TEDxYouth@BSN Broke the Mould!

November 7th 2019

Students from the ages of eight to 18, together with staff members and VIPs, took to the stage to share their ‘ideas worth spreading’ on some of the world’s current challenges at The British School in the Netherland’s (BSN) TEDx event on Monday 4 November.

This prestigious occasion, with 17 speakers from across the school community and beyond, saw a day filled with thought-provoking speeches and creative workshops.

Ideas Worth Spreading

VIPs taking part included former Olympic downhill skier, World Cup silver medallist and BSN Alumni Konrad Bartelski, 11-year-old Lilly Platt, an environmental activist (whose mum is also a BSN Alumni!) who spoke to us about how she is changing the world one piece of plastic at a time, and Albert Casals, a bestselling author who has travelled the world in a wheelchair since the age of 15. Ralph Groenheijde, founder of the local Non-Government Organisation, TrashUre Hunt, spoke about how we all have the power to make a difference and keep our environment litter-free.

Standing on the fabled "TED Red Dot" provided a platform from which speakers could talk about an idea they were passionate about, in front of a live audience of approximately 100 at BSN’s Senior School Voorschoten. The event was also live-streamed to 2,300 students across five campuses, and to BSN families and friends across the world!

In total six entertainment acts were interspersed throughout the programme – ranging from a rock band to dramatic performances. Keeping the event flowing (with pizazz!) were our four curated hosts, or ‘MCs’.

Interactive workshops across 5 campuses

As well as speeches, there was a series of interactive workshops open to students, led by external organisations, as well as stalls run by Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) students, who are studying within the school’s International Baccalaureate programme. With themes ranging from International Justice, Genetics, and Rewriting Folklore, to yoga sessions and insect tasting, the goal was to deliver a dynamic and exciting day that informed, inspired and unleashed new ideas.

There were also workshops planned at all of our five campuses, where students celebrated the event through their own ‘Breaking the Mould’ days, focussing on oracy and delving deeper into the themes of the day.

Breaking the Mould

This year’s theme of "Breaking the Mould" followed on from the ideas explored during the 2017 TEDxYouth@BSN event "Big Bold World", focussing on globalisation, the environment, sustainability, technology and education. The day was based on three sessions:

(1) Inspiration (If I could lead for a day)
(2) Identifying Issues (Tackling Tough Truths)
(3) Innovation (An Invitation for Change).

Thank you to our partners

The event was supported by a range of partners, including MEB Rotterdam, TIP Presentation Agency, International Leadership Academy, TrasHure Hunt, Pint of Science, Museon, Dopper, I am Expat, Kapsenberg van Waesberge, ONE, Anti-Loneliness, Aven Kernow Stories Matter and Volunteer The Hague.