CENTRE FOR LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION

TEDxEdUHK 2019: A Triumphant Success

Seven speakers from all walks of life shared talks related to the theme of “(Dis)connected” at TEDxEdUHK 2019 on the afternoon of April 13, 2019 at a packed hall of the Education University of Hong Kong.

The first speaker was Lovepreet Kaur, who shared her talk about “The Numbing Effect of Technology”, inspiring us with her message of taking some time offline to regain our relationship with our emotions. Kaur’s strikingly personal message found itself echoed in a talk by Lavine Hemlani, the founder and CEO of Xccelerate, who stated the importance of taking a step back from societal expectation, and find your aspirations in yourself by enabling yourself with the skills necessary to achieve them, calling his talk “Empowering the Workforce of the Future”. Shveitta Sharma’s talk, “Disconnect: Listening to Your Inner Voice”, taught us about the universal struggle for happiness through the story of her School of Happiness, reciting the mantra, “Happiness is a choice!”. Justin Santini, president of Hong Kong Sacred Spaces Society, brought this idea of connection to the outside world, by expressing a need for developing a sense of ownership and respect towards Hong Kong heritage and historical sites in his talk “Perfecting the Art of In-person Events”; an opportunity to connect to a preserved past, open to all people regardless of cultural or ethnic background. Living in this outside world, the same sense of decay and neglect was felt by Joy Huo, whose concern for the excess of plastic suffocating the environment was contagious through her talk about how she came about establishing her zero waste online shop, BasicYeh, teaching us to “Reconnect with Nature and Ourselves”. Taking care of our environment also comes with the people we share it with. Emma Buchtel, professor of social psychology at the Education University of Hong Kong, presented her talk, “Connecting Across Cultures”, a call for social mindfulness and an understanding of moral relativism in cultures, and how that should not be a basis of alienation. This same alienation was warded off by Eric Yau, founder of Beach Volleyball Hong Kong who used sport as a way to connect across cultures and language barriers put up between him, his colleagues, his family, and even his love interests!

Annie Yung, an English major from the University, visualised each speaker’s essence on her drawing. Connections, and subsequently disconnections, run through and around all of us at every given moment; as time passes in a blur, there are pockets of clarity where we find ourselves belonging and revelling in it.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to all the speakers for their inspiring talks, to all participants for their exuberant participation, to the Organizing Team and student helpers for their passion and true professionalism, and to everyone who has lent a hand in making this event a fruitful success. Congratulations to all!

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