This past Wednesday, October 8, 2014, NYU Shanghai had yet another big first—the first ever TEDXLive NYU Shanghai, hosted by the Undergraduate Business Association (UBA). For those who don’t know, TED is a nonprofit organization that has been devoted to spreading ideas since its founding in 1984. The goal of the organization is to educate and inspire by bringing new topics, ideas and voices to the global community. TEDX is the independently organized equivalent, intended to help share ideas in communities around the world. The TEDX event at NYU Shanghai was the first of three TED affiliated events that will be hosted by our school. The focal point of the event was the chance to view a live streaming of the TEDGlobal Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is a particularly unique opportunity for the students here, as a license is typically needed to view these exclusive TED Global Conferences. In addition to the conference in Brazil, what made this event very unique was the talks given by five NYU students: Sarabi N. Eventide, Samanta Liza, Ilham Farah, Megan Graham, and Haroon A. Sherjan. While there was no singular subject they all focused on (there wasn’t even a singular medium of expression as the night featured poetry, singing and speeches), they all accomplished the mission of the TED organization using their voices to introduce new ideas to the small audience at NYU Shanghai. And with the array of topics, covering everything from the spread of globalization and modernity, to abusive relationships/domestic abuse, to the evolution of the capitalist society, and the benefits of universal basic income, the audience was certainly given a lot to reflect upon in the hour-long event. I spoke with an NYU Shanghai freshman who was so excited that she showed up half an hour early for the event, Kai Xuan “Claire” Yao (姚凯萱). She says that although she felt like Ilham Farah’s talk, which was on the stigmatization of social pain which stops us from acknowledging that pain is a natural feeling, did not necessarily apply to her life, that it was a “subtle and practical topic, and it talks about something very authentic and deep down in your heart.” This “attitude of authenticity” as Claire called it, was present in all the speeches. Each presentation was both genuine and concerned with the issue at hand. So whether you agreed with the sentiments of a talk or not, these events certainly have the potential to not just give you something to think about, but also a poignant feeling once the show is over. According to, Alexander Mayes, the President of the Undergraduate Business Association and the Organizer and Chief of Operations for TEDXNYU Shanghai events, UBA will host TEDXNYUShanghai on October 24. The theme of this talk is interconnectivity and will feature twelve speakers including Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, AllSet Learning CEO John Pasden, and Professor Clay Shirky. Also, on November 15th, UBA will host TEDXYouthDay. This event will celebrate the UN-recognized holiday “Youth Day”, and is completely for selected high school students in Shanghai and Minhang. The goal of this event is to inspire the youth of Shanghai by allowing them to hear talks from both students and faculty from our school. Stay up to date on all the TEDXNYUShanghai news by checking out the official website -- and liking the associated Facebook page. Lastly, “UBA is thankful to the campus community for supporting the TEDx events, and we look forward to seeing you soon at our next TEDx event!” This article was written by Maya Williams. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch.