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DAY 3 & 4 OF OUR TRIP TO NEW YORK – THE CONFERENCE
The reason we came here has finally arrived, and our efforts have paid off. After a quick breakfast, we sign into the conference, receive our name tags and join all the other students who have come all the way to New York to participate. It’s so amazing to see so many like-minded youth, with the same passion for knowledge and new ideas as us, gathered in such a diverse crowd of people with different nationalities, cultures, races and ideas. We are all connected by our common goal of making a change to improve the world.
After introducing ourselves to some other people and participating in icebreaker activities, we are called in to the main room and began to hear student talks by youth presenters. We hear stories of courage, resilience, determination, passion and love, and it’s difficult to not to be inspired by these incredible people. In the
middle of the day, we take part in a three-stage rotation: lunch, improv, and the Activation Stations. These stations give us the chance to converse one on one with artists, entrepreneurs, scientists and more as they discuss something of meaning to them and share their knowledge with us in a very fascinating set of experiences. Eventually, we are called back into the theatre. More presenters speak of their experiences, and a panel responds to questions in an enlightening and moving conversation.
The day ends with prizes and raffles being announced; two of the club members ended up with Lockerboards, a smaller variation of skateboards! Having enjoyed it so much the previous day, we return to Times Square, and purchase the last of our souvenirs and New York memorabilia. On this night, we also gather 1,254 feet in the air, at the top of the One World Observatory in New York. Surrounded by marvelous views, we discuss our day, what we learned and what we found most valuable. We all have the chance to get our thoughts in, and each of us recounts memories from the day we considered to be exceptional. After a long and action-packed day, we fall asleep almost as soon as we get back to our beds at the hotel.
Sunday November 18th:
Our last day in New York! We’re sad to leave but glad that we had the opportunity to come and learn so much. We attend the optional TEDEd workshop, during which we learn about the vital components of a talk, such as the throughline, or main message of the talk. The things that we learn in this workshop will be very beneficial when we begin to edit our talks and get them ready for the Encounters TEDEd Conference. We were also asked to think of a way to condense our talks into a minute of speaking. Saved by the arrival of our airport taxi, we don't have time to do our presentations (yes it is nerve wracking to present in front of 180 youth from around the world!).
We stock up on food and drink for the flight, have a quick bite and board the airplane home. We arrive into the welcoming arms of our parents and begin to tell them about everything that happened on our trip. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and we are so glad we were able to be a part of it!
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