TEDxUpanga Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Adolar Patrick

  Medical Intern

  Currently serving as a medical intern at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, Dr. Adolar Patrick views emergency situations as a laboratory for human resilience. He is especially interested in navigating 'The Tunnel'—the cognitive narrowing that occurs when the alarms go off and the stakes are at their highest. Driven by a mission to ensure individuals not only survive high-pressure environments but thrive within them, Adolar shares practical frameworks for cognitive endurance. By teaching these mental frameworks, he seeks to transform cages of panic into kilns that forge stronger, more decisive individuals capable of maintaining clarity when it matters most.

• Jeremy Hoover

  Teacher

  Jeremy Hoover, a teacher at the International School of Tanganyika, has spent most of his life in sub-Saharan Africa. He is passionate about using the DP History and ToK courses to amplify voices left out of common narratives in the 21st Century, and diversify the voices we listen for. Towards this end, Jeremy will share six tools, adapted from his teaching in the DP History course. They remind us of the necessity of returning humanity and nuance to a world of history, politics, and news, which often seeks to oversimplify complex realities.

• Magdalena Mwanda

  Founder & MD, Mimi na Jamii Foundation

  Magdalena Mwanda is a medical student, youth advocate, and founder of the Mimi na Jamii Foundation, a youth-led community network working across Tanzania to foster meaningful community service engagement, health awareness and digital literacy among young people in Tanzania. Magdalena’s work is driven by a deep belief in the power of young people to shape their communities, their futures and of those around them—when given access, trust, and opportunity. By fostering youth dialogue and storytelling based in lived experiences, Magdalena reflects on identity, connection, and the power young people hold in building the digital culture that generations to come will inherit.

• Moniek Dekkers

  Physical and Health Education Teacher

  Moniek Dekkers is a Physical and Health Education teacher and has been with IST for 5 years. She’s been teaching internationally for more than ten years and is passionate about learning through sports and adventure. She loves having the world in one classroom and hopes to inspire students to become independent and live active lives. She often ventures out to meet new cultures or take on a new adventure that involves traveling or sports. The road less traveled is about facing challenges, getting to know yourself and the world around you.

• Sasha Lakeisha

  Student

  Sasha Lakeisha Mnuna is a student leader, speaker, and advocate passionate about reshaping how young people understand leadership and self-expression. She is a Co-founder of SheRooted Tanzania, and a dedicated community volunteer that has consistently created spaces where youth voices are heard and empowered. Her perspective on leadership is rooted not in authority, but in courage, the courage to think independently, question freely, and act with intention. Sasha enjoys intellectual curiosity and challenges, aiming to do the same with audiences to confront the fears that suppress self-propelled thought, offering a transformative message that invites individuals to reclaim their voices and lead from authenticity rather than expectation.

• Tehsin Takim

  Entrepreneur

  Tehsin Takim is an entrepreneur and communication coach whose perspective on leadership comes from experience spanning modern organisations and ancient ways of life. Drawing on time with the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers of Lake Eyasi, he shares practical leadership lessons that can transform how we lead teams, organisations and ourselves, grounded in trust, clarity and shared purpose.

• Zohraida Karim

  Education Transformation Consultant & Founder, DZC.Africa

  Dr. Zohraida Karim is the Head of School at The Growing Tree Pre & Primary School in Tanzania, with over 26 years of experience in education. She holds a PhD in Early Childhood Education, specializing in Child Psychology and Brain Development, from the USA. A passionate educational leader, she is committed to driving meaningful and transformative change in schools. Her expertise includes leadership and organizational management, curriculum design, teacher training, special needs support, and student facilitation. She is dedicated to creating inclusive, innovative learning environments that promote curiosity, critical thinking, and individualized learning. As the founder of DZC.Africa, Dr. Zohraida works to shape the future of education across the region. She has delivered workshops and talks in Dubai, Nairobi, the UK, and across Africa, focusing on holistic child development, future-ready education, and empowering educators and parents to nurture confident, emotionally strong learners.