Education TED Partners

TEDsters get to know students around the world, thanks to EverFi

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At TED2017, attendees could interact with students from around the world inside the EverFi social space. Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED

EverFi is supporting the TED2017 community in having a direct hand in changing the future.
As a leader in connecting education to the real world since launching at TED in 2008, EverFi allows attendees to meet those who will truly impact the future us — middle and high school students passionate about where they want their next step in the world to be — and share their best advice. Each of the four students is featured virtually on a large screen, enticing passersby to come and chat in looping video made up of personality-filled smiles and welcoming gestures.

The vibrant, open-space concept allows participants to travel between booth areas and get to know these young, bright students who have big dreams for what’s to come.

By listening to the students explain what their interests are — from teacher to one day becoming a diplomat in France — and listening to their questions, attendees have a 30 second opportunity to take everything they’ve listened to and impart their own life lessons, crafted specifically with the kids’ in mind. The students’ warm and friendly demeanors leap through the screen as they share small pieces about their lives and make it very hard not put on the headset and record an answer that may help guide them in their pursuits.

The questions are general but still thought-provoking, such as: “What did you learn today to help shape your future?” and “What’s your best advice for a sixth grader?

After the conference, attendees responses will be collected, compiled into a reel and sent back to the students who are located across in the United States where the schools participate in EverFi’s K-12 programs.

A view of the EverFi social space at TED2017: The Future You, April 24-28, 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED