(From left to right: Allen Kendung, Cody Tracey, Daniel Oyolu, Michelle Pham, Samreen Fatima, Jalen Baker, Olivia Krishnaswami, Phathutshedzo Rambau, Max Silverman, Julian Bardin and Akachukwu Obi)
This past Saturday, Bates College was home to the first inaugural TEDxBatesCollege event. Co-organized by Michelle Pham of Vancouver, Canada, Daniel Oyolu of Houston, Texas and Samreen Fatima of Karichi, Pakistan, the event brought together a sold-out theater of students across social groups and different corners of the campus to engage in conversations revolved around the theme taken from the Bates Mission Statement, “the transformative power of our differences.” TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth sharing” and supports local community events that provide a platform to share stories and ideas from. The event featured eight phenomenal speakers who shared personal narratives, ideas and stories tied into the theme. Topics ranged from entrepreneurship to men’s involvement in feminism.One of the speakers, Olivia Krisnaswami, mentioned in her talk, “What are ideas worth sharing? I did a search for topics related to technology and found 24,340 results and when I searched for topics related to sexual violence, there were only 22. It wasn’t 22,000, just 22.” This year’s TEDxBatesCollege event not only wanted to challenge conventions of who was on stage sharing stories but also giving voices to a diverse array of stories that are worth sharing and listening to that aren’t often given the space to be heard.Max Silverman, who spoke about mental illness and his family’s journey to understanding his brother’s mental illness recognized the privilege he had to be standing on stage to talk about mental illness activism while many people who are experiencing it right now are unable to tell their stories under the stigma and fear surrounding mental illness, “I hope one day we’ll be able to plaster this country with green ribbons and to foster conversation around mental illness.”The event was concluded by an open Q&A session where audience members were able to ask questions to the speakers and organizers. The talks were filmed by BCTV and will be available in the next few weeks. Here is a list of the speakers who spoke at the event:Jalen Baker is a junior sociology major from Lancaster, Texas. In his discussion of the “transformative power of our differences,” he drew on his personal experiences to underscore the importance of putting this concept into practice, and will examine factors that prevent us from being transformed by each other’s differences.Julian Bardin of Madison, Conn., is a junior double-majoring in politics and studio art. Describing himself as “fascinated with working at the intersection between digital media and business to create products that positively affect people’s lives,” he discussed the entrepreneurial ventures he has taken on and what they have taught him about engaging different people.
Allen Kendunga is a Bridge2Rwanda scholar and first-year student from Kigali, Rwanda, who plans to major in politics. Her TEDxBatesCollege talk, “We Are All Rwandan: Lessons from Rwanda’s Post-Genocide Renewal,” offered insights from that nation’s history of ethnic division, the 1994 genocide and the civic transition of the past 20 years.
Olivia Krishnaswami of Seattle is a senior women and gender studies major. She was co-founder of a business, Sarifold, that empowers disadvantaged women in rural India by selling scarves that they make. Her TED talk addressed the power of stories to shape behavior and culture, particularly around issues of race, gender and sexual trauma.
Akachukwu Obi is a senior studying chemistry and mathematics. Now a Lewiston resident, he grew up in Nnewi, Nigeria. After Bates, he plans to get a doctorate in chemistry and teach at the academic level. Exploring paths to self-knowledge through writing, his TED address was titled “What childhood taught me about personal identity.”
Phathutshedzo Rambau is a sophomore from Morebeng, South Africa. A 2013 graduate of the African Leadership Academy in Honeydew, South Africa, his TED talk was about entrepreneurship and the challenges of bringing projects from idea the implementation.Max Silverman of Tarrytown, N.Y., is a junior with an interdisciplinary major that combines sociology, politics and education. The founder of the Bates chapter of Active Minds, a national organization dedicated to raising campus awareness of mental health and stigmatization, Silverman devoted his TED talk to this topic, underscoring the importance of understanding mental illness as biological.
Cody Tracey is a senior Spanish major from Baltimore who is particularly interested in men’s engagement in feminist movements. He discussed his summer 2013 experiences with the Men’s Initiative, a branch within the organization Jane Doe Inc., and his creation of a discussion guide — or “Guyde” — aimed to create thoughtful dialogue among boys and men around issues of sexism and hurtful behavior toward women.
The message that people can harness our differences towards creative, rather than destructive purposes, is a powerful and inspirational message.
We look forward to TedxBatesCollege becoming an annual event.