A group of Richmond students is calling on the city’s youth to step up and be heard at a special TEDx event in the fall.
The Richmond Secondary teenagers recently acquired a TEDx license — TEDxYouth@Steveston — and are planning to host an array of talented speakers in September at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery and possibly Gateway Theatre.
Like many TEDx organizers, however, the group, led by Lucas Xie, faces a challenge in finding the right speakers to take to the stage.
Xie — who has a target of 11 speakers, with six lined up so far — said he wants to pay attention to the quality of the speakers, rather than “simply inviting neighbours or friends” to talk.
“I would really like to contribute to my community by putting on an intriguing and educational show for them,” Xie told the Richmond News.
“Our ultimate goal is to promote Richmond culture and youth, while trying to bring in a sense of our community.”
Xie has already lined up Gateway Theatre’s outgoing artistic director Jovanni Sy, Steveston Pizza Co. owner Nader Hatami, CHIMO’s president Joyce Alisharan and a trio of local youth: David Wang, David Zheng and Eddie Huang.
“We’re basically looking for people with interesting, new ideas which originate from our community,” added Xie.
“We want it to primarily be about Richmond and youth, although age is not the main factor.”
Anyone interested in becoming a speaker at TEDxYouth@Steveston in September should contact Xie as soon as possible by emailing [email protected].
