Theme: The Way Forward

Ziauddin is an institution of higher education, recognised for its academic excellence and research within Pakistan. The University aims to nurture ethical and intellectual curiosity, through a futuristic approach in imparting knowledge, skills and social awareness. Ziauddin created TEDxZiauddinUniversity in order to promote a platform that highlights noteworthy ideas from voices in the community that are usually not heard.
This event is focused on progress into the future, showcasing extraordinary individuals from varying fields and their view of The Way Forward.

Abul Hasan Jafarey Auditorium, Ziauddin University
4/B Shahrah-e-Ghalib
Block 6, Clifton
Karachi, Sindh, 75600
Pakistan

Adeel Husain

Actor, Public Figure

Adeel Husain is a well-known face of Pakistani television who has enjoyed fame and critical acclaim through a series of hits on television and subsequently films. His TV work includes playing the lead in Daam, Mera Naseeb, Mora Piya, Mata e Jaan, Silvatein, Mohabbat Subh ka Sitara, Shukk and Jackson Heights to name a few. In 2016 he was the only male actor to have two big films under his belt, namely, Asim Raza’s Ho Mann Jahan and Mehreen Jabbar’s Dobara Phir Se. Adeel has balanced his career with a host of other achievements including and RJ career on Radio 1 FM91 and City FM 89’s morning show. He has been the assistant director of a music video, executed a host of independent photography projects, directed an ad film and done the cinematography for Karachi United Football Club’s documentary: ‘The Ground Beneath Their Feet’. As a model he has lead ad campaigns for a variety of brands including Coca-Cola and Sprite and has been the Brand Ambassador for Tapal in both 2016 and 2017.

Ayesha Rahman

Social & Education Development

Ayesha Rahman manages a Youth Engagement program at Global Health Directorate - Indus Health Network, focused on empowering adolescent school girls ‘Kiran Sitaras’ to become social impact leaders and trigger positive change in their communities. She has managed the initiation and large-scale expansion of the program in urban cities in partnership with the provincial government and education departments. She has been the country focal person of International Alliance of Yes I do on Child Marriages where she developed the alliance strategy adolescent girls focused ‘Kiran Model’ of community mobilization on bringing back to school to reduce the chances of getting married at an early age. She has worked with different INGOs on gender, youth, labour laws, conflict, as junior consultant for conducting researches and evaluations during the past seven years. Ayesha Rahman has a Masters in Economics, with majors in Development Economics and is currently pursuing MPhil in Rural Management.

Iffat Zafar

E-Health Specialist & Entrepeneur

Dr. Iffat Zafar is a graduate of Ziauddin Medical University. She is the cofounder and Chief Development Officer of a health tech social enterprise named Sehat Kahani. She is currently doing her masters in Global E-Health from University of Edinburgh for which she has received CommonWealth Scholarship. She has won and has been the recipient of many international awards such as the GIST Tech I award (a US State Department funded award) and the World Bank Award for Sehat Kahani. She was nominated by the USAID Funded MITBAP program to go to MIT for the Entrepreneurship Development Program. She has also been a part of the SPRING Accelerator (a DFID, USAID AND Nike Foundation backed program) and very recently she won the GSMA funding for Sehat Kahani; a very prestigious global funder for digital technology based startups.

Imtisal Abbasi

Managing Partner at IAL Saatchi & Saatchi

Imtisal Abbasi speaks in many tongues: Urdu, English, Punjabi and Sindhi as well as those of film, music, sports and advertising. He is now the managing partner of the agency he came to as an employee. At the University of Southern California he majored in film but did courses in law to appease his barrister father, graduating summa cum laude. After a passing flirtation with both the Pakistani and film and television industries, Abbasi settled into a long cohabitation with the seductive and temperamental world of advertising. He quickly gained a reputation for making the impossible happen. He also set up and mentored the team of what is now the largest digital advertising consultancy of Pakistan, and co-wrote one of the highest grossing Pakistani films– Ho Mann Jahan. When not at work he can be found on a golf course, mentoring tech startups at Jazz Xlr8, or helping to sustain classical music through his work at All Pakistan Music Conference.

Muneeb Maayr

CEO Bykea + Entrepreneur

Muneeb Maayr graduated with a bachelors in Economics from the University of Virginia and worked in investment banking at Bear Stearns in New York City before returning to Islamabad to set up a back office for US-based SNL Financial, a financial content collection company. From 2004 to 2012, Muneeb helped build a 600 person back office for SNL operating 24/7 collecting data on public companies in the US. In 2012 when PE firm New Mountain Capital acquired SNL, Muneeb exited to join Rocket Internet as Co-Founder and CEO of Daraz, an Amazon style marketplace of consumer and fashion goods that sold to Alibaba Group in 2018. After 4 years building Daraz, Muneeb founded Bykea, a marketplace of services offered by a network of motorcycles that today serves over a million Pakistanis, where he continues to build products and find solutions for tech for urban Pakistanis.

Saquib Mehmood

Environmentalist

Saquib Mehmood is an Aerospace Engineer and has done his Master of Science in Strategic Studies, Master of Philosophy in Social Sciences. He also is a SCUBA Diving Instructor He is the Founder and CEO of ClimateX: a climate change and environmental conservation startup which has established Pakistan's first community based marine conservation area. He has worked for the government of Pakistan, United Nations and International NGOs in Pakistan and major parts of Africa. He has given lectures on international issues and environmental conservation on various forums including National Defense University and Pakistan Forest Institute. Saquib leads the only major organization actively identifying and working on oceanic pollution and its impact on marine life along with its long term effects on urbanization.

Suman Valeecha

Marketing & Communication Professional + Human Rights Advocate

Suman Valeecha is a Marketing & Communication professional currently associated with the development sector. With a passion for academics, she is a faculty member at one of the leading business institutes in Pakistan, empowering and inspiring youth through knowledge. She is a Human Rights advocate and have been involved in a lot of social development & welfare projects. Suman currently runs a private NGO which helps the transgender community of Pakistan get respectable recognition, identity, job opportunities, and a better standard of living.

Zarrar Khuhro

Journalist & TV Anchor

Zarrar Khuhro is a Pakistani journalist who has worked in both print and electronic media. He started his career with The News and went on to work at Geo, Express, Dawn newspaper and Dawn News TV. He currently hosts a program titled 'Zara Hut Kay', a current affairs show on Dawn News.