Why is the time right?

Being a youth can be tough. Being told you must perform at a certain level can begin to drown out creativity, imagination and innovation. What if our youth were given a platform to share their ideas without the pressure to conform to a pre-set thought pattern or a grade? TEDxYouth@JeffersonStreet event is this opportunity. We believe that young people are incubators of sheer brilliance on many levels, so they need more platforms to share it. We believe they need practice to discover their brilliance. TEDxYouth events are fun, imaginative, and smart.

View speakers for the November 19, 2023 TEDxYouth@JeffersonStreet talk
December 2021 marked our inaugural year of TEDxYouth@JeffersonStreet. View 2022 speakers. Read the announcement. Press Release.

Let’s build up some STEAM!
Trenay Perry Bynum
TEDxYouth@JeffersonStreet, Event Organizer

TEXxYouth 2022 event home page.

How to get involved.

If you’re a parent who happens to be reading this … That means you have an exceptional child — and that is just the kind of person we are looking to participate in an incredible opportunity that is coming up soon: TEDxYouth@JeffersonStreet. This TEDx youth event is a unique gathering in our community that will unleash new ideas, inspire, and inform. The 5-15 minute talks cover a wide range of subjects to provoke conversations that matter.

We are looking for speakers between the ages of 16-24 who are interested — passionate, even — in the areas that the acronym STEAM represents: Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics. An interesting angle is to tie your passion to science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. Each participant will get on stage to provide a 5-15 minute talk. On what you might ask? Great question! In fact, if you bear with me, I’ll try and hit on a few questions that may be swirling around in your mind about all of this.

Our focus: STEAM – Ideas Worth Spreading

Let’s start with the WHY. For our nation’s children to be equipped to solve issues, make sense of information, acquire and analyze evidence is critical today more than ever. Students in STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) gain abilities like these. STEAM is an integrated approach that demonstrates innovative and critical thinking and creative problem-solving at the intersection of these disciplines. The issue with STEM is that the jobs of the future are STEM jobs, and the demand for professionals in STEM fields is projected to outpace the supply of trained workers and professionals. Let’s not forget the ‘A’ in STE[A]M. Art education is known to improve academic performance. On average, students who study the arts for four years in high school score 98 points higher on the SATs than those who study the same for half a year or less. Additionally, students who took up music appreciation scored 61 points higher on the verbal section and 42 points higher in the math section. As a parent, I want my child to be equipped to tackle the challenges before her.

Sounds good, right? Well, parents, this is where you come in. Whether your child’s passion is science, technology, engineering, the arts (e.g., humanities, language arts, dance, drama, music, visual arts, design, new media), or mathematics, ask how their area of interest brings them joy. What imaginative idea do they have that is worth spreading? If they are under the age of 14 or so, they would probably need some of your help to get their creative juices flowing. This TEDx event is a platform for youth to share their vision, ideas, and passion. If even you need a little assistance with pointing them in the right direction, check out these five tips.

1

Decide what to which area of STEAM to present.

2

Determine what
you want your audience to remember.

3

Make it personal. Why does your idea, vision, or passion matter?

4

How do you see your idea, vision, or passion impacting your community?

5

Present the first
four points as clearly
and concisely
as possible.

That fifth point is where this particular TEDx youth event comes in. Because I believe that young people are incubators of sheer brilliance on so many levels, they need more platforms to share it. I want them to be able to “pitch their ideas or brand” to the community when the time comes. That reminds me — speaking of community, that’s the other part of all of this. Did you know that giving back to your community can decrease your stress levels, give you a greater sense of purpose, make you happier, help you to become more generous, and improve your quality of life overall? So yes, bonus points for any presenter who can tie in how their idea can benefit their community in the process.

STEAM + Creativity and Imagination + Helping One’s Community = A Strong Personal Brand

If this excites you, even a fraction of how much it excites me, please encourage your child to submit no more than a three-minute video about what they would like to present. It doesn’t have to be a flawless presentation (it will definitely be viewed as an audition). I simply want to get an idea of what they are interested in and where they are coming from. For instance, if your child is into dance, if they could create a brand or have an idea worth sharing that would benefit the community, how would they pull that off? Have a dance studio in a low-income part of their city? Connect with nonprofits that would sponsor dance events for high-risk youth? Host their

own dance presentations for free in neighborhoods that would possibly never get to experience the arts any other way? Then, how would they find sponsors to support their idea? Those are just a few ideas to help.

Clearly, I could go on and on for days — decades, really — about all of this. And, of course, if you have any questions, I am just an email away. For now, I hope that you’ll consider encouraging and then supporting your child to be a part of what I believe will be an awesome upcoming TEDx youth event.

Ready? Let’s get going!

TEDxYouth@JeffersonStreet is a 100% volunteer-run event by people who care about Nashville’s youth. This event’s goal is to showcase ideas with a STEAM twist. Our first event was virtual to ensure the safety of all involved. Find past talks here TEDx YouTube Channel.

Stay Tuned for the 2024 Announcement

REQUIREMENTS

Age: 16-24 years old
Residence: Reside in Nashville
Video: 3-minute video posted on your own YouTube channel
Save: Video to YouTube (mark video unlisted)
Helpful link to learn how to upload a video to YouTube
Send link to [email protected]
Video topic: Discuss one thing that brings you joy and why
Submission Date: Open and accepting submissions now. Details about the next event are forthcoming.

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMISSION

Attend the informational session on TBD
We will offer story development and speaker coaching as a part of our bootcamp
Story development will be provided by Zoom and in-person
The recording date is TBD
Watch TEDxYouth videos to get familiar with the format
Please submit an audition video if your youth is interested in this opportunity. Talks will need to be memorized to participate in the recording. We will have our coach on-site to assist with polishing off the talks.

SELECTION PROCESS

Please ensure you/your youth is energetic and eager to participate. The 3-minute audition video is the only item we’ll use for the selection process. We will notify you in March if your child is selected. The selection process is competitive. If you/your youth are not chosen this year, we may offer a spot for a future talk.

CHECKLIST

Submit 3-min. video by TBD. The selection confirmation will be sent by TBD. The first day of bootcamp is TBD.
Make sure you have a YouTube account (You get YouTube through Gmail)
The 3-minute talk should be about what the youth enjoys or is passionate about, i.e., sports, singing, reading, playing minecraft, building legos, robotics, coding, making slime, building a gingerbread house, engineering, making things from popsicle sticks, reading comic books, cooking (yes, that’s science! — anything!)
Upload your video to your YouTube account (mark unlisted)
Send link from YouTube to [email protected] (the submission process is open and a close date will be posted here soon. If you decide to wait to submit, please check back to confirm the cutoff date.