Academia is founded upon the core principles of asking questions and challenging perspectives. In pursuit of this, Hyunjo (6.1, J Social) planned and delivered TEDxYouth@RadleyCollege.
TEDx events are designed to stimulate conversation and debate, and the programme curated by Hyunjo certainly achieved that. He reflects on a fantastic day.
My motivation for organising this event was to help build a platform for students and speakers to connect, with the hope of kickstarting discussions that would lead to the spread of intellectual vitality in our community. I arrived at the theme ‘Event Horizon’, as it best demonstrated the idea of the ‘point of no return’. In a society where every decision we make has a profound impact on future generations, I wanted everyone to be able to pause for a moment and think deeply about the issues that really mattered.
Therefore, it was an honour to have an array of distinguished speakers take the time to visit the College in support my vision. An audience of more than 150 students from Radley and schools in the OX14 Learning Partnership had the opportunity to hear Dr John Zerilli explore the increasing relevance of artificial intelligence, Professor John Morton consider what quantum computers will be made of in the future, and Professor Amy Dickman from the University of Oxford divulge into an intriguing topic called ‘Warriors, Wildlife, and Women’. The audience were invited to explore the complexities of preventing disasters with Professor Ilan Kelman, and the underrated physicality of virtual reality with Amy Sheldrake, as well as turning a black hole white with Lewis Raymond Taylor.
A unique element of the day was current boys and Old Radleians on the stage to discuss what made them tick. Aleksandre (6.2, B Social) shared his experiences of becoming a published author and talked about his book ‘The Unique: A Minecraft Novel’, and entrepreneur Sam Tucker OR (2014, K Social) chose to speak about the future of work post Covid-19. To see the attendees and speakers debating and bouncing ideas off each other gave me a sense of fulfilment and purpose that I have never felt before.
TEDxYouth events are organised by students, for students with the support of adult mentors. This conference could not have come to fruition without the collective effort of dons and boys, in particular Charlie McKegney, the Partnerships Team and members of the Senior Management Team. Challenging perspectives and learning from others are the core themes of our partnership work. TEDx enabled us to achieve both whilst enjoying a fascinating and inspiring day in the process.
