Shifting the Future
Shifting the Future is this year’s theme for TEDxYouth@Sydney, reflecting an optimism that believes that change is possible – that with fresh ideas and new ways of thinking about traditional problems, you can shift the future.
Amongst this year’s list of 12 young speakers, a business leader, an aeronautical engineer, a mathematician, an artist, a farmer and a school age inventor share their perspectives on our global future. They are supported by a team of youth curators including Andy Huang, Natalie Chandra and Caitlin Gibson, Salvatore Aljaidi and Jenny Anagnostopoulos – here are three of our curator’s thoughts on what the theme means to them.
Natalie Chandra: As a young person, thinking about the future brings equal parts excitement and dread. Each generation has different challenges, though the issues my generation faces: climate change and housing, are particularly scary. Change is necessary but also is incredibly arduous. Often, it often isn’t one huge push, it’s a steady and prolonged process that is often disheartening and frustrating.
In a sense, our event is a response to this. Bringing speakers who are pushing through and shifting the way we act and understand, slowly but persistently. I’m so excited with the ideas we’re putting on stage, to inspire our young audiences to shift the future.
Caitlin Gibson: I think young people have a significant role to play in shifting the future. They’re able to see the world in a different way. Grown ups might see it as a naivety, an overly simplistic perspective perhaps — but it is actually a strength as fresh eyes can see new solutions to the problems we’re swimming in.
Andy Huang: I’m going to cheat with my response, and take a line from the writer Douglas Adams. Something I always come back to is his answer to the meaning of ‘life, the universe, everything’, which is, [spoiler!] 42. I think each of us have a particular vision and hope for the future — it could be an end to poverty, a cure for cancer or maybe it’s to raise 10 goats. To get to where we want to though, it’s about finding the question — always asking and actively listening. So what’s really special about this event is that it’s an opportunity dedicated to doing just that.
Get ready for this year’s TEDxYouth@Sydney at Sydney Town Hall, Wednesday 6th September 2017.
Tickets available HERE
