That's A Wrap: Our 2022 Event

Hi everyone! This past April, our team held our third TEDx conference. This year, our virtual conference theme was Breaking Barriers, which focused on defying the “norms” of society. Moreover, it encompassed many ideas related to impact and change. Our audience was encouraged to take our speakers’ messages to heart and use them to help break barriers of their own.

Once again, our team worked with REC Philly to produce this amazing conference. We would like to thank them for all of their hard work in helping to make this event a reality!

The Breaking Barriers conference featured 7 speakers that came from all over the country. They spoke about a variety of topics, ranging from the impact of food to the connection between schools and the community.

Carolina Rial, one of our speakers and an 18-year-old singer/songwriter, highlighted her experiences with social media. Prior to coming to the TEDxYouth@Berwyn stage, Carolina was a contestant on the 20th season of The Voice. During her talk, she shared her experiences with hurtful comments on social media after her premiere on the show. She spread an inspiring message: do what you love no matter what, and always remember who you are.

Another one of our speakers, Kiana Estevez is a veteran of the hospitality industry. Through sharing various cultural foods and educating people about them, Kiana is dedicated to empowering kids to step outside of their comfort zones. In her talk, Kiana explored how food can become a way to communicate love and care.

Through our event, we were able to connect with so many individuals and spread positive ideas among them. As our event was virtual, we were able to reach many outside of our local community as well. We are so thankful for the opportunity to make an impact, and the topics discussed at our event are prominent in the world today. We hope that the talks led to engaging discussions and that the audience felt empowered afterwards.

In future conferences, we hope to further inspire youth to engage in events that unite diverse people and celebrate strides made within our community. We are excited to see what the next year will bring!