Scots teenager Tallia Storm has been invited to speak at the global TED x Teen conference, which will be hosted by Chelsea Clinton on 16 March in New York.
The annual event, organised by legendary music producer Niles Rogers’ We Are Family Foundation, gives extraordinary teens an educational platform to share their work, tell their stories and inspires others.
14-year-old singer Tallia will share the platform with other teen speakers from Sierra Leone, Hawaii, Kenya and California.
The fashion-conscious teen, daughter of Scottish Fashion Awards founder Tessa Hartmann, was discovered after leaving her demo CD with Sir Elton John’s partner David Furnish in a restaurant whilst on holiday with her family in Hawaii.
24 hours later Sir Elton called her mobile and told her that she had one of the most exciting vocal signatures he had heard in years. He invited her to open his concert in Falkirk Football Stadium to a sold out audience of 17,000, all at the tender age of 13. Since then she has been making a name for herself with gigs and live performances around the UK and the USA.
On speaking at the event in New York, Tallia said: “My first reaction to this incredible invitation was why me, then of course I said why not! I’m humbled, honoured, and inspired to join such a cool list of teens that are really shaking up the world with their incredible activities and talents.
"I literally can’t wait to listen to their stories and meet people from around the world and of course get to visit NYC. Who would have thought that a wee ‘storm’ from Glasgow would get to meet Chelsea Clinton and of course one of my idols Nile Rodgers.
"My folks are insanely jealous. I grew up listening to Chic because of my parents and now this amazing guy is still shaking up the world with his incredible work with teenagers and I get to meet him. It’s just an awesome opportunity and I’m so grateful."
Teenagers from around the world can apply to attend the conference, which will be held in the Scholastic Auditorium in New York City on Saturday 16th March.
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