The Quiet Activists | Lan Phan | TEDxEarlhamCollege

When talking about activism, the first images that come to our minds are often ones of people in protests, sit-ins, and walk-outs. This talk, however, aims to bring attention to the other population of activists: the quiet, the reserved, the introverts who can project their voices but choose to address injustices in alternative ways. As an international student from Vietnam and an introvert, Lan Phan spent her last four years grappling with how her identity and personality fit in the culture of social activism at Earlham College. Through her journey and the people she met along the way, Lan observed a subset of the population that she could fit into: the quiet activists. She started small by offering her help with i4inclusion, a project that combated violent extremism on social media platforms. Three years later, she found herself working with refugees at a solidarity organization in Greece. Entering her Ph.D. program this Fall 2020, Lan seeks to use her research to create spaces that bridge differences and challenge systems of informal power. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx