J-Day, TEDxYOUTH at ACS on March 22

Russell Williams is one of the featured presenters at J-Day. (Photo by David W. Bulla)

ABU DHABI—The American Community School of Abu Dhabi will host two events on Saturday, March 22: A TEDxYouth session in the afternoon and Journalism Day in the morning.

The TEDxYouth talk session, which will begin at 3 p.m., features the work of two ACS students, Dina Shriem and Dennis Hilgendorf. Shriem and Hilgendorf are  members of a program called Creativity, Action and Service (CAS). It is a core component of the two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Program at ACS.

The idea for a TEDxYouth day of talks came up during the second semester of Grade 11, when clips from TEDTalks videos were screened and discussed in English Higher Level and Theory of Knowledge classes.

“TED has been a source of learning throughout my high school career,” Shriem said. “It’s been an alternative way for me to understand concepts in our subjects beyond the classroom. I can’t wait for what TEDxYouthACS is going to bring to our community, and I hope it will be a legacy for many years.”

Hilgendorf looks forward to turning the ideas into action.

“TED talks present a creative opportunity for one individual to spread an idea, and for the audience to listen and pause for reflection,” he said. “They encourage us to delve into concepts raised in the classroom by approaching these ideas in different ways. The ACS community is rich with leaders and individuals whose powerful ideas can have a profound impact. TEDxYouthACS is a way to spread these ideas and their positive impact.”

The confirmed speaker list includes: Amit Khanna, high school biology teacher and IB coordinator; Ashwini Singh, an 11^th-grade student; Melissa Dertian, IB theater, film studies and public speaking teacher; Anne Russell, community service director and sustainability advocate; Eric Hilgendorf, vice chairman of the ACS Board of Trustees; Matthew Foss, IB English teacher; and Paul Self, IB English and Theory of Knowledge teacher.

The TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talks began in 1984 under Richard Saul Wurman, who saw how the three fields were converging. Now there are annual TED conferences around the world.

Earlier, beginning at 8:30 in the morning, ACS and the Student Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at Zayed University will co-host Journalism Day. The event will be in the ACS Auditorium and will last until 1 p.m.

Saeed Saeed, an entertainment reporter for The National, will be the keynote speaker at lunchtime. Mr. Saeed covers major music concerts and other popular entertainment events in the country.

Also, James Doran, who runs the Dubai bureau of Bloomberg News and has covered Wall Street for the Times of London, will give a presentation on opinion writing.

Other sessions will be led by ZU communication faculty, including Jim Buie, instructor; Paul Lowman, instructor; Pam Thompson, adjunct instructor; and Russell Williams, assistant dean of the ZU College of Communication and Media Sciences. Topics include making audio and video presentations, news reporting, feature writing and blogging.

“This is a chance for young people to experience real journalism,” said Zainab Al Zubaidi, the ZU-AD SPJ president. “We hope they get a good glimpse of how fun and noble journalism is.”

ACS is located behind the BMW dealership and The One, off 7^th and 32^nd Streets in Abu Dhabi.

Tags: journalism, TEDx