Even as an institution with 173 years of independent Catholic education and character formation behind it, Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School continues as it breaks new ground in student engagement with its inaugural TEDxYouth@SMCS event on Jan. 16. 

Taking place in the school's theatre at the Centre for the Arts, TEDxYouth will bring a variety of voices together under the theme "Redefining Perspectives." Presentations from University of Toronto Professors Carrie Atkins, Judith Andersen, Stephen Batiuk and St. Michael’s College School’s director of student affairs, John Connelly, joined by three volunteer Grade 11 and 12 St. Mike's students, and one non-SMCS student, who aim to present their voices and experiences on the chosen topic. 

Expecting around 200 attendees, comprised of parents, students and the public, each 18-minute talk will look to spark new thinking on education's intersections with technology, AI, current youth realities and societal pressures, giving each young speaker a platform to express ideas that may go unheard in traditional classroom settings. 

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Dan Lumsden, St. Mike’s community engagement and learning lead, says the initiative was born out of an alumnus’ pitch after long wanting to host a TEDx event at the midtown all-boys Catholic school. 

“In September, Erwang (Oney) Shen called me  and let me know he had helped organize a few TED events at the University of Toronto, and I knew immediately we wanted to get on board. I wanted this to be student-focused, as I want some of our students to be involved directly. Once that was worked out, the rest is history,” he said. 

TED originated in Monterey, California, with architect Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks, in 1984 to bring together experts from technology, entertainment and design. Initial TED Talks often featured experts sharing a single, powerful idea that they felt was worth sharing through short, easily digestible and engaging presentations. 

The model exploded in popularity with the rise of video and audio-sharing platforms such as YouTube, iTunes and TED’s own website in the mid 2000s. Turning from a niche interest to something of a global phenomenon, the current TED YouTube page boasts over 27 million followers and more than three billion views across its presentation videos. Tim Urban’s “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator” 2016 TED Talk still sports the highest view count on TED’s YouTube channel, at more than 60 million alone. 

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Lumsden hopes the panel variety celebrates the school’s diverse ways of thinking and conversation. 

“ We have people in different realms that education is connected with, in this case, an archeologist, a health psychologist and a neuroscientist. Then, having our students hear about these different industries and career paths that these professionals operate in, as well as what their peers have to say about things they believe in, is something I really look forward to,” he said. 

For the school, TEDxYouth is also an opportunity to embrace an initiative that provides a unique alternative to traditional education, while maintaining a strong focus on St. Michael’s mission of strengthening young Catholic men to be change-makers of tomorrow.

“ We are constantly trying to instill in our students a sense of character education; having the chance to express themselves, perform in front of our audience, is in a different limelight than just being in the classroom,” Lumsden said. 

“These students are going to be on stage facing their peers; they are going to be nervous, but that is something new and different for them, which is important. We don't want to be traditional here at St. Mike's. We want to continue to be forward thinking, and that’s something that constantly excites us.”

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If the event is well-received as hoped, the school plans to make it an annual tradition every January with new themes, topics and student perspectives each year. 

Those interested in attending can register at app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=311906.