For 16-year old , a student at the Athénée in Luxembourg City, a TedX event is the perfect opportunity for young people to share their ideas and their views. Dey, who during our interview mentioned that he enjoys public speaking, science, innovation and entrepreneurship, had been a TedX speaker at his previous school in the United Arab Emirates and really enjoyed the experience. This, he says, was where he got the idea of setting up the event.
Dey is one of the main organisers of the event, scheduled to take place on Wednesday 28 February. “There have been quite a few setbacks and challenges,” he says, talking about the organisational process, which began last year, but these have been overcome. “We’ve discussed with the team--we have quite a bit of people on our team. We have around 30, 40 people--it’s a big team.”
There’s bound to be a few hiccups along the way, “but the important thing is making sure that everyone feels recognised, feels heard and make sure that their questions and worries are answered, and just to show them that together, we can accomplish a great thing.”
“A lot of guts”
Joanne Goebbels, assistant director at the Athénée, is part of the team of organisers. “They have done a fantastic job,” she adds, referring to the students. “It took a lot of guts to organise this because there were quite a few hurdles,” such as obtaining the TedX licence and applying the different rules to the event. “The students--Arnit and his team--have been working hard to set up an event that will definitely make it into our history at school, and maybe other students will want to organise an event like that one in the future.”
Hopefully, she adds, people in the audience will also enjoy the experience. “It’s important also for the 100 [attendees] who come to take something away from it, and not just the students on the stage.”
“The power within”
The theme of the TedX event is “the power within,” explains Dey. It will be a two to three hour event featuring 10 speakers (these are students from various high schools in Luxembourg), a musical intervention and a networking session with food and drinks. “They can speak to each other and share their ideas and attentions,” says Dey. “A Ted event is all about ideas worth spreading.”
The 10 speakers will be talking about topics “ranging from the power within sports to the power within financial technology, the power within ourselves, the power within time. It’s a diverse curation. I’m really excited to see them.” Dey, who under TedX rules cannot speak himself, will be moderating the event.
Lots of interest in the event
All 100 tickets are now sold out for the in-person event, adds Dey, “so clearly there is a huge interest in Luxembourg.” This, he notes, could be partly due to their collaboration with the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (Lhoft), “which are also pushing us a lot.”
As to what he wants people to take away from the experience, he replies that the concept of “ideas worth spreading” is a key part of the TedX community. “What I want the audience to take away from it would be just having learned something, having an experience that will be a memory that will last a lifetime. And that’s what we’re trying to create.”
The will take place on 28 February 2024 at 18:00. Although tickets for the in-person event have been sold out, the videos will be uploaded online after the event takes place.