Theme: Redefining the horizon

TEDxNorthSouthUniversity is an independently organized TED university event where the speakers will share their ideas of redefining the social boundaries with their ideas.

North South University
Plot # 15
Block # B
Dhaka, Dhaka, 1229
Bangladesh

Ahmad Ashik

Barrister-at-law

A man of the law with a versatile sense of humor. But more importantly, a firm believer of doing something else on the side with and for nothing but mere passion, regardless of what one does professionally. And we quote - “It’s never too late for skill building.” Ahmad Ashik has been spreading his humor in the country and abroad for years now with one concept in mind and that is doing comedy for a good cause.

AKM Alamgir Khan

Owner of Jamil's Comic & Collection

I was an introvert in nature and I had to build my own world. Thus comic books were a good refuge. It was quite fun to indulge into the world of comics. I had a few friends who shared my hobby. It only made the experience better." He is popularly known as Jamil, is the founder of Jamil’s Comics & Collectables (JCC) – Bangladesh’s first comics shop. Jamil aims to rekindle the spirit of superheroes by gathering all sorts of comic books for the ardent comic lovers. He also considers comics to be a form of art and literature. He has made a huge amount of loss through his business but he feels that passion is only keeping him going. It is not that passion will always make profit for everyone.

Arpeeta Shams Mizan

Lecturer, Law Department, Dhaka University

Arpeeta Shams Mizan, is a mentor at KolpoKoushol (KK), a lecturer of Law in Dhaka University and also passionate about interdisciplinary study. An Interdisciplinary Studies involves two or more academic, scientific, or artistic disciplines. It covers a broad range of practical and relevant subjects necessary for developing a breadth of understanding of learning and society. KK is about promoting interdisciplinary ideas and projects related to it. It is a platform for students and alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to engage with the young minds of Bangladesh to inspire, develop and deploy new ideas and possibilities.

Fahad Zaman

Music producer

Fahad Zaman is an electronic music producer from Dhaka, Bangladesh, performing under the moniker of fahadzaman. Fahad composes to make Trip-hop and electronic instrumentals with an unconventional approach to produce sound for his music. He uses field recordings of the sound that he finds around him and sculpts the found sound to work as layers of instruments, bringing in organic elements to electronic music.

Imran Ahmed Trio

Imran Ahmed Trio - the jazz enthusiasts whose music is heavily influenced by both swing and the modern improvisers of the present. The trio comprises of Imran Ahmed - the guitarist, Mohaimin Karim - the bassist, and Towfiq Arifin - the drummer. These three have been present in the music scene of Bangladesh from quite some time now, and are now emerging as the instruments that are defining the jazz scene in Bangladesh.We’re incredibly ecstatic to announce that the trio will be giving us all a performance to have us end the day with some Jazz.

Iqbal Hussain

Program and Partnership Specialist at USAID’s Bengal Tiger Conservation Activity (BAGH)

He is just like us but with an initiative to make things better. He is currently working as Program and Partnership Specialist at USAID’s Bengal Tiger Conservation Activity (BAGH). BAGH is a project implemented by WildTeam, they work in order to protect Tigers from human. Interesting, aye? Let us elaborate a little more about what they do and what they have already done. Living with tigers has its challenges. Every year about 50 people die in tiger attacks in the forest, 80 livestock fall prey to hungry tigers, and up to three tigers are killed when they stray into villages. TigerTeam is empowering local people to ensure the safety of themselves, their livestock, and of the tigers.

Nabila Rahman

Co-owner of Junk Art

She’s a co-founder of “Junk Art.” It is something that you don’t come across very often, it is a collection of handcrafted household items that have been upcycled to give each product a modern, industrial and a better look. “We wanted to make them unique, original, worth using and also artistic products at the same time.” The objects that they use is sourced from shipyards in Chittagong and other construction sites. So, basically Junk Art uses various old, rusty objects and style them into something we would want to use.

Rubina Jahan Rumi

Clinical Psychologist

Rubina Jahan Rumi, she is a clinical psychologist at CMHC and also head of training and research at Kaan Pete Roi. Kaan Pete Roi is an emotional support helpline in Bangladesh. The core mission of the helpline is to reduce feelings of despair, isolation, distress and suicidal feelings among members of the community, through counseling. They work to provide emergency counseling and intend to help in suicide prevention and promotion of mental health. Kaan Pete Roi has been working with about 40 people since 2013 to bring about the change in our society.

Shafkat Alam

CTO of Udoy

“Udoy is a revolutionary app powered by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based platform that responds to queries using natural language processing and is supervised by a team of customer service experts who are to ensure that the best suited product/service is delivered to the customer.’’ Shafkat Alam is the CTO of UDOY. It is the human and artificial intelligence powered personal assistant, which provides service across a range of categories in one chat based platform.

Shihab Zafar

Shihab Zafar, is currently spearheading all growth opportunities at Maya Apa, trading as Mayalogy Ltd. As the Head of Growth, he is responsible for driving user acquisition and business growth with data driven sustainable strategies. Since December 2016, his contribution and experience has helped Maya Apa grow from 300+ queries a day to over 2000+ queries per day to date. Ever since graduating from the University of Wollongong, Australia in 2007 in Finance, he has actively been involved in a number of startups & small businesses helping them scale. A strong believer in the entrepreneurial mindset; he loves to talk about strategy, innovation, business development and business analysis. Shihab is also a hobby investor, entrepreneur, advisor who enjoys learning and self development, currently pursuing his EMBA at IBA, Dhaka. Noteable hobbies include: cooking, guitar playing, reading, swimming and traveling with his family.

Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy

Cartoonist

He is a professional cartoonist from Bangladesh. He is working as the editorial cartoonist for Dhaka Tribune. Alongside, he is also an associate editor for “Unmad”, the longest running South Asian satire magazine. Apart from his work as a political cartoonist, Tanmoy recently founded “Cartoon People”, a community of young visual storytellers.

Tasaffy Hossain

Founder of Bonhishikha-unlearn gender

Tasaffy Hossain is a freelance development professional and an advocate for human and gender rights. She is the founder of Bonhishikha-unlearn gender, which works towards a society where everyone is accepted irrespective of their gender: where they are given equal choice and right to opportunities. She has been hosting events since 2015, it began with “It’s a SHE thing,” followed by “Men don’t TALK” and currently her organization “Bonhishikha” is working on installation of “Men don’t TALK."In 2017, they premiered their very first bangla production, “Naari Nokhotro.”

Tasneem Omar Ava

Co-founder of Synergy Global

She is a part of the Synergy Global. They have won the regional round of the HULT Prize in Shanghai, China held on March 12, 2016, to compete in the final in New York. The team competed against other teams from 40 countries and is the first ever team from other Bangladeshi universities to win the regional round. She is a member of Clinton Global Initiative and one of the young leaders at European Commission- Development & Cooperation- EuropeAid.

Zamilur Rashid

Game producers

They infuse Bangladeshi culture into games that they create. "Heroes of 71" is one of the known games that was recently popular among mobile game lovers. They are currently working on the sequel, named “Mukti Camp.”