Fascinating Learnings Shared in the Big Ned Talk Event

June 20th 2024

The Big Ned series of talks was hosted in the MCT last night, and what an impressive panel of speakers we had the delight of tuning into. The talks were delivered with passion and well-formed expertise. It was clear that the students had thoroughly researched their topics, were interested in what they were talking about, and were keen to share their learnings and viewpoints with the crowd.

Ms Disney, who has led the series of Ned Talks this year expressed her delight at the event, stating;

‘Our student speakers were incredibly poised and knowledgeable, and it was brilliant to see such a range of topics, spanning literature, geography, geopolitics, medicine and economics.

‘It was especially enjoyable to collaborate with the brilliant Year 12 speakers from JAGS and Dulwich College. That's what the spirit of NedTalks is about - tapping into the wealth of knowledge that exists in our community and sharing this in a fun and accessible way.

‘We are very much hoping to grow our NedTalks programme next year and include a wider range of speakers - so if you have an idea for a talk, please do get in touch.’

If you were unable to join the event, not to worry – you can explore the speaker panel below.

Laurence from Alleyn’s opened the session with a talk on reading, desire and gender, in relation to If on a winter's night a traveller; the 1979 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. He unpacked the post-modernistic journey on which the novel takes you, exploring the limits of meta-fiction and the objectification of the female reader, and left us with questions about the very nature of what it means to be reader and author.

This was followed by Harry from Dulwich College who discussed how the Aral Sea was destroyed by humanity, largely by the Soviet Union in their pursuit of building a cotton farming empire. Harry drove home the point that humanity has historically been capable of destroying such a large natural resource (once the worlds 4th largest lake that supplied 1/6th of the fish for the entire Soviet Union), calling for a wider view of the impact of human activity across the world, and of learning about more than just what we see on the news.

Elyssa from JAGS talked about the gut microbiome, in an engaging and at times humorous presentation that educated about these genetically complex organisms living in the human body. She expressed how microbiomes are unique to the individual; even identical twins have different microbiomes, and they are extremely important due to their interaction with our bodies. Elyssa discussed their link with stress, hormones, and overall lifestyle - diet, sleep, social life – and how we can improve the health of our microbiome (you guessed it; one main influence is diet!).

Adam from Dulwich College talked about Islam and terrorism in his talk; Old solutions for old problems. Hailing from Iran, Adam has a particular interest in contemporary Middle Eastern politics. He carefully unpacked some of the intricacies of the religiously fueled extremism found in the Middle East, which has a deep-rooted history, touching on the notion that radical interpretations of the faith will always exist and how these might be combated.

Alex from Alleyn’s talked about Bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics, voicing concerns about rising global antibiotic resistance, and the role that bacteriophages (any of a group of viruses that infect bacteria) can play in combatting this widespread crisis. He provided a brief history of the use of bacteriophages (most notably in Cold War Eastern Europe) and discussed the future of bacteriophages, including how quickly new phages are being discovered - he is even planning on running tests in school where students can identify and name their own bacteriophages!

The evening of superb talks was wrapped up by Zoha from JAGS, with a talk on circular economies which opened with sobering statistics about poverty and the reality that billions around the world are suffering under current models and success indicators. Zoha expressed the need to move away from GDP as a measure of progress, to a more inclusive and realistic model (‘the doughnut model’) that fits the modern world. With inequality and the environmental crisis rising exponentially, Zoha urges us to think, recalibrate and act, now, and focus on creating a system that helps us to meet the needs of the people, within the needs of the planet.

The talks were interesting, inspiring and challenging, and as aptly wrapped up by Mrs. Lunnon, in the final address to the group;

‘These talks have been wonderful. Each of you has showcased your intelligence and emotional engagement, you’ve educated us and that’s what it’s about'.

Thank you to everyone involved in this year's programme of Ned Talks - we certainly look forward to returning in the new year with a fresh set of ideas worth sharing.

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