On the afternoon of June 21, 2025, the ZhongXing Building Theater was packed as nearly 100 parents, students, and teachers came together for 2025 TEDx Youth SHSID, a flagship event that keeps growing in size and importance.

Following last year’s successful relaunch, this year’s event firmly reestablished TEDx as an annual tradition at SHSID. As student hosts Sophia Fang and Minnie Chen noted in their opening remarks, the TEDx team devoted tremendous effort over the past five months to prepare for this event—an unmistakable testament to the students’ passion and the power of teamwork.

TEDx Youth events are held by schools around the world to bring student voices to a broader stage. Indeed, at 2025 TEDx Youth SHSID, we proudly continued this tradition with a compelling lineup of 10 student speakers, representing a wide range of grades from Grade 5 to Grade 11. We were also honored to invite 3 distinguished guest speakers who have made remarkable achievements in their respective fields.

Our speakers all had the same task: to provide our audience with their best insights into our theme, The Power of Perspectives, within 15 minutes. We were excited to see their unique interpretations of this theme and how they would connect it to their lives and passions, and they delivered wonderfully, drawing warm laughter and enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Some speakers discussed the natural shift in perspective that we all undergo with increased age and experience. One of our guest speakers, Mr. Lu Zhaoyu, a successful lawyer and senior partner at his law firm, spoke to us about the perspective he gained through his journey to building a career and family in Shanghai. Ninth grader Maggie reflected on the gradual change in her perspective as she navigated the awkward transition from childhood to teenage years. Eleventh grader Michelle gave a moving talk about her personal story of learning classical Chinese dance and how her perspective had shifted from being seen as a young dancer to an artistic awakening that led her to focus on expressing the soul of the characters she portrayed.

Another common direction explored by speakers was how a shift in perspective had helped them in problem-solving and catalyzed their self-improvement. Seventh grader Steve brought us impassioned insights, drawn from his experiences with forays into math and history, about the value of chaos as a catalyst for generating new perspectives and innovations. Joyce from Grade 10 took us along on her journey in Model UN, an activity that helped her realize that the mindset of “effort in, award out” was limiting her perspective and often failed to encompass the true value of experiences. As one of the leaders of the SHSID GT Racing Club, 11th grader Aichen shared how a few shifts in perspective helped his team become the first in China to win the world championship.

Other speakers discussed how changing perspectives can enhance mental health in a result-oriented and productivity-focused society. Grade 5 math talent Allen gave a thoughtful and mature speech about how everyone can benefit from seeing failures as chances to grow. Ms. Miranda Shu, a Shanghai High School alumna and entrepreneur, echoed this idea in her speech. She used neuroscience and “resilience workout” exercises to show how perspective can transform and rewire our brains to better resist stress. Lucia from Grade 11 reminded us of the importance of compliments in motivating hard work and passion, contrasting with the common view that growth only comes from criticism. Grade 11 entrepreneur Caitlyn shared that if we just changed our perspective a bit, high school could actually be seen as an “undercover MBA,” and every challenging moment students face now is preparing them for a typical corporate job.

Many speakers also addressed the challenges of living in a time where technological innovation is occurring at an almost dizzying rate, what with the advent of AI and the growth of biotechnology. Mr. Chenqi Xu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that while AI may outperform humans with access to sufficient data, it can never replace scientists and other human innovators who are pushing the frontiers of knowledge and expanding the human perspective as a whole. He also emphasized that distancing oneself from distractions, which technology can easily become, is beneficial for allowing one’s mind to think clearly and gain a greater perspective. Mr. Xu’s sentiment on AI was echoed by Ninth-grader Hank , who shared his aspiration to study engineering in college and revealed interesting insights from his research project related to language and nuance. Tenth-grader Andrea took a different approach and discussed how examining multiple perspectives helps us make ethical and informed decisions in a rapidly changing world, using gene editing as a case in point.

As the final speaker bowed to thunderous applause, 2025 TEDx Youth SHSID came to a successful close. Each audience member left with new insights and reflections. We firmly believe that the sparks of thought ignited by our speakers will offer new perspectives and fresh approaches to navigating life. As TED’s  tagline powerfully states: “Ideas Change Everything.”

(Written by TEDx Media Group    Pictures by TEDx Media Group)