Congratulations to Joanna Li, Year 9, who has been selected by TED-Ed to present her TED talk in New York City. Joanna was a member of Meriden’s 2018 TED-Ed Club. In this club, students work through a series of workshops in which they learn how to develop an idea they are passionate about into an engaging speech that delivers a clear message.
In her speech, entitled “Save the Blob!” Joanna argues that we should stop judging animals based on their appearances. She raises the important issue of speciesism and questions why some animals seem to be prioritised over others based on nothing more than the way they look. She proposes that by cultivating empathy for, and awareness about, these animals we may be able to improve their quality of life and the value they hold in our world.
Joanna’s speech was filmed by the Meriden Media Team and then uploaded to the TED-Ed YouTube channel. From there, Joanna was selected by TED-Ed to be one of only twenty-five speakers worldwide invited to present at the TED-Ed Weekend in February 2020. A TED-Ed Weekend is a special event that celebrates student voices from around the world. During the three-day event, student speakers take over the TED Theatre to present live talks, participate in group activities and network with other Student Talk Members from across the globe.
We congratulate Joanna on this exciting opportunity and we look forward to following her journey to New York. You can watch Joanna’s talk on YouTube here.
