TEDx inaugural conference
The High School will become the first secondary school in Ireland to host an official TEDx conference which will take place at The Reynolds Hall on Saturday 18 April between 12.00 pm and 4.00 pm. The HSD Ted-Ed Club secured a licence from the prestigious global innovation platform before inviting a range of internal and external speakers to address the conference which will follow the same format as talks given on www.ted.com. The event is being organised by seven pupils from The High School - namely, Jason Cosgrove (5DT), Grainne Dowling (4B), Ellen Galvin (4HE), Kate Hunter-Hanley (5IW), Abigail Nolan (4HE), Aela O’Flynn (4B), and Alannah O’Reilly (5IW) - supported by a media team consisting of Ethan Jones (5LR), Kirsty Leith (5TP), and Conor Ryan (5RH) who will record the event on the day.
The external speakers are as follows:
· Mary Aiken; Director of the RCSI CyberPsychology Research Centre
· Colm O’Gorman; founder of One in Four, former senator, and current executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland
· Dr Gary McDarby; CTO of Fifth Province Ventures and Co-founder of Camara
· Jillian Godsil; past pupil and former European Parliament candidate
· Jane-Anne McKenna; Director of Médecins Sans Frontières, Ireland
· Mark Griffin; junior doctor, writer, and director
· Lucy Masterson; co-founder of Hireland and Director of Innovation at Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
· Chupi Sweetman-Pell; Irish jeweller and entrepreneur
There will also be five internal speakers who completed auditions within the school to speak at the event - namely, Ifedayo Akinsuli (5LC), Emily Clinch (1S), Ben Scallan (5RH), Jack Scollard (5DT), and Sarah Webb (1S) - whose topics will range from sport and science to feminism and sociology. Tickets for TEDx TheHighSchoolDublin are available on a first-come, first-sold basis at a cost of €15 for adults and €10 for pupils via the official event’s email address: tedxhighschool@gmail.com. Admission is strictly limited to 100 people. However, a range of digital material associated with TEDx TheHighSchoolDublin will be posted online after the event.
Mr E Keegan and Ms S Garnett