Theme: Beyond Borders

At the end of May 2024, the Amsterdam International Community school will be organizing TEDxYouth@AICS 2024, the latest edition of the school's annual student-organized TEDx event, which is part of a now decade long tradition. The theme of this year's event is: Beyond Borders, so you can expect our speakers to wow you with fresh ideas that will push the boundaries of your understanding, explore new horizons, transcend borders and attempt to break through the physical and mental barriers that limit us. Come and be inspired!

CREA
Nieuwe Achtergracht 170
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, 1018 WV
Netherlands

Aaraav Ovalekar

DP2 Student at AICS

Aaraav is an avid sports enthusiast with a strong passion for the analytical side of sports. His fascination with mathematics has led him to become a logical thinker and problem solver. Renowned for his disciplined, responsible, and honest approach, Aaraav is dedicated to excelling in every endeavor. With his talk 'Everything is Mathematics', Aaraav wishes to highlight the importance of mathematics in everyday lives and how it forms a common ground for all to unite.

Anne Rosa Lopes Cardozo

Founder of Selfmentorship Quest

Anne Rosa (MSc) is the 28-year-old founder of Selfmentorship Quest: a company through which she aims to provide everyone in transition to adulthood with all the information, tools, skills exercises and information they need to learn how to manage themselves. Why? So that they can become their own mentor/coach. Anne Rosa studied Psychology and Business Administration at the University of Amsterdam and still enjoys living in Amsterdam, where she hopes to complete her mission to make self-development and personal growth accessible to everyone. She aims to inspire and encourage people to shape your most beautiful life in this, while staying true to yourself.

Asami Fujii

DP1 student at AICS

Hi, I'm Asami, a 16-year-old student at the AICS. Growing up Japanese in Singapore and the Netherlands, seeing myself represented in popular media is a new development and something I'm very passionate about. I will talk about the isolation that comes with being a person of colour in a world where all forms of media are dominated by western styles and perspectives, as well as my views on how this is changing with social media and the rise of globalisation.

Fons Trompenaars

Founder and CEO, Trompenaars Hampden-Turner

Fons is a Dutch organizational theorist recognized around the world for his work as a consultant, trainer, motivational speaker and author of various books on the subject of culture and business with his seminal book,Riding the Waves of Culture in its 4th edition. He has spent over 30 years helping Fortune 500 leaders build meaningful connections to manage and solve their business and cultural dilemmas to increase global effectiveness and performance, particularly in the areas of leadership, innovation, globalization, intercultural understanding and managing culture change by reconciling differences. One of the Top 20 Most Influential International Thinkers, inductee to the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, and awarded the 2023 prestigious George Petitpas Award by The World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA).

Imam Diongue

Designer & Creative lead

Imam is a student and versatile designer from Senegal, currently expanding his creative and personal horizons in Amsterdam. Specializing in illustrations, stationery and UI/UX design, Imam applies a keen eye for detail to both art and life. At TEDx, he will delve into the transformative power of stepping out of comfort zones. Drawing on personal experiences, Imam will share how embracing challenges and uncertainties is essential for growth and resilience. Join him to discover practical strategies for pushing beyond your boundaries and enhancing your life.

Joshua Brandenburg

Design Educator at the AICS

Josh is a visually oriented creative and educator. His preoccupations include the 'everyday' as it relates to the human condition; as well as a long standing engagement with the notion of place. A generalist by nature; unavoidably everythingist', given that more-is-more; Josh has a prismatic view of the world. He seeks to encourage others, especially his students, to flourish in their own (inter)national contexts. Josh seeks to inject a love of life-long-learning, driven by conceptual thinking, that is rooted-in-experience, well-informed, and responsive. Josh has been involved in various creative fields including the Fine Arts, Photography, Film and (Graphic) Design respectively.

Lisa Hogg

Founder of Brave Amsterdam

Founder of BRAVE Amsterdam. Lisa is an engaging and passionate professional. Motivated by creating positive change in the world through strategy and storytelling, Lisa will challenge your ideals of what strategic impact really is today. As a natural innovator, skilled and experienced in the implementation of effective management strategies, Lisa will bring bravery to people and processes when it is required most. She has a proven track record spanning all areas of marketing and brand communications. Experience in both agency and client side environments, makes Lisa not only a leader with proven ability and track record to deliver performance outputs, but an impactful motivator and speaker who is driven by making businesses of tomorrow not only successful, but impactful and brave. Lisa came to Amsterdam from South-Africa and is a single mom of two ex AICS students. She started Brave to inspire her big business clients to be brave enough to make decisions that could change the world.

Louis-Georges Regis

Growth Advisor

Meet Louis-Georges, the Brand & Growth Marketer supporting Sustainable & Social Impact organizations. With extensive experience across small, Scale-Up, and Global companies, he has a knack for driving growth at scale through innovation and diversity. He calls himself as the "Chief Failure Officer," Louis-Georges embraces failure as a stepping stone to greatness, believing that early mistakes pave the way for future success. He’s on a mission to redefine potential beyond postcode or school, advocating for the limitless power of "yet." Through his insights, learn how to turn failures into stepping stones for success and break through perceived limitations." how many words are in this text?

Melanie Stehmeier

Psychotherapist

Meet Melanie. She is a globe-trotting Cognitive Behaviour Therapist and she specialises in counselling the young and international. With a career in mental health that predates its current chic status, Melanie brings a seasoned perspective to her work. As a self-proclaimed joy-chaser who doesn’t take life too seriously, she's on a mission to foster resilience among the globetrotting tribe, especially now that she's mum to two Third Culture Kids of her own. When she’s not unraveling the complexities of the mind, you’ll find Melanie whipping up a legendary Sunday Roast and hosting impromptu dance parties in her kitchen, whilst her Yorkshire Puddings rise!

Rushil Baya

DP2 student at AICS

Having grown up in cosmopolitan environments around the world, Rushil speaks four languages (English, Hindi, French, Dutch!) fluently and takes a keen interest in learning more (Spanish and Portuguese are next on the list). An avid traveller who has visited some 30 countries, he has experienced both the benefits and shortcomings of language diversity, prompting his TEDx Talk on the implications of a universal language. He has applied his international upbringing in his roles as Chair of the AICS Student Council and Founder of Model United Nations at AICS Sandcastle, bringing the community together through the things which set us apart, and plans to pursue International Relations or Political Science at the University of Toronto.