TEDx youth group aims to motivate other teens in

Sace

Nikkisa Abdollahi started nonprofit so

kids could go beyond 'viral cat videos.'
gY JOSEPX

Newport Hill Scbooi Beich, "He motivated me togo out in tbe world and do something'
arD'thing."

IrnmediatelY after that conJerence. Rohani said he signed uP to become part of the Youth cowcil of

Rt{Citil

TED:iYouthBomercmYon, a lo
cal vouth affiliate of TED. the commmitY md help shre sprd idess," Rohui.said'

ORANCE COUNTY REGISTER

Itlilad Rohui sat etraptured,'

listening Young Person soeakine before him 'emai tftu, a l6-Yeu+ld Phi-

"i wmted io get

involved with

md

to the

lanthropist from Utah, was giving a speech aboui how he started organlzation, Bags to Riches, at a TBDxYouthBomer0anYon conference in Orange Couty lasi Year.

tertaiment,
ROD VEAL, ORAI{GE COUN'Y REGISTER

TED volunteer Milad Davld ltsaver, left, ot snn Juan caplstrano 'nd art show Tuesdav'

i"i*i'1"-J
"Here
1

Seing Khm sPeak Pasionately about his nonprofit, which recY#s unwanted conference bags

"riliir,"

TgDxYouthBommetcanvon qlder

awoke something inside Rohani'

,nd donates themto those in need,

I5' md just listening to this guy who wm onlY a Ye*

ws,

thu me, doing great things made me ask. 'What m I doing?' " saitl Rohai, now 16 and a junior at

TED stmdsforTechnoloS4'En-' Desigrr. TED md le cal TEDx conferences rye mual idea-spreading events knom for their iNpiring talks ftom innovators, entrepfenem ad other ne table speakers. TEDxYouih8ommerCml'on'
SEg IEDX

'

'

PACE 6

THE CURRENl

TEDX
rNOII
based
PAGE I

YOIGEg

TEDx youth
generalion
laveens

in lruine, md other
afftliates

around the world are going

lounger and reaching out, hoping to inspire the next

of

leaders:

md teens.

listeuing to ll'ED talks when rve were younger how much that might have changed oul life's trajectorY," said Nikkisa Abdollahi, the

"Just imagine

ifre

were lGsra Llkan mak33. slqn lor "Mln t the GaP" art erhlblt.

th.

produced by local chlldrn LAB A,*t*lt browse uorks ot .rt ffi w83 put otr bY nonProllt TEDxYouthgommarcanyon' i"ii.i tii. i'rt"

ind

""""t

Aloat l$rn ls the 16' vesr:old foundtr of 6aqs ioRlches,. nonprotlt orEanizEtlon lhat dilates exiess cmference bbgs tothe 163 tortunate. .KhaniPole
IEDXYBC

lbunder of TEDxYBC. it'6 the only'l'EDx Youth grouP

in Orange CountY, she said.

The mother
bo-us, AbdolJahi

of

three
she

book whY cant i do' somethhE? th day of not belnE able to haw a blq imPact arelong gone,"
he

'lf ! tid Fnatarl-ftce

4ent lait ieEr

{lhe

said

mld.

fouded TEDxYBC in 2011 after listening to a TED

talk. She wanled to expose her boys, ages 11, I sd 7 at the time. io something difierert from "Chulie bit mY luger ot viral cal videm,"
she said,

She managed

to find

video and in the Process came to ihe realization thal nost TED taiks do not cater to a teen audience'

vsFold hlp'hop daN9r

ilor.qln th.i,ls,a

12".

With no oPerience, she contacted TED and asked to become a TEllx Youth
organizer. ln the "WLrY do You want

end mgmber cl Drag' mBallg dance .cres Slea spoke at the TEDXYBC.

conlerence last

lntersciloi ct w:dr:

"Ar m mEet hefe ln the

YEn

lo

become a TED organizer?" part of the apPlicalion. she lvrote, "If I can shaie a wellchosen talk to any child that could shift thir traiectory one or two

st!hdlrg lnd lndlflerentei culture a[d comtasslgB,

mroS,

nOOVelU OnlilGE

COUNTV RESISTER

;;;;;;:"w;;i;

Kld3hang'utlnalouDgeatTheLAEAnt|m.lllncGtil{es8!3ltho3t.theTEDxYouthBommefcsnyonAftshowon the makeshllt qsllery'

dlq deep and sntclously think Ebqut Ysr PercEF' tion and hry ft could af'

il

bfvouaq adutts vere on dltel'Y thtotrehout

lect otheB," slpr !8id-

degrees,
hngc."

that would

be

'lE1l offlcials immediate-

Since founding the orgmization, she's held two ronferences. The first Yery,
there were 22 speakers and 150 attendees Half of the sDeakers were teenagers, i,ith aU of the toPi"s guur"d toward teens md familY Last yer, seven of the 11 swakers were teenagers
450. The grouP's

teens

from someone ebe, tlteir om age, that Percn is bril-

heu the

message

The impaci ofbeing Part of TEDxYBC is easY to see in many of thede teenagers.

lt'accepted ber, she said.

limt.'

Anika Lusen, al?'Ye*-

ivhnn she creatd

her

youth group, there rvere

iates around the world.

about 6O TEDx Youtb afftl-

Las! Yed, there were 10O TEDxYouth eventB ir 51

eou4tries, said MelodY Serafino, head of TED Public rsldtions. Abdollahi nmed it TEDxYouthBommerCanYon beccuse she didn't want to be tied down to a perceived lo-

While most TED conferences are onlY held once a yer, a unique Part of TEDxYBC is lhat it also *res as a de facio Youth group.

old senior at Laguna Beach

Hieh. said she's lemed a lot'of public relations md other life skills.
more md have ben able to connect with the community," Ltrsen 6aid ''l've reallY come out of mY shell since last year."

"I'm talking to

PeoPle

soal-oriented," said Hmsani, an Iryineresident "l was talking the other day with mv son. Neah, md saying tfrat it is OX not to get all A's in sehool. "He immediatelY stoPped me and mid, 'Mom. I have a goal. I want to go to

CommitY-building
events

Haruard,"'

aird attendmce grew to

third conference

ae

held throughoui

c*llon as
she said, is a

TEDxYouth
CanYon,

Ormge Coast Oollege in October "1/s received so much better when theY hea the message from their Peas,"
Abdollahi

will be held at about

said.

the year to teach the kids organizing, resPcnsibilities and Putting theory into practiee, Abdollahi

going for it," Hasuni said. Lasen and Rohani are

"He's detemined md

qudrlplcqlc surfen He
On, a

Ja$a Elll$ar

ls

a.
13

'

the lounder ol Llfe Rolls the gualtty of llfe aory@nq people wlth sPInal cqrd lnluris. Blllsuet seoke atthe IEOTYBC conlrdme ln ZO11; "Evn It you.donit ac'r complish sometilnq; il long as You glve l! Your all, mbodv can be mad at vou,ll f..4{: -"4\':..'.,i,4-..

@niroflt ihatlm!

Hideh Hassani has two sore who are members oi

taking what theY ledned from TEDxYBC to their high schools tbis fali. The

rrovs

lir4ne. Bommer many people

Courty.

destinationfor

in

Orange

pid. "For kids, when adulls talk it's like the Peanuts adult voice$, 'Mwa,
mwa, mwa' but

On Tirsday, TDDxYBC held an art show at The

the TEDx Yeuth

if

thes

LAB Artiroll in Costa Mes. The event was run and hosted entirelY bY the Youlh comeil membere.

groupSbee joining, she's noticed demeathe in diiference a nor ofher sons Neah Lekan, 19, and Kasra Lks, 11.

t*o

unoficial TED club on em-

are plaming to stal'ii

Pt

**t

to inspire other

"They've become $ore

young kids and teens," sen said. .

La-

-1..i,:,-,