Theme: Forward. Awaken the past, reclaim the future

This event brings together open minded stdents and experienced externals to discuss our future. Our future is probably the most important topic for our youth and therefore moving forward is crucial. But what does it mean to move forward? And how does the past affects our future? These and many more questions will be discussed at our event!

UWC USA
State Rte 65
Auditorium
Montezuma, New Mexico, NM 87731
United States

Ahmed Alassar

Student

Ahmed Alassar, a 16 years old Palestinian refugee. He lived all his life in the besieged Gaza Strip. During this time he witnessed the harshness of three devastating wars and living in a refugee camp. Living in such conditions taught him lots of things, like how to be determined and strongly believe that this world can be changed. The most important lesson however was what peace really mean and the importance of it.

Andrew Weller

Student

Andrew Weller is a 19-year-old UWC student from the United States. He was born and raised in the Midwest and spent his teenage years in small town South Dakota. Despite its culture of corn and cows, Andrew felt drawn to greater adventures. His fascination with the scale and wonders of the universe was molded by long nights under the stars with his Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Dobsonian reflector telescope. After his introduction to UWC-USA, Andrew discovered that the only thing that surpassed the depth of the universe was the depth of experience evident in such an internationally diverse environment. The campus social dynamics intrigued him, especially the relationships between US Americans and international students. The multitude of conversations about worldwide perceptions of the US drove him to reexamine his views, broaden his understanding, and seek out truth within a complex, multifaceted world.

David Barsamian

Journalist

One of America's most tireless and wide-ranging investigative journalists, David Barsamian has altered the independent media landscape, both with his weekly radio show Alternative Radio—now in its 33rd year—and his books with Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmad, Howard Zinn, Tariq Ali, Richard Wolff, Arundhati Roy and Edward Said. His latest book with Noam Chomsky is Global Discontents: Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy

Karolina Szewczyk

Student

Karolina is from a beautiful city, Wrocław. Her perfect day starts with a morning walk with a sunrise view, followed by a long shower, time to read and a bowl of porridge. Exploring, learning and traveling give her fulfilment. Why speech about getting rid of stuffs? Karolina thinks that minimalism can enrich people’s lives, because giving up material possessions does not necessarily mean losing something. It is more about focusing our limited attention on valuable stuff.

Kavi Othman Ali

Student

Kavi is a young Kurdish woman from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where she was born and raised. She is the eldest of three daughters in her family, so the responsibility of being a good role model was a given, starting at a very young age. Through her duo talk with Fatimeh, She wants to encourage people to be very aware of their privileges.She also wants to reiterate the importance of looking forward in times of struggles and hardships.

Kristina Yu

Architect

Kristina Yu is a principal with the office of McCLAIN+YU Architecture & Design in Albuquerque, NM. McCLAIN + YU has architectural specialization primarily in institutional projects, particularly in laboratories, classrooms, research and administrative facilities, transportation buildings. She is associate professor of architecture with the School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico

Nancy Fatimeh Phillips

Nancy Fatimeh Phillips is an American-Persian born in Tehran, Iran. She grew up in various places around the world including Iran, Malta, Egypt, United States, and Holland. Because Fatimeh is from a bicultural background, depending on the setting, she experienced belonging and longing to belong. Somewhat of a foreigner in both circles. Fatimeh’s nomadic childhood significantly formed who she is today; it drove her to continually work for peace, tolerance, and understanding with one another in hopes of educating people on spreading the word.

Rahul Jain

Student

Rahul Jain is a scholar at the United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. Growing up as a US citizen of Indian heritage in five countries, similarities and differences in the human condition and cultures appear discernible. With the inevitable globalization and fusion of cultures, it is of vital importance to understand one’s role and the connotations it may have in the world. Rahul explores this idea through his own eyes as a third culture kid, as well as those of scholars, to see how the world can be a homogenous unit composed of diverse and unique pieces.

Scott Melton

Teacher

Scott Melton joined Bosque School in 2016 as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity. He curently is serving as full-time faculty for upper school English 11 and Film. Prior to Bosque, Scott taught English, IB German, and IB Theory of Knowledge at Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, FL. He was formerly at Florida Atlantic University where he taught German. From 1997 to 2003, he served AARP as an issue expert on independent living, long-term care, end-of-life, caregiving, and aging workforce issues.

Tim Green

Educator

Tim Green IV holds a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Africana Studies, an MA in Political Science with a focus in International Relations and Transitional Justice, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at UNM, where he is focused on understanding the efficacy of transitional justice mechanisms in post-conflict settings, specifically its manifestation in terms of education. Currently an upper school instructor of international relations and modern history at Bosque School, Mr. Green has over four years of teaching both domestically and internationally including a bi-annual course taught at UNM in Berlin, Germany. Traditionally trained as a social scientist, Mr. Green is skilled in project management & design training, as

Vasiliki Katsorida

Student

Her name is Vasiliki Katsorida and she comes from the beautiful land of Greece.Vasiliki has a tendency to observe human behaviour and this summer she couldn’t stop thinking about how we are cargos of experiences and how we move in life depending on what we are carrying. As a science lover,she decided to try to explain it by researching about brains and the library of memories which they obtain.She was inspired by a conversation she had with her older sister during one- on-one girl talk about being single.It was then that her sister told her that trying to meet someone at 37 can be hard as you are both carrying weighted experiences that drive you apart.And so Vasiliki became curious.How do we move forward in life carrying all those experiences?And then she was shocked about how many things made sense about her behaviour and choices based on the imprints of her past

Vidar Önnerfors

Student

Vidar Önnerfors was born and raised in Luxembourg to Swedish parents, and was thus surrounded by Swedish culture, language and people throughout his life. He says that the inspiration for this talk is the affect TEDx has had on his life. The TEDx platform exposed him to ideas and opinions which he did not encounter in his everyday life. Vidar wants to take this opportunity to replicate the effect these talks have had on him for others as well. He believes that the topic of his talk is increasingly important, especially for those facing large, sudden political changes in their home countries. He wishes for a successful event, which is not only memorable, but which will provide important takeaways to the audience as well