On the evening of 11 April, TEDx MGCI Youth came to life at Marc Garneau CI. From 5 PM to 7:15 PM, five speakers gave twenty-minute talks relating to this year’s keynote: “Bold Ideas, Bright Futures.” The theme was designed to foster diversity and creativity in the talks and encourage people to think outside traditional boundaries.

TEDx MGCI is a youth-led event that takes after esteemed TEDx events. It features professors, entrepreneurs, and student speakers who aim to educate and inform young people by giving a platform for interesting and distinctive topics. It serves as a forum to network and meet other TED event leaders.

The evening commenced with Victor Jiang, a Grade 10 student at MGCI as he gave his talk: “I Talked To A Random Person Every Spare Lunch I Had.” It was then followed by the event’s first guest speaker, Lucas Vespoli. His talk “How To Change Your Life With A Single Decision” used his expertise in business and neuroscience to deep dive into the science of decision-making. The next speaker was Vandana Puranik, a marketer, innovator, and strategist, who builds businesses and helps solve impossible problems. A Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and international speaker, Ms. Puranik sought to transform the way people think with her “The One Skill That Has The Power To Change Everything” talk. This was followed by a ten-minute intermission from 6:15 to 6:25 where guests were able to network and talk with the speakers. The next speaker was writer, editor, and certified life coach Teresa Greco, who gave her talk about “Self Love: The Ultimate Happiness Hack,” and was followed by Grade 11 Student Andy Sun who closed the program with his “How To Stop Finding Your Passion” talk. After closing notes were presented, the event came to an end.

TEDx MGCI Youth served as an event to promote innovation and exploration with the inspirational talks presented by each wonderful speaker. Not only did it offer attendees a chance to listen to inspirational keynotes from renowned professional speakers, but also a chance to hear from students at MGCI concerning topics dear to them.