YMCA175 is rapidly approaching where thousands of young people, senior leaders and volunteers from across the Movement are set to celebrate 175 years of YMCA in London 4-8 August. One of the event’s premier highlights will be the TED-Ed youth speakers who will be appearing at the daily plenary sessions to speak about issues close to their heart. TED-Ed is the youth and education initiative of TED, a global community committed to the power of ideas. Below is a small sample of what is to come:
Alyssa Alita (Philippines) – Alyssa brings her work expertise as a Social Insurance Officer and CEO to her volunteer role at YMCA – she will talk about the importance of health equity.
Andrew Corley (USA) – Andrew is CEO of Sioux YMCA in South Dakota. He will speak about his passion for empowering young people and communities and how YMCA’s core strategies of healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility are all important components of mental health.
Decontee Eva George (Liberia) – Decontee is a trailblazer when it comes to youth-led change – she will speak about how she founded the Y-Girls Empowerment Initiative, which focuses on identifying and developing the potential of girls and creating a safe environment for meaningful change.
Ellen Ohlhauser (Germany) – Ellen is a human rights activist and volunteer of the International Justice Mission (IJM). She will share how she has been organising events to bring attention to the reality of modern slavery and human trafficking.
 Jerahl Hall (England) – Jerahl will speak about his passion for civic engagement and change; a passion that has led to an active role in developing the YMCA North Staffordshire’s City Youth Ambassador Program, which will select its first 12 local Change Agents in 2020.
Lindsay Martin (Canada) – Earlier this year, Lindsay organised a youth conference focused on leadership through reconciliation and bridging the gap between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Hear from Lindsay (above right) about what she has learnt about the reconciliation process.
Natalie Cheung (England) –Â Natalie is an award-winning volunteer and civil engineer. She will share her passion for promoting opportunities for all in careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
Tom Stephenson (Australia) – Tom is the youngest ever Treasurer and Chair of the Risk and Finance Committee of YMCA Australia. Learn more about how he brings civic engagement to his volunteer work at YMCA.
YMCA175 will present a programme of content tailored to youth leadership that is fun, engaging, dynamic and challenging. There will also be training streams and programme activities relevant to other YMCA groups such as senior leaders, volunteers, retirees and YMCA staff.
The programme will include thought-provoking lectures and interactive workshops, innovative collaborative sessions and open seminars, inspiring keynote speakers, and a broad choice of training and education.
More information on YMCA175 TED-Ed speakers
More information on YMCA175