The “Vaccine against pessimism” workshop brought up the best ideas and public speaking skills in students

Can we change the world? Students in Professor José B. Pinto's Public Speaking class at our Schiller Madrid campus believe so.

They recently presented their proposals in an open session to classmates, family and friends, who gathered to hear the powerful speeches they had prepared. Following what they learned in their Public Speaking class, they addressed issues such as orphaned children, digital addiction, marine litter, credit card abuse, depression and lack of empathy, proposing solutions to alleviate them.

"Education cannot change the world, but education transforms people, and people can change the world," said Paola, who spoke against ocean pollution and proposed that we can all do our part by educating those around us and taking action. Jose spoke about what can be done to help orphaned children around the world and presented the Fundación Escuela de la Vida in Chile as an example of a local initiative. Alanah brought up a very relevant topic: screen addiction and proposed 5 useful steps to start fighting it. Miguel's theme was "Be more human", and he asked his audience to look around and care about others, to be brave and act with principles, even if they are not fashionable in today's world. Berta spoke against modern slavery stemming from credit card abuse and, in a very shocking act, ended up cutting a credit card in half to convince the audience of her claim. Vasilii used his experience with a close family member to talk about depression and eating disorders, and how we can help those who suffer from them.

And finally, Andrea gave a first-person account of his experience in the military, and his learning that it is in the little things that greatness is created, giving as an example the task of making his bed perfect every day, and the meaning this gave to the rest of his day. He also thanked Professor José Pinto for his dedication, saying that "The first time I felt that change was possible, was when I entered your class. You made us believe, and I thank you for that."

It was an exciting day, in which the students demonstrated the results of their hard work while agreeing that a better world is possible.