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Generation whY not?

By Ashley Alebiosu
Thomson Reuters

March 20, 2013

This past Saturday was the TEDxTeen event in NYC, hosted by the We Are Family Foundation. The day kicked off with a book signing breakfast, fostering conversations between teenage speakers, inventors, founders, authors and attendees.

Opening remarks started around mid morning where everyone was encouraged to immediately start tweeting, as the global audience was ready and waiting to be a part of the conversation. Chelsea Clinton took the stage, engaging the audience with words of confidence, describing the millennial generation as digital natives who are open to change.

Although the event was titled “The Audacity of whY,” Chelsea noted that most of the speakers were those who questioned “why not?” Why not live with no limits, like Kuha’o Case, the blind speaker from Hawaii who taught himself how to play the piano and has driven a car. Or why not build an arcade with only cardboard boxes, like speaker Caine Monry.

Highlights

Among the group of high achievers was Emily-Anne Rigal, a freshman at Columbia University. She is the founder and director of WeStopHate.org, an organization dedicated to “building a movement of ‘Boppers’ – teens around the world dedicated to ending bullying through raising self-esteem.” The organization operates through various social media channels. WeStopHate.org picked up momentum through Emily’s YouTube channel and has received endorsement from many including Lady Gaga.

Kelvin Doe, a 17 year old from Sierra Leone was the crowd favorite. Kelvin was energetic, intelligent and inspiring. He spoke about the universality of creativity. At the age of 14, Kelvin started collecting scrap pieces of metal. His curiosity to build led him to go to bed at 7PM to awaken at midnight and hunt for left over parts. Eventually, he built his own DJ mix table, batteries to power the system and radio station. Dubbed with the name DJ Focus, he has since taken over the airwaves. As a result of his innovation, Kelvin was the youngest visiting practitioner at MIT and has met the President of Harvard.

This event challenged the image of Generation Y by showcasing them as more than just social media junkies. TEDxTeen presented them as “trailblazers leading a global ‘whY’ revolution,” the generation that is leveraging the power of ideas with the transparency of social media. Through their connectivity they continue to confront the mysteries of the world and turn our perceptions upside down.

Thomson Reuters partnered with TEDxTeen through a value-in-kind agreement, we are proud to be a supporter of this event and encourage everyone to be a part of the action.

For more information on The Audacity of whY click HERE.

For more information on Emily-Anne Rigal please click HERE.

For more information on DJ Focus please click HERE.

 

Read the original article here:
http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/generation-why-not/