Theme: Rethink Change

Last year, in TEDxXavierSchool 2015, the audience learned more about themselves by discovering their “what’s” and “why’s”, with the theme of “Define X”. However, the “how” of the journey is still often overlooked or sugarcoated. It is not an easy process, and a lot of teenagers often do not know how to begin. They know what they want and have an idea on how to succeed, but to propose that idea or to let others know about it is something scary. They are afraid that they might be rejected, made fun of, or even fail. They then try to cling on to how others got to their goals by following others's "frameworks", often losing their own identity or forgetting their own X’s.

“Rethink Change” acts as an avenue to solve this problem. We challenge the youth to question these “frameworks” and to be bold in being innovative, undogmatic, and out-of-the-box thinkers. We want to instill in the their minds that getting from point A to point B involves a lot of creativity, fun and curvy lines and that their ideas are not “silly”. After all, the reason why ideas seem silly is because they have not been tried out before, or they are not that dead spot on. The audience is invited to take a step back, reassess the situation, and come back with a new perspective. “Safe” and “tried and tested” aren’t the only ways to go. Novel ideas will be introduced through the line: “Let’s change … with…”

MPH
Xabl
San Juan City, National Capital Region
Philippines

Jinggoy Buensuceso

Jinggoy Buensuceso is a Visual Communications graduate from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, and is now one of the emerging artists or sculptors in the Philippines. Furthermore, he has become a three-time Mugna awardee and a co-founder of Epoch - a movement of six international artists to provoke new thinking in Philippine furniture design.

Joddi Chua

Joddi Chua is a H4 student in Xavier School. He is currently a class president and a student leader. He has been a class officer since his Freshman year; being the treasurer during his 1st and 2nd years, and the class president from H3 up to this day. He has an interest in many different things, such as "Peanuts" and paper folding, both of which highlight his passion for art.

Laurence Cua

Laurence Cua is a Xavier School alumnus who graduated as a part of Batch 1997. He is currently the country manager of Uber in the Philippines. He graduated from Ateneo de Manila with a Management Engineering degree, and Kellogg School of Management with an MBA degree. Laurence has an interest in technology and enjoys doing 3D printing in his spare time. He believes that Uber will allow transportation in the Philippines to be safer and more convenient.

Nicole Tomas

Nicole Tomas is a Political Science student at the University of the Philippines. She is also a member of the UP Debate Society, and has earned numerous accolades in various local and international debate tournaments. Nicole values both freedom of speech and expression, which has only deepened her love for debate. She enjoys writing poetry and science, having won awards in the past for the latter.

Philbert Dy

Philbert Dy is a vocal movie critic and the co-curator of the New Filipino Cinema program at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. His reviews are published on one of the country’s most viewed entertainment websites, Clickthecity.com. He believes that dialogue and criticism are essential dynamics in creating masterpieces in the film industry.

Ramon Bautista

Ramon Bautista is a television personality, a radio show host, and a film professor at the University of the Philippines. He has also starred in, directed and produced many films. Ramon Bautista is a true "internet action star" who continues to deliver entertainment and laughter to those around him with singular comedic insight.

Romel Santiago

Romel Santiago, or Lem, does volunteer work for Escolta. He is an avid photographer who showcases the beauty of this historical district through social media as he strongly believes that there is still hope for its restoration and preservation. In an effort to concretize his views and his passion, he initiated the Escolta Revival Movement, wrote an article for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and was interviewed by various media outlets to share his advocacy.

Sharwin Tee

Sharwin Tee is the host of his TV show, Lifestyle Network’s "Curiosity Got the Chef." He considers this his primary profession and vocation, meeting and striving to exceed his clients' needs and requests such as providing recipes with specific dietary restrictions.

Verlin Santos

Verlin Santos is a creative writer and poet who holds open mic sessions for his community in Bacoor. This year, he successfully self-published his own book entitled "Ang Mga Tula ng Pilingerong Makata". He is currently a student taking AB Journalism in Cavite State University-Imus Campus.