A bad date, the power of breath work and providing hope to young people, were just some of the topics discussed at Stellenbosch TEDx last Saturday.
The event, at the Stellenbosch University (SU) Museum, saw a panel of education experts give talks on various topics on “Emerge: Nurturing Ideas, Growing Futures”.
Judy-Ann Cilliers, political philosopher, explained the importance of both learners and educators of regulating their emotions in class.
As part of MathMoms, a NPO striving to empower children through mathematics, she added that techniques of breath work and self-regulation through somatic experiences help learners, not only in the classroom, but also help with confidence and control when faced with real world challenges.
The audience was also treated to the tale of how a bad date led to Thabani Mtsi getting his degree in civil engineering. Now a communication coach, he took the lessons he learnt from that bad experience and applied it to his life. Continuing to ask questions, learning to bond with others through shared experiences and create solutions have since served him well.
The line-up also included Professor Jonathan Jansen, gender and sexuality educator and researcher Jane Rossouw, and Wayde Groep, Knowledge and Communications Manager for YearBeyond. The YearBeyond is a Youth Service partnership various role-players and aims to empower young people.
Groep urged to provide hope for young South Africans the narrative around them has to change. Through his work with YearBeyond has seen the importance of offering youngster a lifeline through skills and meaningful work experience.
audience to take the hand of a young person in the community, to further the theme of the day.
