In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Sir John Wilson School
Main Campus (KGII-A Level United City, Satarkul, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Dhaka, Dhaka, 1212
Bangladesh

Ashna Chowdhury

Meet our speaker Ms. Ashna Chowdhury (MA Psychology) Leadership & Wellbeing Specialist (Certified Coach) and the founder of Thrive Women Ashna believes change is only possible once we take a deep look at ourselves and understand the way we show up in the world. Her poetic blend of psychology, mindfulness, story and engaging activities deeply informs her work and helps create transformative healing experiences. She's currently working in Dhaka as a Counselor and Leadership consultant and is the founder of Thrive Women, a platform to support women to level up and shift into their most empowered selves through networking opportunities alongside emotional wellbeing and financial literacy training.

Farzana Wahid Shayan

"Meet our speaker, infamous singer Farzana Wahid Shayan Shayan finds life to be her first teacher, muse and motivation. withstanding that, she admits her debt of knowledge to some of the most renowned global musicians from the yesteryear as well as from the present music scene. She writes, tunes and sings her own songs which she considers a life saving practice from a very early age and prefers to sing with a purpose she discerns more constructive and rewarding. The musician writes topic based songs as a part of her passion and profession, and she gathers her muse from the life she leads and the characters she is surrounded by. The topics of her songs usually revolve around random tales from her personal life, feminism, child rights, patriotism, humanity, compassion, youth spirit and mental health which she interprets in her own terms. Her songs are intended to convey a plea or prayer and a protest to her fellow people she sings to and She prefers to label her songs as 'Pro-life Songs' Since the very beginning of her career, the musician has been working closely with different kinds of human rights organizations. Via her songs, she has been contributing in our society to change it for betterment and to elevate the awareness level amongst the masses. She had been working in collaboration with many government and non-government organizations by voicing her thoughts on different social issues. One of the most distinguished features of Shayan is that, she writes her own lyrics and composes tunes for them herself.

Farzeen Ferdous Alam

Meet our speaker Mr Farzeen Ferdous Alam, an individual who dropped out to establish himself as the the founding president of OGGRO. Farzeen Ferdous Alam is the Founding President of OGGRO, a development organization based in Bangladesh. He started OGGRO while in high school and subsequently dropped out to study privately in order to dedicate time to OGGRO during its infancy. A graduate in Economics from the University of Dhaka, Farzeen is also the Chairman of Ferdous Biotech Pvt. Ltd, which uses tissue culture to produce various agricultural products for local and foreign markets. OGGRO won the prestigious Youth Solidarity Fund award of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAoC) in 2009. The following year he was honored by MTV Staying Alive Foundation UK for “outstanding achievement in HIV/AIDs awareness”. Farzeen has developed numerous social business models in order to transform OGGRO from a fund-dependent organization to a self-sufficient one.

GMB Akash

Meet our speaker, winner of over 20 international awards in the field of photography, Mr GMB Akash. A name we all stumble upon on our feeds on a daily basis. Mr Akash not only takes photos, but exhibits to the world the story behind each of them. GMB Akash works as a photographer for Panos Pictures, UK. He founded the First Light Institute of Photography in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, the proceeds from which are used to help achieve his ultimate objective of providing basic education for underprivileged children. As a humanitarian, Akash has devoted most of his career to depicting violations of human rights and social issues through his photography . He has received more than 20 international awards and his work has been featured in over 100 major international publications including: National Geographic, Vogue, Time, Marie Claire, The Economist just to name a few. Akash is the first Bangladeshi recipient of many awards and honors, like becoming the first Bangladeshi to be selected for the 30 Emerging Photographers(2007) sponsored by Photo District News Magazine USA, and becoming the first Bangladeshi featured in a Ted talk at TEDxOporto 2011, in Portugal.

Jashim Ahmed

Meet our speaker Mr Jashim, the owner of ODDUU Ltd. ODDUU Limited develops software, hardware, IT enabled services. To date largest DaaS (Desktop as a Service), and Internet of Things (IoT) solution deployment in Bangladesh. Jasim Ahmed - A veteran from Silicon Valley with 26+ years of experience in entrepreneurship, management, computer science & engineering. - Direct ownership of $10m+ sales for enterprise solutions. A solutions architect with documented strength in building sustainable executive level relationships with a background in technology and large scale deployment of commercial enterprise solutions. - Worked as a Sr. Developer for EDS and Sr. Solutions Architect for AT&T / CommVault Systems, VITRIA, TIBCO and Information Builders.

Kamrul Hasan

Meet our speaker Mr Kamrul Hassan, CEO and Founder of Nagarkrishi. A creative and motivated communications specialist with years of experience working on campaign design, branding and message development, channel mapping and distribution. Experience working for multinational companies, Government and NGO’s. Has in-depth technical knowledge on: - Campaign design and execution - Brand promotion and corporate profile building - Cinematography, photography and video editing - Developing effective audiovisuals material to raise awareness, fundraising, civil rights, human rights, women empowerment for government and NGOs. He is the CEO and Founder of Nagarkrishi, where they thrive on pioneering new ideas and empowering city dwellers to reap the rewards of local food production. They believe that sustainable urban agriculture can promote healthy diets, environmental stewardship, stronger communities and improved quality of life. They hope that developing economically sound, city-based farming ventures will increase public awareness of agricultural issues and foster a greater appreciation of farmers everywhere. Their new venture is The Little Farmers. The little farmer initiative aims to build a generation inspired to care for nature in simple but unique ways, fueled by each successful harvest. We want to make farming fun for kids.

Marina Tabassum

"Meet our speaker Marina Tabassum, the principal of Marina Tabassum Architect and a guest lecturer at Harvard School of Design. Marina Tabassum is the principal of Marina Tabassum Architects, the goal of which is to establish a language of architecture that is contemporary to the world yet rooted to the place. In 1995 ,Ms. Tabassum graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and founded URBANA. The most important project of this partnership is the Independence Monument of Bangladesh and the Museum of Independence designed in 1997 and completed in 2013. She is the academic director of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements and a member of the Steering Committee of Aga Khan Awards for Architecture, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Prokritee, a guaranteed Fare Trade organization that has empowered thousands of women artisans of Bangladesh through export of handcrafted objects. She taught Design studio at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She taught Advanced Design Studio as visiting professor at the University of Texas in 2015 and in BRAC University from 2005 to 2010."

Sajid Iqbal

Meet our speaker, Mr Sajid Iqbal, the introducer of the “Botol Baati” in Bangladesh, the winner of Queens Young Leaders Award 2017, and the founder of Change, Bangladesh. Being an environmentalist, Sajid started CHANGE (www.change.org.bd) in 2012, a youth-led development agency which promotes natural lighting in slums and industries to conserve electricity and reduce CO2 emissions. Sajid has also worked as a consultant with various GIZ, U.S. Embassy, DFID funded projects to address social challenges. For his years of research and advocacy on the importance of natural light improvement initiatives, Sajid received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2017 and listed as one of the Social Entrepreneur in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asian list in 2018. Sajid is also passionate about sports and served as a national player of Bangladesh Fencing Association for three years. He has secured a gold medal in the first national tournament and silver medal in the first South Asian Fencing Championship.

Sifat Hasan

Meet our speaker, Sifat Hasan, Director of Human Resources & Culture at Pathao. Sifat is on a mission to create a truly unique workplace where you are given the license to challenge the status quo. After graduating from the University of Surrey in 2016, Sifat came back to Bangladesh and wanted to make a difference in people’s lives with the perspectives he picked up while studying and working in Canada and the UK. Sifat joined Pathao as one of the first employees is now a part of the leadership team. Pathao believes in moving Bangladesh forward, digitally, culturally and socially by constantly thinking outside the box and creating a platform for entrepreneurs.