On Saturday, 13 pupils from various schools in the Emirates will be arguing about how society now needs to be fostering the ideas of global, cosmic citizenship, at the TEDx Youth@Winchester conference. After the success of their first youth conference in 2012, The Winchester School in Jebel Ali Gardens in Dubai is back this year with a session focusing on current advances in science and space travel.
Rohan Roberts, the school’s senior leader and organiser of the event, believes the topic of the hour is readying the youth for possibilities in outer space, and says such conferences and efforts at the grass-roots level support the wider push by the country in the fields of science and innovation.
“The UAE government is keenly invested in promoting science – I don’t think it’s just a buzzword,” he says.
“Historically, the Middle East was the centre of scientific learning and discoveries and with the Expo 2020, the space agency and mission to Mars, I think the rulers are bringing back that glorious age. It’s an exciting time for science and astronomy.”
Roberts says there is a push to expand the presence of humanity in space in the next 10 years and it is imperative that young people start thinking about the effect of such progress.
“Children here are already global citizens,” says Roberts, who is also the director of the Dubai Science Festival and founder of Cafe Scientifique in Dubai. “They think globally and have friends from all around the world. The next step for this international crowd of students is thinking cosmically.”
Topics the students will be discussing range from the discovery of intelligent alien life and its effect on the human psyche, the case for space exploration, steps to becoming a cosmic citizen, existential threats facing mankind and the role of education in creating cosmic citizens.
Simrah Ali of The Winchester School will be speaking about the rights and responsibilities of a cosmic citizen in her nine-minute talk.
“Most of us are aware of our basic rights and responsibilities, but as we explore space, are these rights enough?” asks Ali. The 16-year-old student will be comparing The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to how rights will have to be redefined in the future.
“Once we are accepted as cosmic citizens, our rights will have to involve leaving the planet, our solar system and galaxy,” she says, adding that she chose to major in economics but science and astronomy have always intrigued her. “I’ve never been into just one thing and I do enjoy the sciences. Also, I strongly believe in the cosmic advancements.”
The event is driven by the school’s student body, led by Roberts and Year 13 student Behshid Behrouzi.
“We had some vigorous auditions,” says the 17-year-old. “We chose students who showed an excitement for the topic.”
She says the TEDx platform is an opportunity for young people to air their opinions and get noticed. “These independent conferences give more people in the community a chance to voice their thoughts, especially students who, if honed now, will be future innovators.”
The line-up for the conference is predominantly made up of female speakers this year. Roberts says this is indicative of a broader issue educators are noticing.
“Girls tend to outperform boys at the school level,” he says. “They are better speakers and writers, and more diligent. And while there is talk about women not getting into science, we notice here that girls are with it and are doing more to promote science in the community. We need to find ways to motivate boys to be as excited.”
•TEDx Youth@Winchester is on Saturday from 10am at the school. The event is free. To register, visit www.tedxwinchesterschool.com
aahmed@thenational.ae
