Audience members find their piece in the African puzzle at TEDxYouth event

Malaika Kironde, DP2, presenting her TEDxYouth talk.On 16 March 2019, the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa held its third annual TEDxYouth event. The event, which was student-led with staff supervisors, welcomed 20 groups, some from the Academy and some external speakers, to present on different topics relating to this year’s theme of, “One in a Billion: A Piece of the Puzzle”.  

“TEDxYouth is passionate work,” said Ryan Herman, one of the organisers of TEDxYouth. “Being a patron for the Academy’s event for the past two years has taught me that time and time again. Our students come from a range of backgrounds and cultures, and the experiences and ideas that our school system teaches them helps them further question, expand and re-interpret. However, platforms and respect for ideas that push the envelope are few and far between at the Coast. As a patron, not only do I see the labour that students put into perfecting a talk that are so close to their hearts, but I also see the passion that drives our students towards wanting to improve their home community, be it sharing ideas or creating a stage for them to be told.”

Osman Varwani, an external speaker, presenting his talk.  

The event was open to people from the Academy as well as the wider Mombasa community. The student committee organising the event spent months preparing for the event through reviewing the speakers, communicating with TED representatives to make sure the event was recorded, securing sponsors and much more. Some students a part of the committee, such as DP1 student Tamara Werle, decided to get involved because of her own TEDxYouth experience. 

Muhaimina Janmohamed, an external speaker, discusses her topic through her talk.“In March 2018 I performed an original spoken word piece at the TEDxYouth event,” Tamara said. “The theme that year was ‘embracing identity’, which perfectly described my journey. It was the most exhilarating experience both on and off stage; interacting with individuals I never talked to before, opening minds of the audience through my piece, and forming connections with the people that made it all possible. I knew from the moment I finished my performance (last year) that I wanted to be a part of the executive team, that I wanted to be the platform for another person to have an experience as wonderful as the one I had, hence when I got the position of performance curator, I was beyond happy.” 

The students, staff members and external guests are looking forward to future TEDxYouth events at the Academy so people can come together and ideas can be shared.

The event was broken into three sessions withboth speakers and performers within each:

Opening performance: Anita Mukomah 

“Single Piece”
I Take a Vow – Ayaan Alarakhia 
Redefining Masculinity – Marco Adriko
Why I Refuse to Be an Elite Expatriate – Catherine Delight
My Space – Gabriella Mukise
18 Years of Dark – Michael Wamaya 
Being Average is Being Extraordinary – Wahaab Jawaid Ali
The Power of Conversations With a One-In-a-Billion Friend – Evelyn Awino 

“Coming Together” 
Mobilizing Technology – Osman Varwani
African ‘Farmers’: The Seeds We Sow – Louis Muia
The Paradox of Identity – Malaika Kironde 
Evolving Seeds – Cinzia Toriani 
The Truth Shall Set You Free – Shouquot Hussain 
I Put a Spell on You – Anais Shalita 

“Complete Puzzle”
For The Love of Stories – Kevin Mwachiro 
Developing Africa, Not Westernizing It – Laiqa Walli 
Let’s Give up on ‘Third Time’s a Charm’ – Muhaimina Janmohamed 
The Essential High School Class That You Didn’t Take – Jai Morjaria 
The Enemy Within: Africa’s Quest for Dignity – Tendai Lewa Mtana

To Build a Home – Martha Mala Mbugi & Neema Mumbi