Competition #5 winners!
03 March 2025Festival skills
Welcome to this week’s competition! Every Monday we’ll open a new competition and the winners will be announced on Fridays. If you win, you’ll get three stars and your entries will be pinned to the top of the discussion!
Throughout the Festival you have been working on the following skills:
-
Speaking
-
Listening
-
Creativity
-
Problem solving
Now as we move onto creating Standpoints, it’s time for you to reflect on the progress you’ve made on these skills so far.
To enter the competition...
Step one: choose one of the four skills above
Step two: explain something that’s helped you to make progress in this skill during the Festival. For example, during a classroom lesson or through your discussions on the Hub.
We’d like you to refer to a particular example or moment in your comment – such as a lesson activity that encouraged you to speak more, or a discussion between you and another student that helped you to listen to a new perspective.
You could phrase your entry like this:
“The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is speaking/listening/problem solving/creativity. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I…”
Remember: all of your examples need to be from the Festival.
This competition is now closed. Well done to the winners below!
Comments (56)
You must be logged in with Student Hub access to post a comment. Sign up now!
-
1
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is particularly "Problem solving" as of myself.Although during this festival,I learnt many skills including the other ones but the reason I particularly chose problem solving was because after learning from the lessons and topics,Each topic had particular questions to brainstorm upon.These questions motivated me to research further more on the topic and embraced the curiosity in me.As we speak of problem solving,There are many other skills interlinked too like critical thinking, Problem analyzing,Topic understanding etc.During this whole festival I understood many problems around the world and tried to analyse and suggest solutions for them.One moment which helped me work on this skill was when I stepped in one's shoes and tried to understand the problem by their own perspective and due to this,I was helped a lot,to develop this skill.For example when we did the classroom lessons,Our teacher explained us the problems upon which I tried to brainstorm and suggest some reasonable alternatives and solutions.
To sum up,In my opinion "problem solving" was the skill which I developed and helped me throughout this festival and enhanced other abilities like critical thinking. -
1
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. One moment that helped me on this skill was when I participated in a group discussion about the situation in Syria. During the conversation, I had to listen carefully to my peers´ differing views on the political and humanitarian challenges faced by the country, which encouraged me to open my mind to new perspectives. This helped me improve my ability to actively listen, understand, and respond to others' ideas in a constructive way.
-
1
I have developed my creativity by talking with my classmates about the women in space. In that lesson, I had to imagine lots of crazy things that could happen in the future while I was searching for information about what has already happended. We spent a great time together and we learned and laughted all the lesson. Specially when I got to discuss with one classmate in particular with whom I spoke about how would be the life in space if there is any in the future where humans get to colonize new planets.
-
The skill that i have made progress on during the festival is creativity. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when i completed last competito, as we had to think of a superhero who could sovle a problem whe had chosen previously. A part from that we were told to express a situation which made our superhero take part in the solution of this problem. I personally found it really intreresting and usefull as we had to use our imagination in a good way.
-
1
The skill I have really improved on is listening. One good moment was during a group discussion about a book we have read in class. This day, instead of thinking about what I wanted to say next, I made a conscious effort and I listen to my classmate. He have different points from mine, so I think about the story and finally I opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about the story.
This experience taught me the importance of listening everyone.
I like to improve more this listening skills even more. -
1
The skill that I have make progress on is problem solving. Nowadays I am good at it but it has not be always on the same way, when I was younger, I used to have a hard time on working in groups and on trying to solve problems, I had never knew how to focus the problems in differents ways to solve it. Thanks to the activities in group, I had improve my skills, for example, trying to order the timeline from the war, I had to cooperate with my parners to solve it. I have realised that it is easier in that way, and also, between all of us, looked for and alternative way to create the line, the idea was to read the text and order it, but we thought to put the drawings in order first to make it easier. Furthermore, this kinds of works had help me a lot, I had improved my inglis skills, and I had learnt for my parners and I hope that they will learnt something from me. In conclusion, it is a very interesting option to divide students on teams, the will share ideas, improve skills, achieve goals, have fun and with a bit of luck they will become good firends.
-
1
A skill I have made progress on during the festival is definetly speaking, during class our teacher usually makes groups in which we can discuss certain topics and then answer questions each group prompted with. I've found myself to genuinely enjoy giving my opinion on current issues and listening to what my classmates have to say.
One moment that really helped me on this skill was an activity my class did about conflict in Syria, at first I found myself to know very little on the matter but once we were given information, we all had to discuss and voice our own opinions, and this made me realise how much I liked the conversations held as well as the outcome. -
Hello everybody,
The skill that I have made progress on during the festival is listening. Although I have made progress with all the skills including speaking, creativity and problem solving I feel like I have made the most progress with the listening skill. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I had to listen to a personal account from somebody who used to live in Syria. This helped me improve my listening skills as I had to pay 100% attention to what the person in my class was saying. I also improved my listening skills when me and my class had detailed discussions about the topics such as inequality. I had to listen to my peers so I can formulate my own opinion based on the topics to share with the rest of the class. -
3
One skill that I improved during the festival is a 1000% speaking. See I was not a good public speaker. Whenever I was supposed to speak in public I got chills all over my body. One time, we were to read out the card about news on Elon. I was scared as no other student from my division was present. Mostly due to my shyness I never spoke in a discussion before and most children looked down on me. What I they judge me or don't like my opinions? I was trembling but my teacher's smile gave me a little confidence. I read it out aloud. Then my teacher asked a few questions on the topic. I started stammering a bit but gradually I got the courage to take initiative and raise my hand to answer. If you are a good speaker this might seem normal, but for someone like me raising our hand in class was totally like climbing the Everest. Even though this festival boosted my other skills too, I think for me speaking made the most difference. After commenting on the hub diccussions I had my own opinions too, rather than just nodding on what others speak. When I expressed my slightly different opinions with others it lead to friendly debates between us. Automatically enhancing my creativity, problem solving and listening skills through awesome hub discussions/classroom activities. We already know if you master these skills a lot of other skills like-teamwork,leadership,critical thinking comes to you right away. Overall I think this festival enhanced my speaking a lot and now I am not at all afraid to speak and participate in a class diccussion on the festival at all. For me that's a win !
-
1
One skill I improved during the festival was problem-solving. Encountering real-world issues made me realize its value. One incident that pushed me to my limits involved tracing the possible reasons why Musk supported Trump, reading articles from vast sources and chronologically arranging them. Reading about powerful people, from innovators to women who broke glass ceilings, and how they exercised their power exposed me to dimensional thinking. Artificial intelligence and its potential negative consequences surprised me to the extent that I contacted my elders, who are much closer to these databases, to discuss renewable energy sources, their practicality, and explore possible solutions to the intelligence's impact on the common person. This topic led me to search the corners of the internet to find out how this sustainable energy can be produced to run our beloved assistants. Having a say in deciding a country's future, like that of Syria, felt like a responsibility, again implementing the "trial and error" method to determine the different possibilities at the turning points. Space was no different; Dr. Sian prompted us to make space inclusive. Hearing opinions from people in Russia and Ukraine opened my eyes to both sides, making my solution balanced instead of biased. Exploring local news to find a link between the topics was an amazing experience. All my school library periods were contributed toward finding hints to frame a logical solution to these problems. This festival made me believe that I was the next Sherlock Holmes, finding solutions to real-world issues.
-
1
In my opinion and through my observation, I have made progress on my creativity during the Festival, but I won't deny that it also helped me improve my other skills too. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when me and my classmates were discussing about the Russia - Ukraine war , we talked about how Journalists face problems in warzones, the various dangers surrounding them and how to protect them; this problem piqued my curiosity and we had to think alot and use our imagination before suggesting various different and awesome creative ideas. The lesson was fun and interesting, it developed our imagination skills along with our creativity to come up with accurate, practical and helpful solutions!
-
The skill that I have made progress on the festival is both creativity and problem solving because the thing is these two skills are interconnected without thinking ability and creativity you can't create or bring a new solution for a topic which have been discussed. But in the previous lessons speaking is the one who supported skills because sharing our thoughts and perspective people can accept or regret it but it makes thinking others and that could also be key for problem solving.
-
1
Hello,
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is creativity. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I engaged in the discussion on 'One step for women, one giant leap for humankind.' As I listened to diverse perspectives and experiences, I began to think creatively about the ways in which gender equality can be achieved.
A fellow student's comment about the importance of challenging gender stereotypes in our daily lives sparked a chain of innovative thinking. I started brainstorming ways to promote gender equality, from organizing community events to creating social media campaigns.
Through this experience, I realized that creativity is not just about generating new ideas, but also about building upon others' perspectives and collaborating to create something truly innovative. This newfound understanding has empowered me to approach complex issues with a more creative and open-minded mindset.
Thankyou. -
The skill that I have made progess on during the Festival is listening. I remember when we watched the videos about the topic "Women in space" in little groups. In my classroom there were al lot of other voices and other noise. I was very concesntrated to understand what the woman said. I was focused on her body language and facial expression. In the end I noticed that I have understood almost everything she said. This was very good, because afterwards I could better discuss and exchange my opinion with my classmates, about what the astronaut said.
I have already used this new knowledge after this lesson. In the lesson we have had about the war in the Ukraine, we also watched those different videos from the different perspectives, where we had to compare the personal experiences with the facts. Here it was just more difficult to understand them because of their ukrainian or russian accent. I focused on their faces and what body language they used and afterwards I could discuss with my classmates more easily.
Result for me: in the future I will focus more on the body language and facial expression when I hear somebody talk and i couldn't really understand the person because of their accent or other factors which disturb the speech. -
A skill that I have made progress on is listening. I chose listening because during the festival we heard classmates reading discussion questions, or we listened to each other reading the important facts about different countries such as Syria, Russia, and Ukraine. Another way we have used our listening skills is by paying attention to our teacher explain the information presented on the google slide presentations. Also, we listened by hearing our classmates or teachers express their opinions about Elon Musk. For example, one of my classmates expressed that Elon Musk has so much power due to his wealth and ability to purchase social media platforms to influence others. Although we have used many more skills, I feel like on my behalf, I learned and made progress on my listening skills. Furthermore, I used my listening in today's lesson because there were personal videos of people speaking about what happened in the Ukraine-Russia War. After listening to the different personal stories, I along with my classmates gave our opinions about which gave us a better understanding of the war between personal stories or the facts on the screen.In conclusion, I have made the most progress on my listening skills!
-
A skill that I have gotten better at doing is definitely "Creativity" because usually I do the same thing with no difference. Like when I draw I only make stick figures. Although in the lesson "Syria, a turning point" I had to have my own opinions. The opinion I had was changed because the lesson helped me. I also now have different ideas on topics such as Russia and Ukraine I might be able to come up with my own ideas to help. I might not do these things, but it will still help with my creativity
I also have had to use creativity on the last talk by thinking of somebody in a book or movie that could help with a problem that is happening in our world. Another lesson that this helped was when we were talking about space and gender inequality. That helped with my creativity because me and my team came up with the idea of making a video that has a message on why females should go to space. I also said that we can have people with different expertise go to space. That is how this lesson helped my creativity.
To wrap it up the Topical Talk Festival helped me the most on the skill creativity. These reasons help support how my creativity was increased a lot because of this festival, how, and which lessons helped me with this skill. -
I used the skill "Listening" by listening to people who speak and give their opinion. Like in the lesson about the war with "Russia and Ukraine" and listening to "Ilya Andreev." In the about Elon musk, I had to listen to people talk about how powerful they think Elon Musk is and who thinks he owns or makes him have all that power he has. I had to listen to "Ms. Waye" our teacher, talk about the Syrian president and protesting.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is problem solving because I have gathered more knowledge for this topical talk than the other 3. To show this in class today we had to put together a puzzle about the history of Ukraine and Russia . Another reason is that two weeks ago, we had to look at different pictures in Syria and guess what is going on in the picture . This is why problem solving is the skill that I made progress on during the topical talk festival.
-
If I had to choose one of those four skills, I would choose "Problem Solving". Although I was able to learn new things even with the other skills. I found that problem solving was the best one for me. Like the time we came up with a conflict. We were able to find different ways to work out the conflict and find a solution.
Another way that problem solving helped me out was during the activity with "Russia and Ukraine." We used puzzles to find ways to get information about the conflict in the order of the events. Another way that I could show problem solving was when "Ilya Andreev" Was tied to the tree. He said to them that he learned from his mistake and they untied him.That is a way to show problem solving.
Another way you could show problem solving was when Syrian people were going through war with the rulers of their country, and the people who were against it took over the place and ended the war. Setting peace to them even if they have more fixing to do.
In conclusion, I think that "Problem Solving" was what I used the most throughout our lesson. -
The skill that I have made progress during the Festival is "Listening" because I had to listen to my classmates. I had to listen to my classmates reading important facts about the topics and read questions. Having to listen to my classmates grows your listening and being able to focus more about what they are saying then what others are. I also used to listen to videos of people from "Russia and Ukraine." Learning this skill is very important because listening is used almost every day. Like having to listen to someone say something important that important thing if you didn't listen that person would probably ask you what it was or if they remember they could think it would be disrespectful.
-
During the "Topical Talks Festival " I have developed the skill of creativity. Now, I am able to think more quickly and uniquely. For instance, when learning about the Syrian Civil War, I was able to predict what would happen to the people who returned to their homeland or left their home country for safety reasons. I also liked the lesson on Elon Musk and the great influence he has globally by using social media. In this lesson, I used my creativity to make decisions about what might happen if Elon Musk continues to have so much power. Creativity is something we all need to have because without creativity we would not be able to use common sense to predict consequences of our actions.
Which means no judges police officers or interviews we need creativity for are safety and daily lives. -
1
The skill that I have made progress on during the festival is definitely "Speaking". One moment that helped me work on this skill was during a class discussion on Elon Musk: money, power, and influence.
You see I was very shy before this topic. I would never give my opinion on any topics on topical talks. I would just listen to what everybody had to say. Now did I agree with them?, no, but I couldn't speak up because I was to scared.
Then my teacher introduced us to this topic and encouraged me to talk because I barely do. She put us into groups of four and told us to ask and answer questions about the discussion we just had. I didn't talk at first but then I got a little spark from what I knew about him and started answering question after question. I even got a standing ovation. I was so happy and my teacher was as well.
Fast forward to Russia and Ukraine: three years on. Our discussion was great and we talked a lot. Then she gave us cards to mix and match with the situations. we didn't win first place but we came in second and we sure did talk a lot. Then we had a debate and I was finally a debate leader, all thanks to topical talks! -
3
The skill that I have made progress on during the festival is Problem-solving. One moment that helped me work on this skill was during a classroom debate about which issue in gender inequality is the most difficult to fix. My group had to argue that male-led development is the hardest problem to solve. At first, I thought stereotypes would be the biggest issue but as the debate went on, I realized how deeply male-led development affects everyday life in ways we often don't notice.
We discussed how most products, from office spaces to safety equipment, have been designed with men in mind. One example that stood out was how seatbelts and airbags in cars were initially tested using crash test dummies based on male body proportions, making them less safe for women. Another example was how some workplaces, like construction sites and tech companies, don't accommodate women's needs, which can discourage them from joining these fields.
During the debate, other groups argued for issues like the motherhood penalty or male-dominated industries and their points were strong too. It made me realize that all of these problems are connected and solving one requires tackling the others. This debate helped me improve my problem-solving skills by forcing me to think critically, consider different perspectives and defend my arguments with real-world examples. It also opened my eyes to how deeply ingrained these issues are and why solving them requires a thoughtful and collective effort. -
I think the skill that I might have made the most progress on is listening. I would like to refer to a example out of a classroom lesson. We were talking about what makes you most powerful. I found it interesting to hear other people's opinions, who have convinced me otherwise and gave me whole new perspective on this topic which I didn't seem to notice before. Looking from that angle, it seemed perfectly logical to think like that. This indeed shows how important listening is, because it opens up so much more perspectives. And it's also a skill many have forgotten or are not able to use: with societal dispair, other people's opinions are neglected from the outset, just because they come from a different political position.
Listening is the only way we are making progress and great solutions for everyone. Because just because something is good for you, it isn't necessarily good for others. If we want to treat ourselves as fellow, equal humans and members of societies, we really should care about listening to others, but also to go one step further: consider those opinions and views we have just listened to, and use them to influence our decision making process. This is especially important for political leaders.
But it also affects "normal" people. We all should listen to eachother. But instead, We're screaming ourselves down. The one who screams the loudest, wins. I mean, we all have the same goal! And if we ant to achieve something, everyone needs to pull together! Instead, we're fighting over who should be able to pull the rope alone. -
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is speaking. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when my group was doing the lesson for gender equality, and I spoke about an opinion I had. I usually don't speak out loud, when I do speak it is usually for a question in class and never a thought I have. Speaking in front of others has never been a skill that I have, especially if it is how I feel about something. I've always gotten shaky and nervous when I did. I think this festival will continue to help me truly speak on something without being nervous.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is creativity. One moment that helped me work on this skill was during an activity where I had to propose innovative solutions to social problems. Thinking differently and listening to others' ideas inspired me to develop new and creative approaches. Also, exercises like creating a solution with a fictional character helped me explore my creativity. On the other hand, this skill has helped me express my ideas with confidence. Thanks to this, I now feel more comfortable using creativity to solve challenges in different situations.
-
One skill which I improvised upon during the festival is *problem solving* where in many questions we need to solve the issues faced. its actually a great opportunity as students and in Ukraine and Russia war topic I found a really creative way to protect journalists by using AI and through my comment hopefully all other talkers also came to know about the usage of AI in Venezuela to protect journalists by using AI avatars. Basically anonymous reporting. This also challenged my knowledge and proved that AI is and can be more beneficial in future.
-
1
One skill that I have improved during the festival is problem solving , and honestly I thought I never would. Look , I used to struggle in finding solutions quickly , especially in discussions where different viewpoints clashed. I would either stay silent or just agree with others to avoid confrontation.
We were given a question and we had to answer it . Everyone was answering one by one and then it was my turn , at first I hesitated that what if my idea is not good enough. But then , as my friends shared their thoughts, I started pointing out the flaws , analyzing their answer and also giving them other suggestion. The real turning point was when my idea was challenged , and instead of staying silent and defended by by sharing points. This made me realize that problem solving is not about having a perfect answer , it is about critically , adapting and learning from others.
This not only did boost my confidence , but i also sharpened my creativity and listening skills . Instead of just agreeing with everyone, I now ask questions , challenge ideas and also share my own thoughts. And the best part is that I no longer feel stuck when I face a tough question , I see it as a challenge that I have to overcome , and that is a really amazing part for me. -
In article they say that CO-FOUNDER of CHAT-GPT has denied the offer of Elon Musk.....In 2023 I heard a news that Elon musk invested in a start up company named XAI...If Elon musk got yes from Sam Altman, then Chat-GPT would be combined with XAI and it would got new name like twitter to X...It would be nice if Elon musk combines with Chat GPT it would a new evolution of AI industries and helps all of us....And it would be good too....
-
-
Hi gracious_papaya, thank you for your comment. I'm interested to hear more about why you think it would be nice and good if xAI and Chat GPT merged. Perhaps you could also think about what some of the risks would be?
-
-
1
Greetings! The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. Although all of these skills have been necessary when answering certain questions and topics found on the hub, I particularly chose listening because most decisions I made required this skill. Each topic in the hub listed new problems and stories around the world, which required me to listen to multiple sides and arguments for different situations. One specific moment where this skill came in handy was when I was deciding about what should happen to different Syrian Refugees. When I first made my choice, i scrolled and read through different comments to see what others though. I listened and though about their reasons and motivation, and some comments caused me to change my original choice. I stepped into other people's shoes to understand their ideas and actions, which overall helped me become a better problem solver and thinker. I carefully used my cognitive skills to reply to each topic thoroughly and thoughtfully. To summarize, I think listening most helped me throughout my journey on the Topical Talk hub.
-
The skill in which I made progress on during the festival is 'Listening'.
When I participated in group discussions in our class and went through different comments of my friends across the globe about the condition of women, gender inequality, my knowledge spectrum widened of and I learned how to see things from different point of views.
I learned about the prevelant trends of the society and different versions of gender based prejudice. -
My creativity has improved in addressing the issue of gender inequality because tackling this problem required me to think in new and innovative ways.Firstly, I realized that gender inequality is not just a social issue;it also demands a deep cultural and mental shift. In working towards a solution, I began to explore various approaches, such as raising awareness, breaking old stereotypes, and ensuring equal opportunities for all. In addressing this issue, I have realized that women in my country are taking initiatives online, selling various items such as cakes,jewellery, cosmetics, confectioneries, and more. Through these online ventures, they are not only earning money but also challenging gender inequality and improving their standard of living. These entrepreneurial activities empower women, giving them financial independence and a platform to break free from traditional gender roles. By tapping into the digital economy, they are creating their own opportunities for contributing to reducing gender disparities in society. Through events during festivals, I learned to think more creatively by using methods like seminars, workshops, theater,or art to raise awareness. As a result, my creative thinking and problem- solving skills have greatly improved.
-
Of all the skills I have learnt, I really saw a development in my listening skill, especially during our discussion about AI, when I heard Tejas speak, I felt a shift in my mindset about the importance of listening, and how because I listened I was able to apply my new found knowledge to the discussion, understanding the thoughts someone is trying to pass completely depends on listening, and just speaking won't get you anywhere. After that I realized the importance of listening, and I am grateful for the Topical Talk for helping me see that.
-
The skill that I have built during the Festival is speaking. I have become more comfortable and open to expressing my thoughts freely on a platform with other people my age who want to do the same. I learnt how to convey my opinion and thoughts on certain topics going on around the world more easily, and I also got to hear many other people's perspectives beside my own, especially on topics like Russia and Ukraine: Education, where I got to share my experience of doing online school in America while reading about others. Not only this, but as well as women in space. I got to communicate what I thought about gender inequality in a way that I could never do normally in school. I enjoy this because I have a lot of opinions and thoughts to share about many topics, and it's also intriguing to read the opinions of others as well.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is problem solving. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when we had to work together in a team to solve a tricky puzzle. It was like trying to fit together the pieces of a broken mirror, but somehow, we did it! We had to think carefully and listen to everyone’s ideas, and at first, it seemed impossible. However, when we combined our thoughts, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head, and the solution became clear.
Before the puzzle, I wasn’t confident in solving problems with others. But this time, I noticed how much better we did when we shared ideas. It felt like we were all pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle, and once we clicked together, we became stronger as a team. We even laughed when something didn’t work because it felt like we were learning and improving.
Another key moment was when we had to solve a real-life scenario, and the situation kept changing, like a rollercoaster ride. At first, I panicked, but then I realized that if we stayed calm and kept thinking step by step, the answer was there. This experience taught me that problem solving isn't just about finding answers but also about keeping calm and trusting the process.
This experience showed me that working with others makes problem solving feel less like a mountain and more like a smooth hill to climb. It was like magic! This moment really helped me grow in this skill and made me see problem solving isn’t scary at all when you work together. -
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is speaking. I can remember very well during the last topic; I couldn't really speak boldly but I discovered that ever since we started this new topic, I got really bold, and I got the Economist Foundation to thank for that.
-
-
This is wonderful to hear. Keep up the boldness!
-
-
The skill that I have made progress on is Creativity. The moment this came in help was when I was making a comment on the topic and AI and sustainability, there was a question which stated that ‘ What can be done to save water after cooling down the systems?’ I had a very good thought about this and it enhanced my creativity very well.
-
A skill that I've made progress on in this Festival is 'Problem solving'. Listening to women's rights and fairness has given me solutions I've never thought of. It's also given me ideas for problems that no-one's ever thought of. From thinking about homeless, suicide, and gender inequalities, I've noticed that I've improved my ideas and the way I think since last Festival. It not only gives me these ideas, but makes me think of how lucky I am to be where I am. I'm glad to be someone who has ideas, and thinks about them carefully. Usually I don't. This festival has taught me much, but it also taught me how to edit and revise my ideas and compare them to others. To sum it up, I love how much the ideas this Festival have taught me to be interested in not just my ideas, but to others and think of better ways to help the environment we find ourselves in.
-
I think a skill I have progressed on lately using Topical Talk Festivals is 'Listening'. I think this way because before entering topical talks in general I wasn't a very good listener and wasn't very good with putting myself in other perspectives. However, when I did begin learning about these topical talks I improved a lot more with seeing where other people were coming from. I enjoyed discussing and debating with classmates about many of these topical talk discussions. One moment where I truly learned that I was improving in Listening was when I was having a debate with another classmate. While she was telling me about her way of seeing things I would've stayed debating with her about the topic. However, I realized she sort of had a point in a way and she was kind of correct. That's when I finally understood how others could have different opinions. Although I earned benefit from multiple other topics, I mostly benefited from this one.
-
One of the skills that I would say I have made progress on would be "Speaking" because before I joined this festival I was very quiet and even though I had an opinion I wouldn't say it because I thought other people wouldn't agree with me. But a few weeks in the festival I noticed that my peers agreed and sometimes disagreed but it was to help you and to also give out their opinion. I also noticed that when you say your opinion you may also help other people with their opinion and give them ideas. In conclusion I noticed that by speaking you can help other people as well as create a debate with your peers and create more opinions.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is speaking when we discuss different topics, such as leading change for access to healthcare. I had different opinions and arguments than my classmates, and I liked saying my opinions. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when my classmates and I were discussing allowance for kids. I was changing other people's opinions, and that was fun for me.
-
Though these festivals helped me to improve all the four skills but I think it helped me majorly improve my problem solving skills. The festivals helped me solve different recent problems and increased my knowledge about what's going on all over the world .to solve various problems and answer questions I had to push my limits. It helped me to think out of the box like on the topic of gender equality to find the solution to decrease inequality. The festival's topic "Elon Musk" forced me to research more and more about why he was supporting Donald Trump .the problem in Syria of what should be done there, confused me in the starting but after a lot of understanding I aced the answer. The negative impacts of AI led me to deep thinking .
A question from the topical talk on my comment about why Ukraine wanted to join NATO sparked a chain of curiosity that helped to solve the question .
Earlier I did not use my problem solving skills for the right purpose but these festivals and topics encouraged me to use it to know more about the world And in a positive way -
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening.
One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I read others' comments. Their comments give me more information and help me think in new different ways. Sometimes, I search for information and then read comments from others. I add their Information to mine.... which helps me learn even more!
BUT IT IS NOT JUST LISTENING!!!
I also made progress in creativity....
I think creativity is connected to listening because hearing new ideas helps me brainstorm. I like to mix ideas together to create something fantastic! Like, I enjoy adding others' ideas to mine. This helps me come up with Fantastic, out of the box ideas!!!
That’s why I believe both listening and creativity are the skills I improved the most during the Festival. 😊 -
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is Problem solving, initially when we had lessons about different topics, my problem solving was very poor, when our teachers ask us problems to solve that are related to the topic, I do not really think creatively to bring out solutions for the problems and I was not getting a lot of stars. I kept pushing harder and I observed that my problem solving skills began to improve and currently, my problem solving skills are way better such that when we discuss on topical talk, I am able to come up with creative solutions to solve the problems. I have been able to attain 11 stars, all thanks to my problem solving improvement.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the festival is creativity. First of all, creativity is like when you open a bucket of chocolate, you will find that every type of chocolate has its own taste and also everyone is special in something than the other one. This is the same thing with all humans. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I was in the debate (the zoom meeting that was made by the topical talk festival), I and my group were supposed to talk about the stereotypes. I said a lot of ideas about stereotypes like that the men were promoted but women were barely qualified to a higher level, men took a greater salary than women even if they worked harder than the men employees besides women are known that the suitable place for them is in the kitchen because of the country's traditions in the past. Luckily, my teacher wrote all the ideas that I said in the chat furthermore they were read by the Economist consequently I was extremely satisfied and excited. I was really creative. During the debate, I realized that every student had a different and creative ideas from the other student. Also, other groups were arguing about other disasters and calamities in gender inequality topic like the Motherhood Penalty and Male-dominated industries. These groups also were completely strong. Finally, this debate helped me to think out of the box and the debate helped me to imagine the problems to find solutions and ideas.
THANK YOU, TOPICAL TALK FOR YOUR EFFORTS. -
The skill I have improved during the Festival is "speaking" because, before the thematic debate festival, I was not very good at writing long texts since I didn't have a large vocabulary. I was able to improve this skill, especially when talking about interesting topics that I was already familiar with because I had a lot to say on those subjects.
At the beginning, I had to look up multiple word translations because I didn't know them at all, whereas now I am able to write longer paragraphs while needing to look up only a few translations. I believe that improving this skill will have a very positive impact on my future studies since being able to write longer or shorter texts in English is essential for continuing my education.
I also developed other skills, such as listening, but to a much lesser extent. -
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I had to review all the videos and speakers for the topic "AI and Sustainability". Another moment that helped me skill was when I had to listen to my classmates and their opinions in the classroom during topical talk hour. The skill of listening has very much helped me throughout the whole festival for these reasons. So in conclusion, the skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. And I hope to be able to apply the other three skills as much as I do for listening.
-
The skill I've made the most progress on during The Festival is Creativity. Debate style learning is much more hands-on instead of sitting down and taking notes, allowing you to voice your opinion relevant to the topic and hear other people's thoughts on it. During the AI and sustainability lesson, I was honestly so surprised about how many people were against AI. Though I've yet to share my opinion on the topic on the website, I connected the concept of quantum computers to AI. Most people agree that AI is the future, a computer that specifically produces results that fit humans best. Quantum computers on the other hand, take millions of different solutions and filter out the objectively best answer. Connecting these concepts using prior knowledge strengthened my argument and introduced a topic that's relevant but doesn't explicitly follow the lesson, empowering our creativity and confidence in having your own voice.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when we had the live lesson for the Women in Space topic. As we were able to add our answers to our poll, I first thought that the only thing thing that were a big problem to solve were Man-led Industries, but as I continued to listen to my peers, I heard something interesting. One of my pears suggested that Motherhood penalty, Man-led industries and Man led Development all fell under Stereotypes. I continued to listen as they explained that they thought they fell under stereotypes because Mothers are expected to not pay attention to their job after having children which is a stereotype. As well as how Men are usually expected to take charge and lead companies, industries and development: this is also a stereotype. From listening to that peer, I came to realize that I could see the connection that they were honing at. In the end we all conversed with one another when the live lesson was over and i continued to listen to those around me so that I couldn't miss anything that could be important that a peer could suggest.
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. I say so because most times when I listen the more I get progression in my education and Festival topics, I also think the more I listen, the more I get creative, the more I can speak accurately and the better I understand what my teachers are teaching. Imagine somebody that doesn't listen but want to make progress, I don't think he/she will make progress because he/she will always be confused. One moment that helped me work on this was when we were doing the lesson about the topic Stereotypes and I was listening attentively to the speaker, and I learnt that the are negative beliefs about the both genders and it made me sad because those people are not able to reach their full potential as a result of these believes. As a result of my listening I was able to make a successful comment and I have also developed other skills thanks to Topical Talk Festival.
Thank You!!! -
The skill that I have made progress on during the festival is problem solving. One moment that helped me work on this skill was when I was doing AI and sustainability. I chose problem solving skill because of the importance of identifying the root cause of a problem and profering solution to the problem, since problem emerges in the course of human existence. My problem-solving skill has enabled me to tackle and solve problems as they occur in life THANK YOU!!!
-
The skill that I have made progress on during the lesson is listening. Listening is a very key skill if you want to succeed and make reasonable post. To me, listening is the gate way to all the skills in the festival. Moments that listening has helped me is during live lessons and classroom lessons. The classroom lesson are very important in the festival because, they give you more insight about that topic and let you know more about that news story. For example, during the live lesson about women in space, we had to listen to experts to know what they are doing to reduce the rate of gender inequality for example Dr. Sian Proctor, and Dr. Aldrin Andrew told us more about gender inequality in space and in order to understand what they are saying, we have to listen attentively.
In order to speak accurately, solve problems, and be creative, listening is required. Listening is an everyday skill because you interact with people everyday and in order to have a good conversation and interact effectively, you have to pay attention. Topical Talk has boosted my listening skills and helped me to pay more attention to even the smallest clues and I know with this impact I will be able to interact well with others. -
The skill that I have made progress on is speaking. One moment That helped me work on this skill is during the debate between my classmates and I. I spoke confidently after listening to their opinions and building my thoughts to back up my points. I also spoke when I was on the STUDENT HUB making a comment one small step for women and one giant leap for human kind. I spoke by telling myself that as a female I can do anything.
THANK YOU! -
The skill I have made progress in during the festival is listening.
Listening is the ability to be able to pay attention and listen to instructions. Before the festival I had serious issues with paying attention, taking corrections and following instructions,but because of the impacts of topical talk I have improved in my listening skills and can interact and do things better. I can take corrections and also follow instructions.
One moment that listening has helped me was in the topic AI and Sustainability. I replied to a comment after reading carefully and disagreed with the person saying that the future of the earth is more important than AI .when I made my first comment. I paid attention to the key points before commenting and that caused me to get my first star.
In conclusion listening to someone can help and boost someone's mind and in my case I have improved thank you. -
The skill that I have made progress in during the Festival is Problem solving. It is the ability to solve problems with your thinking ability and imagination. Problem solving has helped me solve many problems. An example was when I was on the topic "Doctors and responsibilities" Problem- Solving helped me decide which was the best option for doctors during wartime.
Another moment that helped in this skill was when I was on the topic "What should happen to Syrian Refugees?" This gave me the ability to think about what would be the possible outcome if Syrian refugees should come back to their country, or no further support should be shown. This helped me think about what should be the possible outcome of Syrian refugees. It helped me consider if others should help them, should they stay in their new countries, or should they come back. I chose they should stay because it is the best option because Syria is currently unstable, coming to Syria is not the best option as a lot of things are still happening there. So to me it is the best option.
Problem Solving has helped me solve many problems during the Festival and even outside the Festival.
Thank You!!! -
1
It is difficult for me to pick which skill I improved the most from this competition, as it does not fall into any of the skills mentioned. But if I have to pick one, I will have to go with speaking. Speaking in my sense is not talking in front of a large crowd. It is more about having the courage to voice out myself. While reading through the entry of this festival, I realized that trying to solve the world's problems is one thing and sharing it in the form of writing comments is another thing. I learned a lot of issues that people from different countries were facing and ways to solve them. I felt confident as I could almost always have a solution to every problem posted. But things don't always go your way. I was scared of rejection so I didn't post any of the drafts. In my opinion, writing a comment is completely different from writing an essay. The comments are both being reviewed by the journalists and other participants. I worry that any of my comments will affect other people or be viewed as offensive. Even if I am still terrified till now, I felt guilty for letting myself give up to a one time opportunity. So I promised myself to post this comment even thought it didn't reach my standards, and keep posting in the future!
distinguished_parrot | IES Virgen del Espino | Spain 19 Feb 2025
The skill that I have made progress on during the Festival is listening. One moment that helped me on this skill was when I participated in a group discussion about the situation in Syria. During the conversation, I had to listen carefully to my peers´ differing views on the political and humanitarian challenges faced by the country, which encouraged me to open my mind to new perspectives. This helped me improve my ability to actively listen, understand, and respond to others' ideas in a constructive way.
fair_cricket | East Clayton Elementary School | United States of America 19 Feb 2025
A skill that I have gotten better at doing is definitely "Creativity" because usually I do the same thing with no difference. Like when I draw I only make stick figures. Although in the lesson "Syria, a turning point" I had to have my own opinions. The opinion I had was changed because the lesson helped me. I also now have different ideas on topics such as Russia and Ukraine I might be able to come up with my own ideas to help. I might not do these things, but it will still help with my creativity
I also have had to use creativity on the last talk by thinking of somebody in a book or movie that could help with a problem that is happening in our world. Another lesson that this helped was when we were talking about space and gender inequality. That helped with my creativity because me and my team came up with the idea of making a video that has a message on why females should go to space. I also said that we can have people with different expertise go to space. That is how this lesson helped my creativity.
To wrap it up the Topical Talk Festival helped me the most on the skill creativity. These reasons help support how my creativity was increased a lot because of this festival, how, and which lessons helped me with this skill.