Theme: Global Citizenship

This half day TEDxYouth event will explore ideas around global citizenship.

American International School Riyadh
PO Box 5101
Riyadh, Ar Riyāḑ, 11422
Saudi Arabia

Afnan El-Segaier

Afnan was born in Sweden, and after eight years moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her parents are originally from Libya and moved to Sweden after marriage. She has two older brothers and two younger sisters whom she loves dearly. Afnan wants to study at Lund University, in Sweden, and major in Architecture. Her passions are sports, art and reading. Moving to the American International School - Riyadh has exposed Afnan to different cultures (60 nationalities at AIS-R), and helped her to develop a passion to fight against prejudice and racism. Afnan wants to make a difference: she wants her name to have a significant meaning in this world - in someone’s world.

Aiyesha Wani

Aiyesha is a 4th grade student who was born in Kentucky, and has been in Riyadh for 5 years. She enjoys playing sports like basketball, swimming, and martial arts. She also enjoys learning about new things, especially getting to learn about public speaking, while participating in TED-Ed Club and TEDxYouth@AISR. Aiyesha has traveled to many places such as Singapore, Paris and India, and loves experiencing new cultures.

Enaya Amir

Enaya is from Pakistan and Canada, and has been living in Riyadh for 4 years. She is 10 years old and in 5th grade. At school, she most enjoys going to the Learning Commons because she loves to read. When at home, she enjoys cooking all different types of food for her family. She also plays many sports, such as volleyball, swimming, and badminton. She has had two exciting events this year: participating in the Math Olympiad, and, of course, speaking at TEDxYouth@AISR!

Hajar Khalid

As a young multicultural woman in the 12th grade, Hajar Khalid has spent a few years learning about race, culture, and identity first-hand as she herself identifies as a half Pakistani-half Trinidadian-American and someone who has lived her life thus far in Saudi Arabia. Hajar enjoys immersing herself in the arts, mostly producing music, singing, playing guitar, and performing poetry. She is very interested in social justice issues including racial inequality within public institutions. She is also interested in studying the ways in which power structures affect young, multiracial teenagers who often deal with difficulty in choosing their identity. Hajar discusses the nuances of this particular subject while including her personal anecdotes. Hajar is also a Bubble Tea connoisseur.

Heleena Assefa

Heleena Assefa is a sixteen year old student at the American International School of Riyadh, located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From the ages of 5 - 10 Heleena lived in Luanda, Angola and Abuja, Nigeria. At the age of 11, Heleena returned to the D.C. area and pursued opportunities in journalism and international affairs, participating in Model United Nations and becoming a sophomore editor in her school’s student newspaper. Since her freshman year, Heleena has participated in the Urban Journalism Workshop (UJW), a program sponsored by the Washington Post and National Public Radio (NPR) as well as numerous other news organizations. Heleena is currently serving as UJW's first foreign correspondent, submitting stories from her new home in Riyadh, where she has been living since August of 2016. In her freetime, Heleena is a competitive swimmer and runner and is a member of Model United Nations, National Honor Society, and UNICEF. She is also a big fan of language and literature, history, politics and Steve Irwin.

Hoda Elbeshbeshy

Hoda is 14 years old, in the 8th grade and born in New Jersey. She has been raised in the United States and spent most of her younger years in Oklahoma. She moved to Saudi Arabia and started attending AISR last year. Both of her parents are from Egypt. Hoda loves traveling with the school. She has recently been on a school trip to Amman, Jordan for a new Compassion Summit. She is a part of the National Junior Honor Society and the TED-Ed Club. Her favorite sport is swimming and she has a tremendous passion for playing viola. A few of her favorite foods include sushi, cookies and cream ice cream, and pasta. Someone that she finds very inspirational and looks up to is Beyonce because she puts her stardom to good use by empowering females around the world.

Ishika Saha

Somewhere between being born in a small town in India to growing up in big cities around the world, Ishika became the person she is today. A 10th grader who tries her best not only in academics but also in co-curricular activities. A 16 year old who makes sure none of the people around her are left behind in the race called “life”. She is not quite a very confident person offstage, but that doesn’t stop her from taking every opportunity possible to showcase her talent for public speaking.

Joshua Moody

Josh, a 5th grader, has been living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for three years and is from New Zealand and England. Outside of school he enjoys running, making videos, and playing video games. In school he enjoys math, art, STEM and social studies. Pretty much everything! Most importantly, Josh loves traveling (11 countries already) because he can experience life like somewhere else and understand other views and perspectives.

Juan-Diego Estrada

Diego Estrada holds a PhD in Psychology, a master's degree in Journalism, and a post-graduate specialization in Psychotherapy. He has worked at independent schools in the U.S. and several international schools abroad as a Spanish teacher, counselor, and school psychologist. His doctoral work was based on his research with adolescents in five countries. He trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at UMass Medical School's Center for Mindfulness in Medicine and has developed initiatives to incorporate mindfulness into education in his work with adolescents.

Mariam Ahmed

Mariam Ahmed was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina and moved to Riyadh 8 years ago. While at AIS-R, Mariam has enjoyed being a part of many musicals. Her favorite role was Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mariam is in 7th grade and her favorite subject is Humanities because she enjoys writing. She hopes to become a published author or Broadway star one day. She also loves swimming and eating sushi!

Maryam Kourouma

Maryam Kourouma is from North Bergen, New Jersey and is 13 years old. She was homeschooled until grade 6 before joining the AIS-R community. She is now in the 8th grade and eagerly looking forward to high school and beyond. Raised by immigrant parents from opposite sides of the globe, she has come to realize the crucial importance of learning from and about each other and social justice. She is extremely passionate about social justice issues and firmly believes them to be the only viable means to a better future. She enjoys interacting with different people and debating ideas because they are sometimes effective at planting the seeds of understanding and tolerance. They can be the starting point to bridging the wealth gap, and minimizing and suppressing the excessive abuses of power around us. One other thing she is passionate about is problem solving. She hopes to be able to contribute one day to the advancement of science and engineering while enjoying the realms of theoretical physics.

Nour Ahmed

Originally from Kannapolis, North Carolina, Nour Ahmed has been living in Riyadh for 8 years with her 3 sisters and brother. She is in 4th grade, and her favorite subjects are math and reading. She is a competitive swimmer and loves exercising with her sisters. She also enjoys playing with her two cats. After learning about efforts to help Syrian refugees, Nour became passionate about helping and is excited to continue her work through her blog, Knitting for Peace. She also loves sushi and brownies.

Samantha Sameshima

8th grader Samantha Sameshima has lived in Saudi Arabia for her entire life, but was born in Manila, Philippines. Her mother is from the Philippines and her father from Japan, and her identity has been influenced by the two cultures, with a touch of her father’s American background and of course, her life in Saudi Arabia. Samantha has attended AIS-R for nine years, enjoys playing sports and being co-captain of the volleyball team this year. She is part of the NJHS, MUN, the TED-Ed club, and Helping Hand, a student run organization. She loves to eat sushi, given her Japanese background, and hopes to travel the world learning about different cultures, including the food!

Sree Yeluri

Sree is a traveller of worlds and collector of cultures. She has lived in 5 different countries. Her passion for reading was nurtured early on with weekly library visits in Peterborough, UK. Her appreciation for air conditioning, chocolate, and history was intensified during her stay in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Her love for music was cultivated through the wonderful music education programs in Sugar Land, U.S. Her interest in global politics and gender equality was developed after being exposed to women's rights activism while going to school at AIS-R and living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her Hindu faith and desire to learn about the different people of the world was developed through her yearly visits to the multicultural city of her birth, Hyderabad, India.

Umar Siddiqui

Umar Siddiqui is 11 years old and is in 5th grade. He is from Pakistan and America, and has been living in Riyadh for almost 4 years. He enjoys going to visit his massive family, which includes over 30 cousins! Umar enjoys math because he loves to challenge himself, just like in video games! He also loves cooking, but he is much better at math.

Yash Shrotriya

Born in Bangalore, India, and having lived in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, Yash (an 8th grader) loves to travel to different countries. His passion for reading is exceeded only by his passion for sports. Yash is very active in the community and he is involved with the National Junior Honor Society, Manta Rays Swim Team, Model United Nations, Athletic Council, AIS-R’s Middle School Volleyball, Basketball, and Badminton team, and lastly AIS-R’s very own amazing TED-Ed Club and TEDxYouth@AISR. Yash’s hobbies include playing the trumpet, drums, reading, playing outside with friends and watching movies. When he grows up he hopes to go skydiving, wingsuiting, and take part in other extreme sports. Yash enjoys his environment and makes the most of what he can do.