TEDxMashtotsAve - Stepan S. Khzrtian - "Barev, Bangladesh!"

Our TEDxYerevan speaker Stepan S. Khzrtian, who is a Cambridge University graduate, did his second TEDx talks at TEDxMashtotsAve. Speaking to an audience of "at-risk" children aged 11 to 16, Stepan aims to convey a crucial message: our problems are our wealth. Fleeing them is losing. Facing them is winning.

The children share a common issue: not being fully accepted by, and thus feeling uncomfortable within, society. Some of them are bullied. Some are bullies themselves. Others have issues at home or with peers. Many have self-esteem concerns. And almost all lack self-confidence to look their problems in the eye and overcome them.

Here, Stepan presents a personal story of difficulty he faced when he was 12, inviting each child to relate her/his issues with the speaker's. By the end, the children are called upon to embrace their issues, view them as an advantage, and to believe in themselves. Presently Stepan Khzrtian is a mentor of one of the kids attending "Ghoghanj" NGO.

P.S. Pardon the jargon! The inclusion of street talk is intended not to "educate", but to help teenagers connect with the speaker.