Theme: (Un)conventional

Going with the flow and sticking to norms is easy. But what happens when individuals break out of these norms? Groundbreaking things happen. It might have been groundbreaking only for the individual, but if their story is shared to an audience, perhaps there can be a ripple effect and others’ lives can be changed for the better as well. Hence, TEDxYouth@AISD2023 is about providing a platform to celebrate such instances where individuals have step out of their comfort zones. On the other hand, some people may have experienced times where conforming with norms or adding a small spin to conventions turned out better than they expected. We also want to recognize such instances so that our audience does not only get a single story about attitudes with which to approach conventions.

Many in the AISD community are global citizens themselves: most speak multiple languages, hold multiple passports, and/or have lived in different countries. Each of us has had a unique experience with changes in culture, some having gone through culture shock and some still going through culture shock. While this is only one aspect of a person, we all have our own stories to tell about adapting to a new setting—and thus, in at least one way, we are all “(un)conventional”.

American International School Dhaka
12 United Nations Road
Dhaka, Dhaka, 1212
Bangladesh

Araf Malik

Student

Araf Malik is currently a sophomore at the American International School Dhaka. He is immensely interested in learning more about the forex market and specially how the forex market is influenced by economic news in the short term and he is an advocate for all currencies and their values to be determined by the market and not by central banks. In his free time, Araf Malik watches Netflix documentaries and likes to play cricket.

Arib Malik

A high school freshman, amateur stock investor and coder.

Arib Malik was initially beset by issues with time management. Yet, with a steadfast determination to overcome this obstacle, he embarked upon a journey of introspection. After considering various time management strategies, Arib stumbled upon the Pomodoro Technique, which revolutionised his approach to time management. Through the implementation of the Pomodoro Technique, Arib has been able to maintain a high level of efficiency and organisation, not only in his academic pursuits but also in his interests, which entails coding and trading stocks. By breaking down his tasks into focused intervals of work, followed by brief periods of rest, Arib has been able to consistently achieve his goals and stay ahead of demanding school work and extracurricular activities. A testament to his tenacity and drive, Arib's experience with the Pomodoro Technique has allowed him to overcome the inherent difficulties of time management and master the art of effective and efficient work.

Baldwin Chen

Student

Baldwin Chen is a junior at AISD, who has spent the past 3 years chasing his unconventional dream of building a rocket engine. Having lived most of his life without anything significant in mind, he stumbles upon rocketry and embarks on a whole new journey of challenges and struggles. From a small spark of interest, his passion turned into his dream. From building sugar propellants at home as a completely clueless kid, he now has his own hybrid engine setup used for research.

Edward Banks

World History + Global Politics teacher at AISD

Kaj Overlie

Student

Kaj Overlie is a junior at the American International School of Dhaka, where he has attended school for the last 8 years.

Kalim Khan

High school math teacher

Mr Kalim is a highly dedicated Math Teacher with more than 13 years of teaching experience in high school and middle school environments in Malaysia, UAE and Bangladesh. Currently serving as the HS Math teacher at AISD. Expertise ranges from mathematics and computer science to music.

Kelley Taylor

Secondary music teacher + founder of Dhaka Classics

Ms. Taylor originally grew up in Houston, Texas. She began her teaching career at a small district in Arkansas where she taught for three years. Then, spent the next fifteen years in Garland, Texas, a suburb of Dallas where she was honored with Teacher of the Year in 2011. In 2014 she moved to China where she enjoyed living and teaching at Shanghai American School for two years. While in China she founded and directed the Shanghai International Symphonic Band, a volunteer community band. In 2016 she moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where she taught secondary band and choir at GEMS American Academy Abu Dhabi for two years. She currently resides in Dhaka, Bangladesh where she teaches secondary band and guitar classes at the American International School Dhaka. She also enjoys conducting Cantemus, a local community choir, and serves as the musical director of Dhaka Classics.

Leandro Pignani

Student

Having grown up in Switzerland, Myanmar, Egypt and Bangladesh, the third (or maybe we should say sixth) culture kid, Leandro Pignani, was born in the Swiss city of Lausanne to a Swiss mother and an English-Italian father. Leandro spent the first six years of his life as a “Lausannois” until his mother received a life changing job offer- one that entailed an overseas move. His mother was now a Swiss diplomat. He lived the next four years in Myanmar, four after that in Egypt, and now resides in the South-East Asian country of Bangladesh for his final four years abroad before university. A childhood plunged in different cultures, chock full of wildly varied and interesting people and new experiences provided him with a colorful upbringing whose value is undeniable. Today, Leandro is sixteen years old and preparing for his International Baccalaureate at the American International School of Dhaka.

Neil Mukherjee

Composer, performer, producer, song writer, educator

Neil Mukherjee is a guitarist, award-winning music composer, and producer from Kolkata. A grade eight classical guitarist from Trinity College of Music, London, with simultaneous training in Carnatic classical and Dhrupad. Former member of Kolkata rock band Krosswindz, and current member of NeilMukho. Music composer and lyricist of cult album Path Gechhe Bñeke. Neil has over twenty-five years of experience in Bollywood and Tamil film music industry, and has worked with leading Indian music directors which include the likes of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and AR Rahman. Neil Mukherjee’s musical repertoire consists of two distinct categories: the first one is solely of a composer/instrumentalist, and the second is that of a songwriter/singer/music producer. He currently lives and works in Mumbai as a music composer/producer and session guitar player for the advertising and film industry. Neil is also an instrument and guitar playing technique innovator.

Nuh Yaseen

Student

Mohammad Nuh Yaseen is a native Bangladeshi. He is 17 years old and currently an 11th grader at American International School Dhaka.

Younes Jalali

Retired energy industry professional and published author

Younes Jalali is a retired energy industry professional and published author (Polymath in Interwar Berlin, Palgrave, 2019) and was formerly an Assistant Professor at Stanford University. He was born in Iran, raised in the US, and had an international career in Europe and Asia. He now lives in Dhaka with his wife (Mrs. Rezika Jalali) who teaches French at AISD.