After holding auditions last month, TEDxYouth in Park City will be held on Thursday.
Usually taking place at the Eccles Center at Park City High School, this year’s event will be a bit different, with the entire program being offered virtually due to ongoing COVID-19 precautions.
Auditions were held in April and the five students set to give talks on Thursday have been honing their presentations over the last month.
TEDxParkCity founder Teri Orr said there were originally 10 students participating in the event, but that list dropped to five for “various reasons.” Orr said the situation only highlights the challenges students and educators have dealt with over the course of the school year.
“It gives me a great deal of empathy for what the teachers, the administrators have been challenged with,” Orr said. “These kids are under tremendous pressure and it’s a pretty confusing time for them.”
The topics for the talks will be wide ranging and Orr said the TEDxParkCity organizers do not tell students what to talk about -- that’s the student’s decision. Subjects in the past have ranged from things that inspire them to more heavy issues like race in a small town like Park City.
Orr said this year will be a nice mix of subjects, and will even include a performance from the PCHS dance team.
“We don’t tell them what to talk about,” she said. “We let them come present their ideas and that’s so much more fun because their ideas are all across the board. We have one student who talks about recycling, specifically with cardboard and the wacky things that he’s done with that. We have one student who plays a Paul Simon song and talks about why it’s relevant today. I’m not going to give them all away.”
The event is free scheduled to begin at 5pm on Thursday. Student presentations are between five and 10 minutes long. The entire program will last about two hours.
More information and the link for TEDxYouth can be found here.
