TEDxDJIS Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Abdulmalik Alqurashi

  Grade 12 Student

  Abdulmalik AlQurashi is an entrepreneur known for his work with Saudi Academics and the Saudi MUN Association. He has organized and led more than 20 conferences across Saudi Arabia and worked with international partners on youth-focused initiatives. His work focuses on giving young people real opportunities to speak, lead, and take initiative. In addition to his organizational work, he has delivered several talks focusing on public speaking and leadership, inspiring young individuals to find their voice and lead with confidence.

• Ahmad Alkaylani

  Grade 12 Student

  Ahmad Alkaylani is a student leader who builds and leads academic initiatives for young people. As President of JedMed, the first high school student-led medical conference in the Kingdom, he organized a summit that brought together over 700 students, doctors, and professionals and reached more than 50,000 people. He founded Saudi Academics, an event management company that develops platforms for student growth. Ahmad is known for turning ideas into reality and creating opportunities where students step forward, connect, and lead.

• Alhassan Jamjoom

  Entrepreneur

  My philosophy in life is to contribute to something greater than myself and help make the world a better place. I aim to create meaningful impact through innovation, inspire others, and contribute to building healthier communities.

• Bouchra Dernaika

  Grade 10 Student

  Bouchra Dernaika is a hard working and enthusiastic 15 year old student in Dar Jana International School. She regularly enjoys exploring new ideas and concepts, especially through scientific topics. Outside of her schoolwork, she spends a significant amount of time crocheting, creating various textile pieces in her free time. Additionally, she also loves participating in athletic sports like swimming and diving. Bouchra also has a strong passion and love for learning and sharing her thoughts with others to express herself.

• Jana Yassine

  English teacher, coordinator, and ICF-certified coach.

  Jana is an English teacher, coordinator, and ICF-certified coach. She has known unbearable loss, losing her father at 16 and her firstborn at 23, but rather than letting grief consume her, she transformed her pain into power. Today, she channels her experiences into guiding others to turn their own hardships into strength. Guided by purpose, she shows up each day with love, care, and positivity, committed to building a gentler world for her children and for everyone whose path crosses hers. Her purpose is simple yet profound: to be of service to those around her and to inspire others to grow, evolve, and rise beyond adversity. At the core of everything she does lies her greatest fuel: faith, the belief that sometimes what God withholds is, in fact, a different kind of blessing.

• Layan Alrajeh

  Grade 8 Student

  Layan Alrajeh is a 13-year-old student at Dar Jana International Schools with a profound curiosity about the nature of time and human connection. A reflective thinker and storyteller, she challenges conventional perspectives on youth and aging. Through her exploration of "the forever feeling," Layan examines the bittersweet reality of change and the importance of living deeply rather than indefinitely. By sharing personal stories of family and transition, she aims to inspire people to find value in fleeting moments and to build a lasting legacy through kindness, achievement, and the memories they leave behind.

• Omar Hazem

  Grade 12 Student

  Omar Hazem is a 17-year-old high school student at Dar Jana International School (DJIS) with a wide range of academic interests that have led him to reflect on the pressures students face while deciding their future paths. Exploring different subjects and possibilities has made him think deeply about how expectations and challenges can shape growth and resilience. At DJIS, Omar has contributed to student initiatives and helped give his peers a voice in shaping school life, serving last year as Vice President and this year as President of the Student Council. In his TEDx talk, he explores how the pressures we experience — from academics, expectations, and future ambitions — can become forces that prepare us for what lies ahead.

• Rakan Alireza

  Olympic Cross-Country Skier and Sports Advocate

  Rakan Alireza is a Saudi Olympic cross-country skier and sports advocate dedicated to advancing athletic performance and sports development in the Kingdom. After years competing in rowing and other endurance sports, he qualified to represent Saudi Arabia in cross-country skiing at the Olympic Winter Games, becoming one of the pioneers of winter sports in the region. Beyond competition, Rakan works at the intersection of sport, technology, and entrepreneurship, contributing to initiatives focused on wearable sensors, athlete performance, and sports innovation. Through his work with institutions such as KAUST and various sports organizations, he aims to help shape the future of sports in Saudi Arabia while inspiring the next generation to pursue ambitious paths.

• Raseel Iraqi

  Grade 11 Student

  Raseel Iraqi is a high school junior from Jeddah with hands-on experience leading and executing professional projects for expos and external initiatives, including coordinating with sponsors and managing real-world campaign logistics. Through these experiences, she has developed strong technical and organizational skills while also sharing her insights on stage to engage and inspire youth. Raseel is passionate about empowering the next generation to discover their strengths, take initiative, and transform their ideas into action.

• Sama Gabr

  Grade 9 Student

  Sama Hossam is currently a ninth-grade student at DJIS with a deep passion for debate, research, and writing. She enjoys expressing her ideas through public speaking and thoughtful discussions, often exploring questions about education, society, and human development. Her work frequently examines how environments shape the way people think and learn. Through research and argumentation, she seeks to challenge traditional systems and explore how education can influence both intellectual and emotional growth. Sama values critical thinking, and she is motivated by the impact that ideas can have on communities. In the future, she hopes to use her voice to inspire others to stand up for what they believe.

• Yousef Ataya

  Grade 3 Student

  Yousef Ataya is a 9-year-old Grade 3 student at Dar Jana International Schools who loves science, discovery, and exploring the world through curiosity and imagination. He enjoys asking questions, learning how things work, and sharing ideas with others. Yousef also enjoys participating in speeches and school events, where he can express his thoughts and inspire his peers. In his TEDx talk, “What If Kindness Was a Superpower?”, Yousef explores how simple acts of kindness can make a powerful difference in people’s lives. Through thoughtful reflections and everyday examples, he invites others to imagine a world where kindness is treated like a real superpower that everyone can use.

• Zeynep Buyukmutlu

  Grade 10 Student

  Zeynep is a grade 10 student and a 9-year competitive basketball player who admired many of her friends to be the best version of themselves. Her experiences on the court have shaped her perspective on resilience, pressure, and personal limits. After playing through a serious ankle injury during an important tournament till the final stages, she began questioning the culture in sports and academics that glorifies pushing through pain at any cost. Drawing on her experiences as both an athlete and a student, Zeynep reflects on the pressure to constantly perform and the hidden costs of endurance that often go unnoticed. In her talk, she invites audiences to rethink what strength really means, suggesting that true resilience may lie not in constant persistence, but in recognizing limits, allowing space for recovery, and learning to balance ambition with well-being. Her experiences offer great lessons for the young athletes with high admirations.