TEDxGVAGrad in the News
Geneva Graduate Institute (Source)
STUDENTS & CAMPUS | 20 March 2023
TEDxGVAGrad: A NEW NAME, A SOPHOMORE YEAR
“On 25 March, TEDxGVAGrad will host its second annual event with a new theme and a new name. Master students Chiara Valenti (TEDxGVAGrad Project Manager) and Sara Lafontaine (TEDxGVAGrad Co-Head of Communications) share emerging ideas from this year's Talks and how Institute students play a crucial role.
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This is TedxGVAGrad's second year, an event entirely organised and managed by students from the Institute. The event explores "the diversity of the Geneva Graduate Institute and Geneva as an international hub". How does TedxGVAGrad achieve this?
This year’s edition of TEDxGVAGrad truly takes full advantage of the diversity offered by both the Institute and Geneva by tapping into the wide range of expertise, interests and thematics that these communities offer and foster. Diversity is apparent in the vast range of fields our external speakers operate in, as well as the different programmes being pursued by the Institute’s student speakers. Our selection of performances this year have ventured further into Geneva’s different artistic and cultural ecosystems, with performances from all different corners of the world. We’re really excited to be able to offer this prestigious platform of expression and storytelling to such a distinct group of people, and even more enthusiastic that our community has the opportunity to take part in it both as organisers and audience members.
This year's theme is "Rethink Realities". What perspectives will this theme encourage?
We had a lot of different ideas when brainstorming this year’s theme. Last year’s theme came on the coattails of the COVID-19 pandemic and the multiple different calls for “A Dawn of a New Era”. Talks were focused on innovation and steps forward. Our aim this year was to build on this theme not necessarily through innovation, but by challenging the status quo. Many of us at the Institute strive to deconstruct and dismantle hierarchies, knowledge structures and histories through our research and studies. As such, we are often faced with the realisation that it is not enough to innovate to address long-standing issues. Often, the very foundations upon which issues and solutions are based need to be dissected and rethought first. Thus, we need to “Rethink Realities”. This year’s topics will challenge preconceived notions across different sectors and fields of study to re-envision possibilities for the future.
Could you explain a bit about the Student Corner?
The purpose of the Student Corner is to offer Geneva Graduate Institute students the opportunity to present their own stories, experiences and studies on TEDx’s global platforms. It is a very competitive and demanding process, however, it is also an invaluable learning opportunity. In preparation for the big day, different workshops on distilling messages, script writing and public speaking were provided by Dr Susan Laverick (Laverick Consulting Genève). These workshops allowed students to acquire skills that will help them far beyond their participation in TEDxGVAGrad. Finally, the students will be delivering their speeches alongside guest speakers to allow them to play an equally significant role in the event.
If there was one outcome you would like to see from this event, what would it be?
For continued interest from both the students and administration in this initiative. This event wouldn’t be possible without both of these groups. The administration allows us to tap into the Institute's resources, facilities and personnel to create an event that is truly one-of-a-kind. But, this event wouldn’t be what it is without the students behind the scenes.
The TEDx initiative is one of the biggest on campus, with over 20 students in five different teams working together. From sponsorships, to communications, to logistics, to the acquisition of speakers and performers, students are responsible for every aspect of the event and have been working since October to make it a reality. Our hope is that all those involved found it to be an enriching experience that they would like to continue, and that the students who attend on 25 March are inspired to take part in its organisation next year. And, of course, we hope the audience feels inspired to rethink their realities and that our message reaches a global audience through the TEDx platform.”
https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/communications/news/tedxgvagrad-new-name-sophomore-year
The Graduate Press | 30 March 2022
Reflection on TEDxIHEID 2022: The Dawn of a New Era
By Mariam Kerfai
“Over recent years, especially these last two, communities all around the world have been witnessing unprecedented times. An unprecedented digital age. An unprecedented pandemic. An unprecedented rate of climate change. Unprecedented shifts in geopolitics. The list goes on. Within this context, on March 26th, 2022, the TEDxIHEID team harnessed the unprecedented nature of our times, along with an eclectic and passionate group of guest speakers from various professional backgrounds and walks of life, to deliver an inspiring and thought-provoking conference about hope. Together, they showcased their music, dance, and ideas on how to approach science and technology, sustainability, the arts, as well as health in this new era…”
Geneva Graduate Institute (Source)
STUDENTS & CAMPUS | 10 March 2022
TEDx COMES TO THE GENEVA GRADUATE INSTITUTE,
THANKS TO ITS STUDENTS
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“In May 2021, Gaya Raddadi, Silvia Ecclesia, Marta Quadrini Mosca Moschini and Conrad Otto Lude formed TEDxIHEID, a grassroots student initiative with support from the Graduate Institute Student Association (GISA), to share “ideas worth spreading”.
The team currently counts 24 student volunteers, both first and second year masters students, that represent multiple departments and a wide variety of backgrounds.
Why did you decide to organise a TEDx at the Graduate Institute?
The Graduate Institute has a long tradition of nurturing future leaders from a highly international student base. In the same spirit, we have witnessed students increasingly taking agency of what they wish to learn, unlearn and relearn, both in personal and professional spheres. With this in mind, we decided to organise TEDxIHEID as a platform to voice our community’s imagination of the coming era.
Located in the heart of the international Geneva, the Institute frequently engages with international organisations, NGOs, governments and multinational companies, truly at the centre of a multicultural hub that allows us to invite speakers and performers from an incredibly wide range of sectors and backgrounds - and we could not think of a more ideal setting for hosting a TEDx event that enshrines that community-driven circulation of inspiration and innovative ideas.
What is the theme and what is the goal of this TEDx?
Our theme for the TEDxIHEID 2022 conference is “The Dawn of A New Era”, which combines many of the changes that we have witnessed both globally as a society and within the Institute’s community as well.
Our goals for this event are threefold:
Firstly, we wanted to provide an event that is an inclusive space for all voices - both within and outside our university. In accordance with the core values of TEDx, our aim was to create a platform where innovative ideas can be brought forward, regardless of gender, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation.
Secondly, we wanted to empower our students’ voices as the voices of tomorrow. With this in mind, we have created the Student Corner - a parallel event to the main conference - where a number of selected students are invited to spread their ideas, their work, from all the disciplines offered at our university, thereby tapping into the amazing potential of our student body to provide a deeper understanding of our world.
Lastly, we hope to start a legacy that can continue at the Institute for the years to come, as we are certain that there are many more "ideas worth spreading" that could arise from such a melting pot of backgrounds and cultures. We look forward to seeing how TEDxIHEID flourishes in the future, with a new influx of stimulating themes, talks and performances!”