Today, change is a lot and fast, and communication is very important if we want to get to a good place globally, especially with objects as dangerous as nuclear weapons and events as threatening as climate change surrounding us. We need to get better at communicating between cultures, because we can’t afford misunderstandings anymore. How? The answer is simple—by allowing diplomats to learn the countries they will work in. Having grown up in Switzerland, Myanmar, Egypt and Bangladesh, the third (or maybe we should say sixth) culture kid, Leandro Pignani, was born in the Swiss city of Lausanne to a Swiss mother and an English-Italian father.

Leandro spent the first six years of his life as a “Lausannois” until his mother received a life changing job offer- one that entailed an overseas move. His mother was now a Swiss diplomat.

He lived the next four years in Myanmar, four after that in Egypt, and now resides in the South-East Asian country of Bangladesh for his final four years abroad before university.

A childhood plunged in different cultures, chock full of wildly varied and interesting people and new experiences provided him with a colorful upbringing whose value is undeniable.

Today, Leandro is sixteen years old and preparing for his International Baccalaureate at the American International School of Dhaka. 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