News: Culture: Lifestyle: Business: Krakow ... - Krakow Post

30
TEDxKids@Kraków
Think innovation and creativity are only for adults? Think again. The world is full
of creative kids with great ideas and this May, TEDxKids@Kraków will provide an
understanding forum for this untapped talent.
■ Agata Lagodzinski
“The idea behind TEDxKids@Kraków is to give children a
place to tell the world about what inspires them and what
they think is important. To show that, even though they’re
children, they deserve to be taken seriously,” said TEDxKraków
curator, Ewa Spohn.
Last year’s TEDxKids@Kraków was the first of its kind in Poland
and this year’s conference is expected to be one of the
biggest TEDxKids events in the world, with more than 200
youngsters registered to attend presentations to be given by
ten speakers aged 9 to 14. The event has the support of Krakow’s
Uniwersytet Dzieci (Children’s University), a non-profit
organization dedicated to providing educational programs
for children aged 6 to13.
The theme this year is Działaj! (Act), intended to call kids to
action and encourage them to find an idea and start making
it happen. Presenters include: Kacper Oleński, who will talk
about the importance of travelling; Antoni Iwan, discussing
public transport; Bogusz Mąkowski, who will share his vacation
adventure; Mikołaj Sazonov, comparing dreams to reality;
Anna Sazonov, talking about the importance of positive
thinking; Jakub Zając, showcasing his computer graphics;
Mikołaj Szydłowski, talking about robots and guitars; Kostek
Kubicki, on the mysteries of Sarmatia; Zofia Wojtkowiak, explaining
how passions have influenced her life; and Maja
Gędłek on the importance of following your dreams.
“The goal of TEDxKids is to let kids talk about their ideas,
how they make them happen and how their actions influence
their peers, their school environment, their friendships
and their families,” said TEDxKids volunteer, Natalia Iwan.
Last year, the theme was Passion Lives and the programme
featured ten kids presenting their thoughts on topics as diverse
as the weather’s influence on history, explaining complex
ideas using models, and how to be a child entrepreneur.
Krystian Gontarek was just one of the stars of last year’s
event. Aged just 11, he founded an online recommendation
tool for computer games, called GameTeller.net, which
secured him second prize at the 2012 Krakow Startup Weekend.
“It is worth following your dreams. If someone tells you
that something is impossible, don’t listen to them,” he advised
the audience at last year’s conference. Krystian writes blogs,
produces YouTube videos and runs Kids on Bits workshops.
He is just one example of Krakow’s creative kids, many more
of whom will be taking the stage this May.
TEDxKids@Kraków will take place on Friday, May 17 from
17:00 to 20:00 at the Centrum Dydaktyki AGH (Education
Centre at the University of Science and Technology). Participation
is free, but requires registration. For more information
see: tedxkrakow.com, where you can also see videos of last
year’s event.