us!

The speakers of TEDxYouth@WalterMurray are excited to share their insight on our theme, “The Creation of Tomorrow.” This brilliant group of minds hopes to obtain a better future, whether it be from business to media, community to time, or mental health to politics.

Beyond Profit: Business Education’s New Frontier …………………………………... Osman Naqvi
The Power of Community: Creating a More Inclusive World ………………………….. Ishita Mann
Our Vanishing Attention and How to Reclaim It ……………………………………………… Lucas Le
AI Art in the Creative Community ………………………………………………………… Maram Hani
The Fluidity of Time ……………………………………………………………………..….. Mellissa Lu
Media Fatalism ………………………………………………………………………… Samuel Wardell

About the Team:
TEDxYouth@WalterMurrayCollegiate is organized by a group of passionate high school students scattered across Canada who believe in creating positive change to the world with their own hands. Each member of the organization had worked fervently and tirelessly for this event. With their diverse backgrounds and abilities, there is no doubt that TEDxYouth@WalterMurrayCollegiate will be complete TED’s mission to Spread Ideas, Foster Communities and Create Impact with nothing short of elegance.

About the Organizer:
Shixuan “Nini” Li is the licensed Organizer and Executive Producer of TEDxYouth@WalterMurrayCollegiate! She’s currently a Walter Murray student in junior year with an unrelenting passion for the fine arts, sciences and public speaking. Her enthusiasm for both TED and TEDx talks began at a young age, eventually leading to her speech for TEDxYouth@PickeringCollege on April 6th, 2022. Inspired by the young leaders of that successful event, she chose to bring TEDx to her school, aspiring to provide the right stage for individuals to change the world with their unique notions.

About the Co-organizer:
Lisa Kalesnikoff is very excited to be the teacher liaison and staff organizer for TEDxYouth@WalterMurrayCollegiate. It has been her pleasure to work with and teach gifted students in Saskatoon for the past seventeen years. She is excited to see where this year’s organizing committee takes this special adventure for academic discourse and growth. Being both a learner and a leader fuels Lisa’s personal energy and drive for continued higher learning.

Walter Murray Collegiate Auditorium
1905 Preston Ave S
Auditorium
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7J 2E7
Canada

Ishita Mann

Social Entrepreneur + University Student

Ishita Mann is the youngest recipient of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal, Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medalist, SHAD 2019 Alumnus, Reebok Human Rights Award Finalist, Top 25 Under 25, Governor General Medalist, and, Entrepreneur of the Year (2021). As a social entrepreneur, Ishita founded one of North America's fastest-growing youth-led nonprofits called Youth Helping Youth (YHY) with the mission of helping students navigate their futures with clarity and confidence. Ishita is also serving as one of Amazon Prime’s official youth ambassadors. She is a full-ride BSc. Hons. student at the University of Saskatchewan studying Cellular, Physiological, and Pharmacological Sciences. She hopes to continue using her platform to elevate young voices and bridge the information accessibility gap for all young people globally. Ishita's TEDx Talk will focus on the power of building stronger micro-communities, collective impact, and compassionate leadership.

Lucas Le

Debater + High School Student

Lucas Le is a student at Walter Murray Collegiate. Outside of school, he plays badminton competitively, is a passionate snowboarder, and the reigning winner of the Canadian Junior National Debating Championships. In his TEDx speech, Lucas will unpack what overstimulation means for our lives by uncovering how a bombardment of stimulants around us is strangling our attention spans and ability to find real contentment in our lives. Lucas believes that shallow responses to the problem such as "work harder," "focus more," and "stop using your phone" lack actionable advice and understanding of the situation at hand as it places blame on the individual. Rather, Lucas will talk about solutions at the societal level as the reality is that our brains, which were wired for a life sixty thousand years ago, are now matched against a world of supercomputers, algorithms, and under sixty second shorts.

Maram Hani

High School Student

Maram Hani is a Grade 11 Walter Murray Collegiate student, who dabbles in various experimental school clubs and extracurriculars in her spare time. She is honoured to have gotten a speaking role for the TedxYouth@WalterMurrayColligiate event. Based on her passion for both creativity and progress, she will be exploring the mechanics of AI-generated art and its often-overlooked effects on the creative community. With technology advanced enough to generate images with a push of a button, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype, unaware of the possible legal concerns that can arise from it. In our world of exponential progress comes the risk of unregulated tools hitting the shelves before new laws can be established for them. She believes AI art holds amazing potential for streamlined creative work and realising otherwise ambitious endeavours, but without acknowledging the artists behind its database, it might not be as progressive as we've imagined.

Mellissa Lu

High School Student

Mellissa Lu is a Grade 12 student at Walter Murray Collegiate. As a long-distance runner who loves chocolate and often gets lost within a book, she is excited to be speaking about the Fluidity of Time at TEDxYouth@WalterMurrayCollegiate. Society is organized around time, which is often seen as the clock on the wall that ticks steadily forward at a fixed rate. However, while clocks are mechanical, humans are not and our perception of time is fluid, influenced by emotions such as joy and fear and marked by memories. Mellissa will be exploring this nuanced nature of time and its fluidity. In addition, she will be offering the idea of focusing on the present moment to make sense of the contractions and dilations of time. She hopes that her speech will leave her audience with a more holistic perspective of time and a deeper appreciation for the present moment.

Osman Naqvi

Entrepreneur

Osman Naqvi currently works as the Advisor, Investor Services - Prairies at Invest in Canada. He’s the former Regional Advisor for Ontario and Parliamentary Secretary Assistant to Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Osman has served on numerous boards and charitable organizations, been featured and published in many media outlets and is a well established keynote speaker. Osman holds Canada’s 150 Award, Mayor’s City Builder Award, Top 30 under 30, and Canada’s Emerging Leader Under 40. He was Valedictorian when graduating with MBA Degree from the Smith School of Business – Queen’s University, holds a Master of Management Degree from the Schulich School of Business – York University and a Honours Bachelor of Sociology Degree from Carleton University. Osman was a Fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University through the CanStudyUS Fellowship. Osman has received certifications from Yale University, University of London, and Smith School of Business - Queen’s University.

Samuel Wardell

Debater + High School Student

Samuel Wardell is a Grade 10 student at Walter Murray Collegiate. He is a driven hockey player, student, and national-level debater who enjoys academic and physical challenges. He is deeply passionate about the many ways media can affect individuals and their mental health, especially when they focus on negative aspects of news. Sam believes that it is important for individuals and media organizations to understand the power that they hold in people’s lives. He hopes that his audience will be able to leave with a greater understanding of the harms and potential benefits that media portrayals play in their lives. Therefore, he will delve into the topic of media fatalism and its effects on individuals' mental health and feeling of actionability. Sam is excited to say that he hopes to continue to pursue his growing passion for social and legal sciences.