Past TEDx event

TEDxTHISDL Youth

The Gaze

Took placeFebruary 1, 20269:00 AM - 11:30 AM (GMT+8)
LocationBeijing, Beijing, China
FormatYouth
We live in a world of perpetual looking. But have you ever considered the act of ‘looking’ itself? What does it represent? What does it imply? What does it reveal? TEDxTHISDL Youth invites you to explore our 2025 theme: ‘The Gaze’. ‘The Gaze’ concerns the most fundamental human experience, that of seeing. It embodies the power, understanding, and consciousness behind every glance, every stare, and every observation. We will journey through the many lenses through which we view our world, and through which the world views us. From the intimate to the infinite, from the internal to the algorithmic, our speakers will delve into what it means to see and to be seen. But what does this have to do with you? Imagine your average day: the quick, assessing glances in the school hallway, the pressure to present a perfect life online, the way you look at yourself in the mirror before a big presentation. This is "The Gaze" in action. It's the silent judgment you feel, the comfort of a friend's understanding look, and the curiosity that drives you to explore new ideas. As young people navigating daily school life, we learn to move through a complex world of gazing. First, we will focus on the stories we tell ourselves by examining them and how we bring them to life on paper and in print. We will confront our Inner Critic and the weight of wondering what others see when they look our way. From there, we'll look outward at the powerful forces that shape how we view each other. We will examine how constructs like gender and cultural dominance have been framed, and we will listen to those who have reclaimed and continue to reclaim narrative control and the right to be seen on their own terms. And we cannot ignore the newest, most pervasive gaze of all: the gaze of technology. We live in a world governed and surveilled by technology that learns to categorize and curate our reality. We must ask important questions: Do machines violate our privacy? Do they exhibit bias? By allowing them to 'watch' us, do we lose something essentially human? We need to critically examine all the watchful technologies that accompany our daily routines. Finally, we will lift our eyes to the heavens. We will explore how we, as humans, gaze at the universe through telescopes, probes, and theoretical physics and what this search reveals about us and our fundamental drive for empirical discovery. We emphasize the actions you can take to initiate change within our school community, and how this connects to your daily life. How do you fit into the school system? How can you bring your experience of ‘The Gaze’ from a fresh perspective or new angle? ‘The Gaze’ brings to mind varied imagery of eyes, lenses, cameras, mirrors, perspectives, light, and observations. Themes in present-day society, school life, and even history await a new ‘gaze’ to provide a more relevant understanding of this very concept, contributing to one of the most pressing conversations of our time. GAZE! The world is watching. It's time we asked why.

Speakers

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

  • Anthony Permaye

    Traveler + Teacher

    Over the past year I learned 12 languages across 12 countries, documenting how each one reshaped my perception of people and how their gaze toward me changed in return. I didn’t just study language — I immersed, lived with families, filmed cultures, and experienced the shift from outsider to participant through communication. This talk isn’t theory for me — it’s my life in real time.

  • Eva Zhang

    Student

    Eva Zhang is a student who speaks on the importance of teenagers gazing inward to discover their true selves, free from the burden of others' perceptions. Her message centers on the "confidence code" is the idea that young people can and should be the boss of their own lives. She draws from personal experience, having once been highly sensitive to external comments, which led her to constantly second-guess herself and act unnaturally around others. Knowing this feeling of uncertainty firsthand, Eva wants to emphasize the importance of recognizing and supporting those who struggle with confidence.

  • Helly Jeong

    Student

    Helly is an advocate for emotional self-awareness, drawing directly from her lived experience. She has lived the experience she will speak about, knowing firsthand the feeling of hiding emotions, performing for external expectations, and being overwhelmed by painful self-awareness. Learning to recognize and question her own emotions changed how she studies, makes decisions, and understands herself. She shares this not as an expert, but as a peer navigating the same pressures. Because the inward gaze helped her grow, she believes it can help others, too.

  • Jiawei Xu

    Art Teacher

    Jiawei Xu, Art Teacher, Homeroom Teacher, graduated from University Arts of London Central Saint Martins College in 2022, PXL-MAD in 2024, both majored in jewellery design.

  • Julio Sanchez

    Marathon Runner + History Teacher

    Julio Sanchez proposes introspection in running as a powerful tool for catharsis and clarity. His core message is that by deliberately turning the gaze inward, we can navigate daily routines and life's profound challenges with resilience and joy. For Julio, introspection is not a retreat, but a system like a surfboard for riding the waves of circumstance and a daily reset button that allows him to receive each new day as a gift.

  • Kevin Li

    student in pyschology

    Kevin Li is an eighth grade student interested in the states of consciousness and how they influence your actions and the mind. The core message of his talk is to educate people on their consciouses and how they reflect your understanding of the world. How consciousness influences a person’s thoughts, their behavior, and their feelings reflects how a person perceives the world and certain situations.

  • Ludy Wang

    Student

    Ludy loves to explore a critical modern challenge: how to distinguish reliable information in a sea of disinformation. His talk focuses on practical strategies for students, learners, and teachers to find the best information and identify the platforms that host it. This work connects directly to the conference theme, "The Gaze," by examining how we learn to see the world clearly, critically, and correctly amidst pervasive noise and distortion.

  • Paola Piao

    Sound ethusiast

    An ethusiastic sound lover, Siyu Piao is a high school senior who actively listens to the world through multiple lenses—from cognitive science, anthropology, to art and music. Using sound as her means, she created multi-sensory art exhibitions for blind people, documented Tibetan people’s lives through ethnographic films, turning everyday sounds into experimenal designs, and enjoyed rock music as a guitarist.

  • Scott Holliday

    Educator + Teacher

    Scott Holliday is foreign teacher from the United States. He is currently teaching English in Beijing at Renmin University where he has been teaching since 2012. He has a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in Education.

Organizing team