Stories of awakening from TEDx BUV 2021

TEDx BUV 2021 returned with the topic of “Pause: On the turn” and stories on climate change, narcissism, the nurture of fears to name a few to help young people learn to cope with their strengths and weaknesses, to respect themselves, and to explore their inherent worth.

To further the success of “Press Play” 2020, TEDx BUV 2021 returned with the topic of “Pause: On the turn”. The event, held by students of British University Vietnam (BUV), brought to the fore seven inspiring stories by seven speakers from different fields such as environment, technology, culture and arts, F&B, etc.

“Pause: On the turn” not only created a personalized experience for the participants to see themselves in each story, but also provided a stop for reality check and ways forward.

In his English keynote speech on the ups and downs of a stand-up comedian, Uy Le, the leader of “Saigon Teu”, spoke on narcissism and how he coped with emotional suffering. “If you work in the entertainment industry, you should know that there’s a place you shouldn’t look at: the comment section of your YouTube videos. Facing negative comments and criticisms may make us feel small and fearful,”said the comedian . If we respond by creating a perfect mask, we make ourselves more vulnerable to the traps of narcissism and hurt others by judgments manipulated by emotions. 

Through his unique wordplay and storytelling, his words of personal wisdom not only brought laughter and positive energy to the audience but more importantly, delivered a message on choosing to tolerate and love our vulnerabilities to be a better version of ourselves.

Speaker Uy Le speaks on narcissism.

Sexuality and sexeducation, which is a matter of concern among the youthwas tactfully and humorously presented by speaker Nguyen Minh Trang, the founder of YouTube channel Chan Chuoi Show – Sex Edu by Trang, through her talk on “grey areas” of sexual consent. By giving case scenarios, Minh Trang expressed her views on the line between sexual consent and compromise and the risk of compromising induced by the feeling of inadequacy.“We must learn to consent to ourselves before consenting to other factors (partners, circumstances, methods, etc.),”  advised Trang in order to avoid physical and mental harms down the road.

Speaker Nguyen Minh Trang talks about sexual consent.

Before generating values for society, we must learn to cope with our personal strengths and weaknesses, respect ourselves, and explore our inherent values – a consistent message incorporated by the seven speakers throughout TEDx BUV 2021 in their personal work and life experiences.

Ha Chu – an F&B marketing expert introduced a new concept: “Conscious dining” – a concept of responsible dining and emotional connection. “Are we going out to get a cup of coffee or getting a cup of coffee to go out?” was among the thought-provoking questions posed by Ha Chu to help young people find a balance between dining decisions for conscious and subconscious satisfaction.

To prevent leftovers simply ordered for a photoshoot, or unfinished cups of coffee simply ordered for the satisfaction of experiencing a fancy brand, F&B expert Ha Chu advised,“Stop and listen to yourself more carefully before nodding to all F&B invitations. What are you excited about in that F&B experience? And is the thing you’re looking for only is possible by going out and spending money?”

Speaker Ha Chu presents the concept of “Conscious dining” around responsible dining and emotional connection.

Also at TEDx BUV 2021, another topic of interest was the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) surpassing humans conveyed in “The strange thing about technology” by Nguyen Van Minh Duc. As an entrepreneur and researcher on AI, he talked about how he once failed to control an AI’s learning and had to force a shutdown. Through examples about the applications of smart robots in fields such as  jobs (the competition between humans and machines), health (capsule endoscopy and gene editing), or daily life (AI can… dirty talk), speaker Minh Duc painted an overview of the emergence of a “strange species” evolving from AI.

Through his speech “The strange thing about technology “, Minh Duc points out the possibility of the emergence of a “strange species” evolving from AI.

Furthermore, TEDx BUV 2021 also delivered messages on how to protect the environment through stories on climate change and humans’ biological resilience; how to identify and nurture fears; or how to connect with the traditional culture through the story of Truc Chi paper arts.

TEDx BUV’s distinctive feature is its bilateral interactions between speakers and the audience via games, polls, or in-depth discussions of each topic  on Zoom.

Do Chau Yen, Head of the Organizing Committee for TEDx BUV (sophomore in International Business Management) shared, “With Pause: On the turn, TEDx BUV 2021 continues the journey of Press Play 2020 by focusing on appreciation and exploration of personal values through pausing and reflecting on what one really needs when facing the turn of life.” In the future, TEDx BUV will continue spreading positive values to communities and serve as a place for like-minded youths to share their stories and opinions.

Since1984, TED has been a global community of speakers who are outstanding representatives from different fields and cultures choosing  to share their ideas as a source of knowledge and inspiration. As a spinoff of TED, TEDx offers similar experiences but at a local level.

Source: Kenh14