TEDxYOUTH@DAIS

Adorned with red shards, lightning bolts and light bulbs, the Centre for the Performing Arts looked radiant. Eager to hear the new ideas being shared on this prestigious platform, the crowd buzzed with excitement. The lights dimmed, and our hosts Arjun Shukla and Pranav Gupta marked the start of an insightful event.

The event began with a screened talk by Daniel Kish, a blind man who learned to see and navigate the world through echolocation and sonar. True to his moniker, the ‘remarkable Batman’, he demonstrated how just clicking could allow him to see the world around him in his unique talk. This screening had left the audience spellbound as they began to ease into the quintessential TEDx atmosphere—a platform where imagination met reality.

Our first speaker, Abhinav Aggarwal, a DAIS alumnus and co-founder of Fluid AI, shed light upon the advent of Artificial Intelligence—a field that has opened multiple new doors across industries. With his interactive demonstration of how AI can be used in fields such as banking to buying a new home, or even talking to Warren Buffet, he left the audience spellbound as they got a sneak-peek into the future.

Next, Ritu Verma, co-founder and Managing Partner at Ankur Capital, illuminated us with her views on social entrepreneurship. With a PhD in Phsyics and an MBA, she integrates the two, bringing innovative technologies from the lab to the market. Her engaging ideas highlighted the strength of start-ups.

Bringing out an obvious yet unnoticed idea—that everyone has their own inherent filter and bias that makes their perspective unique and different— Vivek Pandit, the next speaker, discussed the need to reduce our subconscious biases to create a more egalitarian society. His psychologically stimulating talk left us all thinking about the biases we possess without realising it.

After the refreshing break, Sheila Kanungo, a commonwealth medallist in rifle shooting discussed the common views lacing guns and how the reality of the sport of shooting requires patience and tranquillity and is far from the dangers and negativities it is associated with. Her talk enlightened us about the various opportunities available in the sporting world; opportunities that are not obstructed by any gender barriers.

Our next talk was by a screened speaker discussing the ‘dangers of a single story’. With her experience in literature and the reactions people had towards her as an African, Chimamanda Adichie talked about the misconceptions that people have due to the biases they harbour. Her intriguing talk made us reconsider the judgements we make and encouraged us to see the whole picture, not the just the aspects the media shows.

Our last speaker was the much-awaited Niyoshi Parekh, our very own student from DAIS and the youngest established poet in the poetry scene in Mumbai. Exceeding all expectations, her poetry performance through her talk about art has undoubtedly inspired us. A perfect end to the evening, her talk left us thinking about the powers of art.

The event was successful and the TEDx Core Team, exhausted but content, felt a sense of great pride knowing that the event has left the audience a little brighter, a little wiser and a little more inspired. We hope that next year’s TEDx event will be even more eye-opening as it spreads more ideas to the world!

TEDx CORE TEAM, 2017