Despite TEDxYouth now well and truly over for another year, the talent that took the stage at Sydney’s Town Hall were definitely worth remembering. With most speakers at the event under the age of 30, it was incredible to hear and watch some of these inspiring millennials share their research, stories and passions in life. Just like it’s parent event, TEDxYouth brought a bunch of inspiring speakers sharing dangerous ideas that are set to change the world as we know it. These ideas are innovative; they push the boundaries and break former stereotypes. Who knows, maybe you’ll be using one or putting it into practice sometime soon?
#1 Macinley Butson – Transforming Cancer Radiation Treatment
This talented young scientist is only 16, yes I repeat 16, and she has developed a revolutionary tool to help women enduring breast cancer. She has created ‘SMART Armour’, which helps to minimise the effects of radiology and boost moral. SMART stands for Scale Maille Armour for Radiation Therapy, and similarly was used by the ancient Romans as armour, cool right? Well thanks to Macinley’s idea, its implementation “would not only change lives but save them”. Her invention could be used by cancer centres continuously and transform radiation treatment as we know it. Oh, and did I mention she is only 16!
#2 Nick Molnar – Breaking The Millennial Stereotypes
This young entrepreneur is the founder of one of Australia’s fastest growing fintech companies, so he kinda knows what he’s doing. But his dangerous ideas go beyond his innovative approach to business, it’s his rethinking about millennial stereotypes that was strikingly engaging at TEDxYouth. Nick believes that millennials have these things called millemmas (millennial dilemmas) and they are real, flourishing problems that are holding us back. He believes that millennials aren’t lazy and disloyal by rather “vocally loyal to brands that deserve their support”. We are now the bosses and the world is trusting us with their future. Damn straight Nick, damn straight.
#3 Tilly Lawless – Breaking The Stigmas Around Sex Workers In Australia
Breaking down the stigmas surrounding sex workers is a dangerous mission, but Tilly is on the forefront for the fight in Australia. With such polarising opinions on the line of work across the world, Tilly brings life, passion and a little humour to her field of work and humanises sex workers in a unique and powerful way. What is particularly special about Tilly is that she recognises that as a white woman she still holds a certain position of privilege in her line of work and makes that apparent. One of the most daring speakers of the day, Tilly posed some dangerous ideas about how we view sex workers and the industry; the importance of it’s legalisation across the world and the safety of in working in numbers.
#4 Maria Tran – Bringing Women To The Forefront Of Martial Arts Movies
The Australian born Vietnamese actress broke all the boundaries when it comes to female stereotypes in martial arts movies. Rather than being portrayed as the damsel in distress, Maria’s films ‘dangerously’ place her female characters centre stage. Passionate about culturally diverse and gender diverse filmmaking, Maria’s dream was always to meet Jackie Chan. So decided to create a documentary doing just that (no spoiler here, you’ll have to see if she does yourself). She proves that women have the power and strength to be front and centre of martial arts movies. Hell yeah!
#5 Ivan Zelich – Invented A New Maths Theorem That Works Faster Than A Computer
At the ripe age of 17, Ivan co-developed a ground breaking mathematical theorem that works faster than a computer. Don’t know about you, but I definitely wasn’t doing anything close to inventing new mathematical formulas at 17. Ivan’s dangerous delve into the world of maths is set to change the way in which we teach mathematics in Australia. Rather than teaching kids to find the set answers to the question, he says that we must challenge the maths knowledge we already have. His dangerous ways of thinking have placed him miles ahead of the game, now completing a fast tracked undergrad degree at the University of Queensland.
Image Source: TEDx Sydney.
