Written By: Sana Rasool, Organizer TEDxNUST, Student NUST - Pakistan
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Hundreds of registered and selected participants from all corners of Pakistan along with thousands of online viewers from over thirty-seven countries tuned in to watch live the first ever TEDx event held at NUST on 24th November 2011. It would not be an exaggeration to say this event has easily raised the standards for any TEDx event that’d be held in Pakistan now onwards. The success of the event is obvious from the enthusiastic response on TEDxNUST facebook fan page, the TEDxNUST blog and it’s live streaming. The event was also mentioned in the local News Channel.
So here we are, extending our heartiest congratulations and warmest felicitations to the Organizing team. What we all witnessed was just a well organized event, amazing speakers, flawless set up and coordination throughout the talks but only a few would know it took months of painstaking effort by the organizers to bring together TEDxNUST to their audience; an event that was the epitome of perfection.
The speakers were truly remarkable. Men like Adnan Shahid, Shah Sharabeel, Yusuf Bashir and Badar Khushnood stunned the audience with their words and motivated people around Pakistan with their talks. Rakae Jamil, the coke studio Sitar artist won hearts by his soul touching performance towards the end of the show. Feedback from the attendees was very positive, most of them agreed this was an event worth attending and they were ideas worth spreading.
There were moments in the show that rendered everybody totally speechless, moments full of emotions such as when Puruesh Chaudhary played the video on the immense sufferings of our nation, moments full of inspiration when Badar Khushnood told the story of a man from some suburban area of Pakistan who made an airplane using a Suzuki engine, inspired from a James Bond movie he watched in 1978, moments of fun when Shah Sharabeel shared his solution for late comers at his show. Every moment was worth capturing.
TEDxNUST ended at 9:45 pm leaving everybody waiting for some more of the same stuff. It is a promise of the TEDxNUST team to make sure we get another doze of healthy inspiration pretty soon in the form of TEDxNUST II.
A special and warm round of applause the sponsors, attendees, TED (for the license to organize TEDx) and of course, all you live audience out there who joined us on this roller coaster ride of emotional and inspirational talks, the perfect performances and everything else.
Stay tuned to catch the next TEDxNUST coming soon, hopefully. In the meanwhile review and rewind all the talks delivered on this TEDx event and let the speakers inspire you to be the next TED’s speakers.
So until next time, Good luck and Good bye.
Speakers
Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.
Danial Shah
For some, camera may just be a means to kill time but for him, it’s the way of life. Through his lens, Danial continues to amaze the world and show them the enchanting beauty of our homeland. conferred with a trophy twice by Government of Sindh in and “Nishan-e-Azm” by Azm-e-Alishan, Danial Shah has had his work published in a number of national and international magazines. His work speaks of his passion, expertise and vision in life. He is the story of a young man who has achieved success by perusing dreams with determination.Shah Sharahbeel
Would you have ventured out of the shelter and comfort of your home at the tender age of 16, to try your luck in the world? He did. Director/producer Shah Sharahbeel is the man who has breathed life into the Pakistani theaters. Born on the 16th of March, the directors’ journey began in 1988 when he joined a band called ‘Night Creatures’. Following graduation from Cathedral College in Lahore, his first stage production was ‘Oh dad, poor dad’, an instant triumph making way for more successful ventures like “Phantom of the Opera”, “Moulin Rouge”, “Bombay Dreams”, “Home is where your clothes are”, “Tom, Dick & Harry”, and “You only marry twice”, to name a few. He went on to become a Chief men’s wear designer in a chain of leading clothes brand and in 2000, he opened the Al-Falah mini golf course & amusement park. He has fought his way through all the discouragement and drawbacks of life to reach the place where he is today. And for all of us, he has one very strong message: burning desire is a propeller for success in life. Pleased to have Mr. Shah Sharahbeel of LUMS and LGS Defence Campus Lahore on the speakers list for TEDxNUST.Adnan Shahid
Recipient of Asia-Pacific Information Security Leadership, Achievement Award, Special Recognition award at 3rd Annual International Information Security Conference, “Make a Difference Award” by Premier Oil Plc UK, a Legatum Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Adnan Shahid is literally the award dictionary of Pakistan, making us all proud. But what makes his presence at the TEDxNUST speakers dice even more special is that he is a NUST Alumni; an electrical engineer by profession and a motivation for all enthusiastic Pakistanis with a dream. Today Adnan works as the Chief Ideas Officer (CIO) at Ideogeny; a specialized consulting and products company that translates ideas into innovation. So meet Adnan Shahid to hear in his own words, the story of success and accomplishments, of inspiration and insight. See how ideas can be breathed into life only if one has a passion strong enough to do what has never been done before.Farhana Azim
Farhana Azim is an ardent admirer of nature and her passion for flowers says it all. Since childhood she lived and grew up in surrounded in the natural beauty of flowers and so it has become a part of her. Designing has been her forte, which led her to design as a hobby, be it a house, a garden, a piece of furniture or a prop. Creating is stimulating for her –and there is a natural Japanese influence in her design. Presently she is serving as President Islamabad Floral Art Society of Pakistan. She was selected as the Coordinator Judges Panel for the 9th WAFA World Show to be held in 2008 in Pakistan. As a competitor she won several prizes. She has to her credit: ‘The Best in the Show’, ‘Runner-up to the Best in the Show’ ‘Best Use of Foliage’ and ‘The Best New Concept’. Internationally, she was awarded the second prize in the Imposed Class at the 8th World Show in Yokohama, 2005 in Japan. But perhaps the most commendable aspect of her personality is her belief in empowering the girl child of Pakistan where she is actively involved in programs that aim towards achieving this goal. Women like Farhana Azim are much needed in this era of challenges as they come forward and provide hope to the more than 55% female population of Pakistan who need a vision to set them on the right track.Azhar Rizwi
Mr. Rizvi is the District Chairman for Technical Education and Vocational Training of Rotary District 3270, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Vice Chairman, MIT Club of Pakistan Enterprise Forum, Founding Member of DAISY for All, Pakistan, a world wide consortium for technology based learning for the blind and vision impaired, Chairperson CSR Committee of Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), Member Advisory Council Rashidabad Memorial, and Member Board of Advisors to the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of Sindh, Pakistan. He has been associated with the Information technology industry for almost two decades. During this period he has served at prestigious Multinational Organizations including NCR, AT&T and Unisys in Pakistan. He is the founding Director of THKS Technology Group & serves as the Group COO and Director. Mr. Azhar is yet another story of success through hard and intelligent work. Hear his account of life in his own words here at TEDxNUST.Puruesh Chaudhary
Some people achieve a lot in very less time. Puruesh Chaudhary is one of them. From SAMAA TV to a journalist/editor at DawnNews, to Chief Strategy Officer of an initiative “AGAHI” designed by Mishal Pakistan, Coca Cola Export Corporation, Porsche’s Management, Ambassador to Pakistan on media ethics by Center of International Media Ethics, it seems Puruesh has done almost everything in her young life. With media experience of 7 years, this energetic young woman has an indepth understanding of the social, political, economic and technological unaddressed challenges, which could be the means of enticing radicalization in the society. To know more about the turning points in her life and how she earned her position today, hear her share her life experiences with the world on TEDxNUST.Yousuf Bashir Qureshi
He graduated as a food scientist and was part of the faculty at FIDM, Los Angeles; FIT, New York and in Pakistan at the prestigious Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi. Yousuf Bashir Qureshi is the proud recipient of several international awards including the Asian Designer of the Year, Coalition of Los Angeles Designers 2000 in the Creative category and Best Prêt wear designer award in Milan for Trussardi, to name a few. Yousuf recently opened the YBQ Concept Studio in Karachi and launched his first ever collection in Pakistan, entitled “Fresh Difficulties” to much acclaim. Meet this legend and see the stories, the hard work, the sweat and strains behind all that success. See hoe legends are formed.Badar Khushnood
Badar Khushnood is Google Pakistan Country Consultant and acts as a local evangelist. He is helping Google grow its market share and educate the population about its innovative products. He is also responsible for establishing quality relationships with people/organizations of interest to Google Inc. Badar enjoys helping companies focus on digital strategies that significantly contribute to their overall success. Badar is a strong believer in cutting-edge technology and brings along more than 12 years of diverse experience. He has worked for ASUSTeK Computers, SMEDA and Nishat Textiles earlier. In his previous lives, Badar secured his Masters in Economics & Management from the Lahore School of Economics (LSE) and undergrad from the Government College (GC), Lahore.Masoora Ali
Masoora Ali has six years of nonprofit experience both at national & International level. Currently, she is managing a National level program of National Volunteering & Youth Development with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Pakistan. She is very committed to work with the partner organizations to promote local volunteering as a distinct and significant contribution to the development in Pakistan. Masoora Ali has an honor of becoming the first Atlas Corps fellow from Pakistan in Sept 2009. She had an enriching experience by working with a local non-profit AALEAD for 16 months where she developed, launched and coordinated a Girls Leadership Program (after school) for the low income Asian American youth in Washington DC. Furthermore, Masoora has worked as a program development officer in education for Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) where she played a key role in improving the quality of education in different areas of Pakistan. She is actively involved in different volunteering activities and has conducted many sessions voluntarily to promote volunteerism in Pakistan and aims to bring a positive reputation of her country through mobilizing the youth leadership in Pakistan. She has broad knowledge of community development, child rights, and Volunteer management and youth issues in Pakistan. Masoora holds a postgraduate degree in defense and strategic studies from Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan.Rakae Jamil
Rakae brought his Sitar to Coke Studio as a guest musician for season two. Growing up in Lahore, Rakae was influenced by the classical music school and his sitar playing sensibility incorporates this with other more contemporary influences. Rakae learned his instrument under the guidance of Ashraf Shareef Khan, Ikhlaq Hussain and Shujaat Hussain Khan in Delhi. He has been playing the instrument for almost 8 years and he teaches music at the prestigious Sanjan Nagar Institute and Aitchison College. Rakae has performed live at various concerts and festivals including the All Pakistan Music Conference in 2006 and World Performing Arts Festival in 2007. He is also a Musicology graduate from the National College of Arts. Catch Rakae Jamil and his Sitar at TEDxNUST 2011.Organizing team
