Sydney’s flagship TED talk event will be filling the city with knowledge on Friday May 24, but yesterday, the young people of Sydney took the reins at TEDxYouth@Sydney. It’s like TEDxSydney’s precocious younger brother, with all the speakers and performers aged between 15 and 30. And what was on the cards? Fixing humanity’s biggest problems, of course.
The speakers all brought their expert knowledge and personal experiences to the table to investigate the theme ‘cusp’, discussing the actions, ideas and players present in a society on the precipice of change. Here are five ways they will make a better future.
1. They’ll use their curiosity to develop creative solutions to global problems
Photograph: Jim Moustakas
Angelina Arora invented a biodegradable, toxin-free plastic when she was ordering fish and chips for lunch. Well, that’s where it all started.
The year 12 student began her TED talk with a question: why don’t we ask more questions? She pointed out that as children, we’re constantly investigating things because we want to understand the big weird world, but as adults, we limit our curiosity because we are afraid we’re asking the wrong questions.
So when Arora was considering how to make a durable, biodegradable plastic, she didn’t stop herself from asking if a pile of discarded prawn tails at a fish and chip shop, with their translucent, plastic-like quality, might be the answer. The short of it is that it wasn’t a crazy question. When Arora got back to the lab, she found that a protein strain in the shells combined with fibroin – the sticky silk extracted from silkworms – created the material she was looking for.
“The best out-of-the-box thinking happens when you’re not looking for it,” she said of her fishy eureka moment. Her creation, which has the potential to be applied to all kinds of plastic products, breaks down in 33 days and releases nitrogen into the earth, which nourishes soil and plants. She’s now developing it to be used medically, so the next time you get stitches, they could be made of crustacean bits that would otherwise have only seen the bottom of a bin.
“And all this," she said, "from one fried lunch.”
2. They’ll work towards equality by championing diversity through storytelling
The narratives we tell about our society not only reflect the importance we place on certain ideas and groups, but they have significant consequences for individuals. “I was scared to be gay because the only examples I had to go off would lead to humiliation,” said photographer and filmmaker James J Robinson, talking about his experience of coming out and the role of LGBTQIA representation in the media.
Originally from Melbourne, he has now made New York his home, and at 23 has worked for major clients like The New York Times and Vogue Australia. Robinson shoots in poetic realism, which involves capturing images of people in everyday situations “to amplify the beauty that already exists in these places”. In his talk, he showed impressive images of his Filipino aunty wielding a chainsaw on the beach and two of his queer friends in a passionate embrace.
Robinson said it’s his prerogative to bring these kinds images to the fore, as well as champion diversity behind the lens to tell truer stories of our world. “Without genuine diversity, we’re teaching young queer kids that they’re invisible,” he said, recognising similar experiences of people with disability or those facing economic disadvantages. “If someone comes across my work and feels just a little more comfortable in their skin, then I’ve done my job.”
Similarly, interdisciplinary artist Moreblessing Maturure said in her talk, “the grounding principle of whiteness is invisibility.” She warned that through telling and retelling stories with a narrow cultural lens, we’re asserting this dominance through a perceived normality.
The Zimbabwean Australian was a powerful presence on stage, and was able to draw on her wealth of experiences in theatre, involvement in the comedy drama series Afro Sistahs, and role as founder and creative director of Folk Magazine, a publication showcasing Australian artists of colour.
Photograph: Jim Moustakas
“The stories we tell ourselves are powerful and should be wielded responsibly,” she said, talking about the barriers many minorities come up against in accessing the arts. Maturure pointed out that the ‘bold’ reproductions we see of Shakespeare’s classics are made for the elite: “the older, whiter and wealthier – the holy trinity.”
“I’m tired of fighting for a seat at this table” she said. “Those on the periphery, we’re making our own table.”
And how can you contribute to that table? Maturure’s suggestion is “instead of having hope, individually create hope” – read, watch and contribute to diverse stories.
3. They’ll use adverse circumstances and societal limitations to their advantage
Jean Hinchliffe is a 15-year-old climate activist, and one of the key organisers behind the School Strike 4 Climate. The eloquent young speaker was eager to point out that the strike, which saw more than 150,000 young Australians rally in support of climate action on March 15, is just one example of many similar endeavours. “When young people talk about the climate and how it relates to us, it is personal,” she said, talking about the environmental future today’s children will inherit.
Using this motivation, Hinchliffe said, “We created a totally unprecedented example of youth power.” And with growing numbers bolstering support for the cause, she sees a positive, youth-led outlook. “When you can’t vote, action is all you have.”
Connor McLeod was another speaker at TEDxYouth who shared this kind of tenacious energy. We didn’t expect to appreciate jokes told by a 17 year old, but McLeod delivered his talk with joyful and self-aware humour, referencing his pragmatic parents who would tell him to clean his room, saying, “You may be blind, son, but your legs aren’t painted on.”
Photograph: Supplied
Thanks to this practical support system, McLeod, who’s been blind from birth, knew he had to make his own way in the world. So at 12, he decided to tackle a problem he knew would impact his independent adult life: using currency.
Before the new five dollar bank note was introduced in 2016, Australia’s currency was not accessible for people with vision impairment. Instead of having tactile banknotes, a paper money measuring card was available – the clumsiness of which McLeod demonstrated on stage. “I don’t want to be measuring money, I want to be counting it,” he said, pointing out that tactile notes already exist in countries like Canada, Thailand and Brazil.
So McLeod began the process of collecting 57,000 signatures through a change.org petition supporting the implementation of tactile banknotes, gained bi-partisan support from the government for the initiative, got backing from the Human Rights Commission and Vision Australia, and after multiple rejections, convinced the Royal Bank of Australia to add tactile signifiers to the national currency.
That’s a pretty solid effort for high school kid.
4. They’ll learn their limits, and share their self-drawn maps to success (and failure)
Photograph: Jim Moustakas
When it comes to alternative career paths, Ally McLean has a treasure map of experiences. After moving to Sydney with a boyfriend, starting uni and getting a retail job, she quit all three within six months. In the years that followed, she reached international peaks of success and deep burnout troughs, and is now a video game developer and the CEO of the Working lunch, which is a mentoring organisation supporting underrepresented people in gaming and tech industries.
How did she get here? She said it really started with a “FILDI moment – fuck it let’s do it.”
McLean told the TEDxYouth audience that her true love was the internet, specifically cosplay, and she got more involved in those communities under her cosplay alias Eve Beauregard. Then the FILDI moment: she started getting jobs as a professional cosplayer with games companies, working at conventions and talking about video games around the globe.
“I was holding myself to ridiculously high expectations,” she said, and after a while, the fast-paced lifestyle and cultural issues within the male-dominated industry took their toll. The burnout began and McLean called it quits. Again.
But a love for cosplay communities brought her back to the video game world and she eventually moved into the game development industry. It’s not an industry renowned for its equal gender representation or having a fabulous work-life balance, and McLean again found herself feeling depleted and demoralised.
“I was throwing myself into a meat grinder and hoping it would treat me differently to the rest of the meat.”
So how did she fight her way free from the sausage machine? By supporting more women and other underrepresented groups in their entry into the industry through the Working Lunch. Now, McLean travels the world sharing all this hard-won insight into finding and following your path, and overcoming difficult circumstances without destroying your professional enthusiasm, because “the cure for millennial burnout is not a better you, it’s a better world.”
5. They’ll give anything a go
Photograph: Jim Moustakas
If there was any way to prove the curiosity and drive of Sydney’s youth to change the face of our society, it would be the TEDxYouth@Sydney ‘Faster Ideas’ talks. It’s a nervous sweat-inducing section of the conference where audience members are invited to pitch an idea in 30 seconds and are judged through a very technical clap-loudness measure.
Yesterday seven brave contestants got up for the Shark Tank-style pitches, and talked about everything from modern masculinity to upholding local artistic initiatives, global resource challenges and the power of music in spreading a positive message. We even scored an impromptu song written and performed by a local high school student. Standing ovations were plentiful and we give them ultimate snaps for their courage.
Keen for more knowledge? Head to some of the other talks and discussions happening in Sydney.
Check out our Sydney Writers’ Festival highlights for more far-reaching insights.