Theme: Think Compassion

TEDxYouth@AISR is happening on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 with 15 student speakers, ranging from Grade 3 to Grade 10, and one adult speaker; curated from the community of the American International School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and sharing inspiring stories and thoughtful ideas.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

American International School Riyadh
PO Box 5101
Riyadh, Ar Riyāḑ, 11422
Saudi Arabia

Althea Albert

Expert on Play

Althea Albert, is originally from South Carolina but she has lived abroad Dominican Republic and Saudi Arabia for 6 years. She brother in 3rd grade and PreK. She is in 5th grade, and her favorite subjects are reading and writing. Her favorite book series are the Harry Potter.She is a competitive swimmer but her favorite sport is tennis. She also enjoys playing with outside and with kids of all age groups which formed the basis of her TEDx talk.

Fahad Alolayan

Expert on Fear

Originally from Saudi Arabia, Fahad has been an AIS-R Eagle since KG1. He is in 3rd Grade. Fahad is confident, outgoing, compassionate and positive with a strong personality, everything an AIS-R eagle should be. His favorite subjects are Math, STEM, and Wellness, Health and Fitness. Outside of school he loves playing with his friends, playing in a soccer league, and competitive swimming. When Fahad got lost in New York, his fear of losing his family began to grow and soon it took over his life. This talk is about how he overcame this fear and turned it into strength.

Faisal Al Saud

Compassion Advocate + Founder of Letters for Change

Faisal was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and lived in Canada for the first seven years of his life. He has been a student at AIS-R for ten years and enjoys the vast array of learning opportunities present within the school. Through identifying the need for early English education Faisal founded a non-profit organization called Letters for Change. The organization focuses on teaching underprivileged Saudi students English. The goal of the organization is to have direct impact within the local community and provide young Saudis with more opportunity. Faisal is very interested in Biology and has interned at both a Cell Biology Laboratory and a Genetics Laboratory. These opportunities allowed him to further discover the field of Biology and provided him with many valuable experiences. Faisal is also passionate about politics and is an active member of Model United Nations. He is a violin player and an avid photographer.

Hashim Bhuktair

Laughter Expert

Hashim was born in Toronto, Canada and is currently 12 years old. He moved to Riyadh when he was about 4 years old. He has been at AIS-R for 7 years and loves it there. Hashim is a passionate golfer and basketball player. He loves music, specifically orchestra music as he plays the viola. His favorite subjects are Math and Humanities. With his Talk, he hopes to prove to you why laughing might just be the answer to all pain.

Lehar Negpal

Women's Rights Activist

Born and brought up in India, Lehar is a Grade 9 student doing her first year as a freshman at AIS-R. She has moved around a lot in India which has made her very fond of travelling with a dream to travel all around the world. She enjoys the limitless array of learning opportunities that have been provided to her over the years to present herself as what she is now. Lehar loves to spend time with her family, friends and her dog. Being a dancer, badminton player, swimmer and a TEDxYouth@AISR speaker, she has seen innumerable women role model who have always inspired her, the first one being her mother. Lehar has always hoped and has achieved whatever she wanted and this time she wants to spread the idea of SHEROS to our own AIS-R community and hopes that the word spreads all around the world.

Malak Ahmed

Dreamer

Malak was born in North Carolina, but moved to Riyadh when she was 3 months old. She is passionate about art, and spends most of her free time creating and sharing her own artwork. When she is not making digital art, she enjoys participating in performing arts. She often choreographs dance and gymnastics routines, which she enjoys performing for her family. Malak seeks any opportunities to share and perform.

Mateo Franco Harrington

War and Peace Researcher + Lifelong Reader

Mateo Franco is from England and Colombia but has lived in Colombia for 1 year, Dubai for 2, and Saudi for 8. His brother in G1. Mateo loves the subject Writers and his favourite special is P.E. In Al Bustan Mateo does different sports, he does Soccer, Swimming, and Tennis. In some parts of his free time he would read. His favourite book is Flying The Dragon and Percy Jackson. Reading has caused Mateo to love it and now he loves reading War books and he love listing to his grandad who used to be in the army and now retired. Reading made him enter TEDx so he can teach everyone about War and how he learnt it from reading and that there's a choice, either choose Peace, or War.

Matthew White

Nature Enthusiast

Matthew White is from Canada and has lived in Canada for 6 years and lived to Saudi Arabia for 5. He is an only child. Matthew loves math. He made it into the math Olympiad team. Matthew also loves Taekwondo and has reached the rank of 1st degree black belt. Matthew wanted to enter Tedx to teach people about the importance of nature.

Maya Shehata

Stereotype Debunker

Maya was born in Cairo, Egypt, and first came to AISR in sixth grade. As a young girl with countless aspirations, AISR felt like a second home, where she felt comfortable to grow as a person and evolve into the character we know today. She has been involved in a variety of different extracurricular activities and sports. Throughout her middle school and high school years, Maya was part of the National Junior Honor Society, Model United Nations, and basketball has been a large part of her life as well. One of her core values is respect, which she aspires to spread through the very talk she will be giving. In addition, Maya enjoys learning about new cultures and experiencing life through someone else’s eyes, which she attempts to execute through reading books and travelling. She also has had an interest in science and politics since she was a kid and also genuinely enjoys photography as it makes her feel as though she can communicate her emotions without the presence of words.

Riya Pant

Researcher on Ways of Thinking

Riya was born in Richmond, Virginia, is 13 years old, and is from 3 different states in India: Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. She has been in AIS-R for 9 years and enjoys the opportunities the school provides for the students. She has a passion for Taekwondo, MUN, and enjoying time with her friends and family. She also enjoys Math and sports such as Table Tennis and Swimming. She believes that people should not judge others unfairly and that everyone’s voices should be heard no matter what they are standing up for.

Samantha Manuel

Expert on Adjusting

Samantha was born in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E, and has grown up there until she moved to Riyadh. She is half American, and half Filipino, but she is also Cajun. She plays the trumpet and the piano, enjoys swimming and badminton, draws, and enjoys writing poetry.

Shinyoung Grace Kim

Language Learner

In her talk, Shinyoung talks about the three steps to learn a second language. Shinyoung, who prefers to be called Grace, was born in Bryan, Texas, and is originally from the Republic of Korea. She has moved to KSA, when she was 5 years old. She enjoys cuddling in a blanket while watching movies, and doing unnecessary challenges, such as making 5000 paper stars. Her hobby is drawing, baking, and debating. She dreams of being the president of Korea, one day.

Siiri Tammisto

Social Media Expert

Siiri was born and raised in Finland, a cold Scandinavian country and she was brought to Saudi Arabia at the age of 10 and is now attending 6th grade in AIS-R with a one year experience of the school from 5th grade. She had a touch with home schooling before attending the school in the KSA and such different environment has created an ability of adjustment in learning fields. Siiri is a part of a swimming team, and her seven years of past experience in basketball has left her interested in following the sport actively. Music in form of any kind is a time killer and a source of passion for her, including the music produced from the clarinet she plays.

Tresa Murphy

Educator, Consultant, and Presenter

Tresa is an enthusiastic, empathetic and inclusive educator. She completed a B.Ed in Special Education in Montreal, Canada and for the past decade she has co-created positive learning experiences for students with learning disabilities from the age of 5 to 19 with like-minded educators. Tresa earned a M.A. in Didactics of Language Learning and has worked as a consultant for the Ministry of Education of Quebec on issues related to the inclusion of students of immigrant origin and second language learners. She has also been a frequent guest speaker in Teacher Education courses at the University of Montreal. Tresa believes that everyone thrives in an inclusive educational environment and challenges you to make your school a more inclusive place.

Yash Shrotriya

Physical Education Advocate + Sports Enthusiast

Yash was born in Bangalore, India and has lived in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and lastly Saudi Arabia. A freshman at AIS-R, he is passionate about reading novels and nonfiction history. He also enjoys playing the drums and trumpet and is part of the school band. Especially important for this year’s talk, he plays sports like swimming, badminton, tennis, basketball, and volleyball. Yash is involved in multiple communities that his ecosystem provide like the Manta Rays Swim Team, Model United Nations, TedEd Club and represents his school in Track and Field, Volleyball, Badminton and Swim Teams. When not involved in the aforementioned activities, he likes to play with friends, play video games, sleep, and dabble in photography. He enjoys trying new things and experiencing cultures, displaying his love for traveling.

Yusef Ahmed

Goal Achiever

Originally from Kannapolis, North Carolina, Yusef Ahmed has been a student at AIS-R since first grade. While at AIS-R, Yusef has had many opportunities: joining the National Junior Honor Society, participating in the Compassion Charter Summit in Jordan, service learning in Romania, and, of course, presenting in TEDxYouth@AISR! As a member of an advanced swim team, Yusef has learned a lot about setting goals and working to achieve them, as he has competed in regional, national, and international competitions.