Theme: Beyond Borders

We are proud to announce that TEDxYouth@SKIS is back, better than ever. This year, we have chosen the theme 'Beyond Borders' as we hope to encourage stimulating discourse within the audience, and in particular, the youth. In an era where the voices of the youth are still suppressed and stigmatised, it is imperative to enlighten the youth on the importance of expression, interconnectedness and participation in discourse and conversations about the unconventional and underrepresented, crucially because the youth are the spearheads of the future.

As such, we have carefully curated 7 amazing speakers ranging from the CEO of Thomson Hospital to an 18 year old youth activist who will all be sharing a myriad of excellent and unconventional ideas based on our theme.

Sri KDU International School
5, Jalan Teknologi 2/1, Kota Damansara, Daerah Petaling, Kota Damansara
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 47810
Malaysia

Dean Yong Yu Wu

High School Student

Dean is a high school student at Raffles American School in Johor Bahru and was born in a beautiful city called Fujian Yong Chun in China. As a student with autism, his educational experience was very difficult. Teachers, students, and even his parents did not understand him and he was constantly bullied and abused because of his autism. Hence, his passion is to help people understand autism and how people with autism feel in their hearts.

Lee Chia

Fashion Designer

Chia Lee is a fashion designer. Her appreciation towards cultural heritage are deeply rooted in her work. Through knitting, sewing and embroidery works, Chia creates textile-based designs that are heavily focused on materiality. Her work embodies nostalgic memory of the past by interweaving innovative ideas from the present, embracing the beauty of traditional crafts with a twist of the present through material and technology. Chia’s latest collection: Kopitiam is a look into everyday life in Malaysia through an installation of a coffee shop from the perspective of 3 generations within her family. She wishes to preserve the nostalgic value attached to the Kopitiam’s down-to earth material culture through the reiteration of traditional crafts and textiles.

Nadiah Wan

CEO of Thomson Hospital and TMC Life Sciences BHD

Ms Nadiah Wan was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara in 2017 and Group Chief Executive Officer of TMC Life Sciences BHD in 2019. Nadiah holds and MSc in Public Health (Nutrition) from the London School of Hygiene and Medicine, UK and was awarded the Hecht Bequest for Best Student in Public Health (Nutrition) upon graduating. She pursued her undergraduate studies at Harvard College (AB cum Laube, '07) while conducting research at Boston Children's Hospital with grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is currently an interviewer for Harvard College admissions and the Vice President of the Harvard Club of Malaysia.

Sarrah Salihan

Author and Women's Advocate

Her father named her Nur Sarrah Hanis with dear hope that she would live up to the meaning of it; brave. Everyday, she tries her best to do her name justice through little acts that showcase the purest of courage such as by staying true to one's ideals or on bigger scales, by empowering young females across Malaysia through period positivity campaigns and even by writing a book of her own entitled "Sunflowers from Sarrah". She aspires to become an LSE graduate in the future with 2 cats of her own named yin and yang. She may intimidate some by sight, but she promises to warm you by her speech.

Sitpah Selvaratnam

Lawyer

Sitpah is an international arbitrator, advocate and solicitor with 28 years of experience in dispute resolution as Counsel, in shipping and maritime law, international trade, corporate receivership, banking, and commercial litigation. She presented legal papers and conducted training at numerous domestic and international fora. She's also the consultant of the law firm Tommy Thomas, Kuala Lumpur. She's also a certified lifeline practitioner, trained in Australia directly under the profounder of the Lifeline Technique, Dr. Darren Weissman of Chicago in 2010. Other than that, she's also a reiki channel, meditator, yoga practitioner and an aikido martial art enthusiast. She was trained in the emotional freedom technique, NeuroFeedback, and other wellness processes. She's the national coordinator of the parent-care programme of the Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia, and regularly facilitates parenting workshops in Malaysia.

Soo Hwang Teo

Chief Executive of Cancer Research Malaysia

Prof Teo Soo-Hwang is Chief Executive of Cancer Research Malaysia. She won the prestigious Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship for her Post-doctoral research work. Prof Teo graduated with a First Class Honours degree and PhD from the University of Cambridge. In addition, she has contributed to the development of health policy, having chaired the Familial Section of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for breast cancer and contributed to the Malaysian National Cancer Control Plan. Her contributions to medical research have been acknowledged through appointments an Eisenhower Fellow in 2010, a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences on 2014, Top Research Scientist Award in 2014, Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 and the Sultan of Selangor in 2018. She is the only female scientist in living memory to have won the OBE award in Malaysia and the first Malaysian to win the Wellcome Trust Collaborative Science Award.

Yasmin Rasyid

Marine Biologist and Environmentalist

Yasmin Rasyid is a marine biologist by profession and an environmentalist by passion. Yasmin has 20 years of experience and knowledge in environmental management, community development and social entrepreneurship in Malaysia. She also serves as a mentor for various national programs on social entrepreneurship, youth empowerment and environmental research. In her spare time, Yasmin volunteers regularly for local environmental and social NGOs. Yasmin is the founder and president of local environmental and non-profit organization EcoKnights (www.ecoknights.org.my). She served as the Chairperson for Malaysian Environmental NGOs (MENGO) from 2012-2017 leading engagements and advocacy initiatives in this coalition of 26 environmental and social NGOs in the country. She co-founded Poptani Asia with Sheik Shahnaz, and is also the Chairperson of the Duke Alumni Association Malaysia. In her spare time, Yasmin likes to get her hands dirty with urban farming activities, and river volunteering.