3 Feabh 2020, 08:54
One of 15 students selected as part of the Houses of the Oireachtas programme commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first Dáil, will represent Ireland at a global TED-Ed event in New York on Saturday, February 8.
Alex Kennedy, from Larkin Community College, Dublin, was one of 15 students from around Ireland who participated in the Oireachtas TED-Ed Club during 2019, at Dublin Castle.
5th-year student Alex spent many hours preparing her presentation both online and in Leinster House as part of 15 TED-Ed Club lessons, under the guidance of Parliamentary Education Officer Conor Reale.
“I’m delighted to have this opportunity after the Houses of the Oireachtas put my and all the Irish TED-Ed talks up for nomination, so to now be one of just twelve talks from around the world nominated is really amazing”, explained Alex.
Alex initially delivered her inspiring TED talk entitled ‘Peel Off The Label’ at the Dáil 100 event last March, and following from that the Oireachtas Education Unit submitted all 15 talks for global recognition.
The judging panel at TED headquarters were blown away by the Oireachtas submission of Alex’s insight into adversity, and this week Alex and her father fly to New York for the TED-Ed Weekend event, a gathering of select students selected from TED-Ed Clubs worldwide.
A TED-Ed Club is a program that supports students in discovering, developing and sharing their ideas in the form of TED-style talks. Students go through TED-Ed's flexible curriculum to develop their presentation and literacy skills to help inspire tomorrow's future leaders.
Alex said: “It’s been a great opportunity, after the Oireachtas event which explored topics such as power of democracy, challenges in mental health services and more, all our presentations were broadcasted on Oireachtas TV, and things just grew from there.”
The trip to the US begins on Thursday when Alex departs Dublin with Saturday’s presentations to be delivered to a potential audience of millions globally through the Ted-Ed website.
Parliamentary Education Officer Conor Reale said: “We are very proud of what Alex has achieved, as are her family, school and community and its been a privilege for the Houses of the Oireachtas to help her progress to the weekends TED-Ed event.
“Alex’s TED-talk is brave, empathetic, intelligent and insightful . Watching her progress to a world stage is a fitting way to commemorate the first hundred years of Dáil Éireann. Alex and her fellow TED participants are our future leaders, and we wish her all the best in New York.”