Adora Svitak Explained

Adora Svitak
Birth Date:15 October 1997
Birth Place:Springfield, Oregon, U.S.
Education:University of California, Berkeley (BA)

Adora Svitak (born October 15, 1997) is an American writer, public speaker, former child prodigy,[1] and activist. She did work for the Wikimedia Foundation as a communications associate.[2]

Early life

Svitak was born in Springfield, Oregon.[3] Her mother, Joyce, was a Chinese immigrant[4] who grew up during the Cultural Revolution. Her father, John, studied physics and worked as a software engineer. She got her first computer at age 6[5] and began to write short stories on it.

Public speaking

Svitak's February 2010 TED Talk, "What Adults Can Learn From Kids," has received over 6.3 million views to date on TED.com.[6]

In 2015, Svitak addressed the National School Boards Association in an "Un-General" session and followed up with an extended session on encouragement of writing and reading that is relevant to students.

TEDxRedmond

From 2010 to 2013, Adora organized the annual TEDx (x = independently organized TED event) conference TEDxRedmond with an all-youth planning committee.[14] The conference took place at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, WA. Over 700 people attended the inaugural conference in September 2010.[15] Svitak said in a Microsoft interview that she hopes TEDxRedmond attendees are empowered by participating, adding, "I would love to see kids taking up issues that were important to them, whether it's something that needs fixing at their school, or an environmental program that they'd like to start. I want them to see it's OK to take action. As a kid, your voice is important. Use it."[16]

Writing and journalism

Svitak's first full-length novel, Yang in Disguise, which she began working on in 2006,[17] was published on March 14, 2011 . She also served as a spokesperson for Verizon Reads campaign for literacy[18] and edited a novella, The Pickpocket Princess.[19] Her second book, Dancing Fingers, which her older sister Adrianna, who is a musician, helped write was published on April 30, 2008 .

Other work

Activism

Svitak was a Verizon Foundation Literacy Champion from 2005 to 2009. In that capacity, she appeared on behalf of Verizon's foundation alongside James Earl Jones at the National Center for Family Literacy convention in Orlando, Florida and at the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Conference (formerly the National Education Computing Conference).[28] During the summer of 2012 Svitak wrote scripts for, and appeared in, Google's "Teach Teachers Tech" videos, modelled after their "Teach Parents Tech" videos, which promoted digital tools for use in education.[29] Svitak has publicly espoused feminist values in her Girls' State of the Union address at the National Press Club and a 2014 speech at the Orange County Girls' Conference at UC Irvine.[30] An article in Forbes about Svitak was titled "Is this 15-year-old Feminist a New Kind of Gloria Steinem in the Making?".[31] Svitak was quoted in a subsequent Forbes article commenting on the controversy around Sports Illustrated magazine using Barbie as a cover girl; Svitak felt that Barbie "...encourages an unrealistic expectation of beauty grounded in narrow ideals – whiteness, thinness, a lack of hair and an abundance of breast tissue – instead of kindness, smarts, self-confidence, or athleticism".[32]

Awards and honors

In 2011, the National Education Association Foundation awarded Svitak with their Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education.[33] The Huffington Post included her on their "18 under 18 Most Amazing Young People of the Year" list of 2012.[34] In her junior year of high school, Svitak was named a Redmond Rotary Club Student of the Month.[35] Her "Girls' State of the Union" video, submitted to a Women's Media Center contest, took first place; subsequently, she spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.[36] In 2013, Svitak was named a Three Dot Dash Global Teen Leader by the New York City-based We Are Family Foundation for her work organizing TEDxRedmond and raising awareness for the United Nations World Food Programme. As a Global Teen Leader, she participated in a week-long leadership summit in New York City in March 2013.[37]

Notes and References

  1. News: Corr . Kate . Is Adora Svitak the cleverest child in the world? . . January 14, 2009 . October 30, 2009. (Note however the Telegraph's tagline is incorrect to confuse Adora Svitak with Dora the Explorer, a confusion which Adora decried on her blog in 2013.)
  2. Web site: 2019-02-19. Adora Svitak. 2020-07-17. Wikimedia Foundation. en-US.
  3. Web site: Adora Svitak. Goodreads. 2016-05-30.
  4. Web site: Kavita Chhibber. www.kavitachhibber.com. 2016-05-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20160701091653/http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=youthcolumn-Mar2006. 2016-07-01. dead.
  5. Web site: What adults can learn from kids - Adora Svitak. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/TN79Qyddsf0 . 2021-12-14. live. 2021-04-08. TED-Ed. en.
  6. Web site: Adora Svitak: What adults can learn from kids . . April 11, 2010.
  7. News: Chakraborty . Samhita . Writer, teacher, speaker... teen – Keep up with 'child prodigy' . https://web.archive.org/web/20131211223526/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131207/jsp/calcutta/story_17652056.jsp . dead . December 11, 2013 . 27 May 2014 . The Telegraph . 7 Dec 2013.
  8. News: Carpenter . Shanna . The INK Conference: Day 2 . 27 May 2014 . TED Blog – TEDIndia . 12 Dec 2010.
  9. Web site: Youth ECOSOC 2013 on "Shaping tomorrow's innovators: Leveraging science, technology, innovation and culture for today's youth" . ECOSOC . Esango.UN.org . 27 May 2014.
  10. News: Redmond junior Adora Svitak speaks at UN in New York . 27 May 2014 . Redmond Reporter . 3 Apr 2013.
  11. Web site: Adora Svitak's Girls State of the Union . https://web.archive.org/web/20140527220309/http://www.smartwomenrolemodels.com/adora-svitak/ . dead . 27 May 2014 . 27 May 2014 .
  12. Web site: Activism at Any Age: Interview with Adora Svitak . Speak up for change . ACCESS.ca . 27 May 2014 . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222822/http://www.speakupforchange.ca/activism-at-any-age-interview-with-adora-svitak/ . dead .
  13. News: Swan . Melanie . US teenage teacher inspires future educators . 27 May 2014 . The National . 3 Dec 2010.
  14. Web site: TEDxRedmond: Microsoft Conference Center September 15th . 2014-07-28 . 2014-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140729040156/http://blog.seattlepi.com/videoblogging/2012/08/27/tedxredmond-microsoft-conference-center-september-15th-video/ . dead .
  15. News: Ganesan . Priya . TEDxRedmond: By Students, For Students . King 5 . July 29, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140729001945/http://www.king5.com/community/blogs/community/TEDxRedmond-By-Students-For-Students-128714043.html . July 29, 2014 .
  16. News: TEDxRedmond Conference Brings Some of the World's Youngest Artists, Writers and Musicians to Speak on Microsoft Campus . Microsoft News Center . September 16, 2010 . July 29, 2014.
  17. News: Hoyle . Antonia . Exclusive: World's Cleverest Kid . . September 28, 2006 . October 30, 2009.
  18. News: Young People Who Rock . CNN.com . July 2, 2007.
  19. News: 八岁华裔女童出万字书被美誉为文坛小巨人(图) . https://web.archive.org/web/20090723063031/http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2006-06/06/content_4651765.htm . dead . July 23, 2009 . . June 6, 2006 . October 30, 2009.
  20. Book: Green My Parents. 978-0615369389 . Feegel . Tom . 22 April 2010 .
  21. News: Would You Buy This for Your Daughter? . Adora Svitak . August 12, 2011 . July 29, 2014.
  22. Web site: Adora Svitak, Mashable. .
  23. Web site: Adora Svitak, Edutopia . 2014-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140729231441/https://www.edutopia.org/user/83312 . 2014-07-29 . dead .
  24. Web site: The Thankless Search for Intelligence Out There... Somewhere . Adora Svitak . September 28, 2009 . July 29, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140730001537/http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-thankless-search-for-intelligence-out-there-somewhere . July 30, 2014 . dead . mdy-all .
  25. News: Parenting digital natives: Social media — the new empowerment . Adora Svitak . Gulf News . August 25, 2012 . July 29, 2014.
  26. Web site: Adora Svitak . July 29, 2014 . July 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140730011835/http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Authors/S/Adora-Svitak . dead .
  27. Web site: Who We Are: Adora Svitak . July 30, 2014.
  28. News: Nine-Year-Old Author, With Help From Legendary Actor James Earl Jones, Performs 'Literary Improv' to Showcase Technology's Impact on Education . Verizon . June 26, 2007 . July 30, 2014.
  29. Web site: Teach Teachers Tech . July 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140809000417/http://www.aplatformforgood.org/videos/teach-teachers-tech . August 9, 2014 . dead . mdy-all .
  30. Web site: Girls Conference Orange County . July 30, 2014.
  31. News: Is This 15-Year-Old Feminist A New Kind Of Gloria Steinem In The Making? . Denise Restauri . Forbes . July 9, 2013 . July 30, 2014.
  32. News: Mattel's Latest Affront To Little Girls: Entrepreneur Barbie . Forbes . Clare O'Connor . February 19, 2014 . July 30, 2014.
  33. News: Adora Svitak to Receive the NEA Foundation Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education . The NEA Foundation . February 8, 2011 . July 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140811212807/http://www.neafoundation.org/listings/news-release/adora-svitak-to-receive-the-nea-foundation-award-for-outstanding-service-to-public-education/ . August 11, 2014 . dead .
  34. News: 18 Under 18: HuffPost Teen's List of the Most Amazing Young People of the Year. Huffington Post Teen . December 31, 2012 . July 30, 2014.
  35. News: Svitak and Torres named Redmond Rotary students of the month . December 18, 2012 . Redmond Reporter . July 30, 2014.
  36. News: Redmond Teen Adora Svitak Wins Women's Media Center Girls' State Of The Union Video Contest . February 9, 2012 . July 30, 2014.
  37. Web site: Adora Svitak . July 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140729225535/http://threedotdash.org/the-summit/global-teen-leaders/2013-global-teen-leaders/476-adora-svitak#.U9f8pvmSySo . July 29, 2014 . dead .

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