Theme: Perspectives: Looking through a Kaleidoscope

We want to spread ideas about how being open-minded towards the perspectives of others is not only necessary to enhance our own lives, but to continue to develop the understanding of the societies in which we live. So, to embrace the year of tolerance in the UAE, we invite you listen to our speakers talk about their perspectives on issues that affect their lives and their visions for the future.

As Sheikh Mohamed once said: “We must strive for an intellectual and cultural renaissance recognising that development and stability is possible only through tolerance.”

The British International School, Abu Dhabi
Behind Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, Abū Z̧aby, 60968
United Arab Emirates

Ali Qureshi

iGCSE Student

Ali, born in Pakistan, yet having lived away from home for more than half his life, is a talented student studying in an international community. Despite his limited experience in public speaking, Ali is willing to push himself out of his comfort zone and convey his ideas and concerns. Ali has a distinct passion in discussing the concept of education in the modern world. He was particularly moved while watching a series of videos on the same topic by a famous motivational and inspirational spoken word artist and activist. Ali comes from a background where his studies are vital for his success in the future. But he is marveled by his peers who strive towards sport or the creative arts, as well as the various successful people who have earned themselves a fortune with no formal education. Definitively, he is inspired by both these experiences to project his thoughts.

Ananya Dahagam

IB Student

Born in India and currently living in Abu Dhabi, Ananya is an ambitious student, who’s been surrounded by an international environment her entire life. Not only does play the violin, she also enjoys acting and painting during her free time. To embrace her innate ability to empathize and connect with people, Ananya is currently aspiring to take up medicine in her higher education. Additionally, since childhood, Ananya has always appreciated writing as a form of catharsis. She aspires to publish a poetry collection that portrays aspects of the human condition, especially those of which society harbors an inherent, but irrational bias. Ananya is passionate about finding another point of view— she will play the devil’s advocate at the first chance she gets. She believes that there is always another way to face an issue, and that it is the job of the majority to understand the perspective of minority.

Asaad Al Barwani

iGCSE Student

I was born in Oman, and when I was a year old, I moved to Leeds, UK. I then moved back to Oman two years later. I lived there for 7 years before I moved to the UAE. I enjoy playing the bass guitar, acting and photography. I also enjoy Computer Science and hope to pursue a future career in the field. I am presenting this TEDx Talk with my friend, Samy. We have been close friends ever since we met, about 2-3 years ago. My passion lies in the Computing Industry, and it has been since I was young. I've become interested in where the industry is headed, and, if it is going to change our lives, or sink into the point of irrelevancy. Samy and I have been interested in this for a while. In our talk, we will try to solve this mystery.

Asim Osman

IB Student

My name is Asim Osman and my interests range from a deep passion for the sport of basketball as well as reading and writing. Additionally, I am an advocate for philanthropy and activism rooted in wherever my endeavors take me. Although, I understand my values and principles to an extent, I have struggled to piece these components together; to answer a profound and deceptively challenging question; “Who am I?” The topic of identity has grown raise questions like how are identities formed? Or to what extent can we shape our own identities. Being a conglomeration of various cultures traditions, and the epitome of structural diversity I hope to evaluate and discuss these topics within my Ted Talk and in a country of such international range as the UAE I hope this will allow the audience to look at the topic of identity in a new light; clarifying any misconceptions and answering any questions.

Hannah Toronto

iGCSE Student

Hannah Toronto is from the United States of America and is currently living in Abu Dhabi. From different cultures, to music, to nature, she loves to learn about the world and the people around her. She also loves to sing, dance, act and swim. She aspires to continue to study musical theatre in university, as well as journalism, so she can tell the stories of the unique people of the world through art and stories. Hannah has always loved to write, perform and talk to others. She has decided to combine the two and present an informative speech about something that happens to us daily, but we never think about it enough to realise it. Our cognitive psychology is something that has intrigued Hannah recently, because we never really think about how we think. She has decided to explore this idea and challenge our way of thinking in order to improve our lives and to create a different perspective on how we see ourselves along with the events and people around us.

Inshirah Meer

iGCSE Student

Raised in Pakistan for the past 10 years, Inshirah experienced a whole new world upon her arrival in the UAE 5 years ago. She met 70 different nationalities from a multitude of financial and religious backgrounds, substantially expanding her world view. Her passions include the performing arts, history and learning languages, with Spanish being her most recent challenge. After meeting her peers hailing from several different backgrounds, she saw and appreciated their multitude of distinctions, however she noticed that they all had one thing in common, they struggled in the same way. Supplied with this knowledge she has set about enlightening the world about the dilemmas that all teens face in silence.

Matilda Rice

iGCSE Student

Matilda Rice is an Australian teenager living and studying in Abu Dhabi. While this is her first time living abroad, she is no stranger to change, having spent most of her life moving around Australia. From the understated national capital city of Canberra, to the quiet seclusion of the small rural town of Armidale, she has been shaped by the places she has lived and has learnt that diversity is what helps our society to flourish. She is also an avid reader and traveller, and her love of books and of visiting new places are derived from her intrinsic passion for deepening her knowledge of the human condition and of learning to see life from others’ perspective. Matilda is a strong believer in individualism and feels that everyones’ unique contribution to society should be encouraged. In order to actualize this vision, she believes that understanding and acceptance of our individual differences is vital, and that embracing our idiosyncrasies is key to progression.

Rodina Ghanem

IB Student

Rodina Ghanem is a Student at BISAD who is from Cairo, Egypt but is currently living in Abu Dhabi. She has moved around to several countries and around 9 schools which allowed her international interaction with different cultures and the ability to learn to adapt quick at a young age. Rodina has constantly been a well-rounded individual with her interests in all the arts, piano sports, and academics as she loves trying new things. She is very resilient and goal oriented and is the master of reinventing and improving herself and do better. With all the different cultures assimilation came struggles and hardships. One of those was bullying. Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying yearly. Her tremendous love for writing is her weapon as her poetry and works reflects her emotions. She supports Anne Frank when she said: “As I write, my sorrows disappear, and my courage reborn.” Her writing is her therapy and her advocacy for what she believes in.

Rumesa Asad

iGCSE Student

I born and raised in Pakistan then continued to move to the Abu Dhabi ten years ago. For years I have volunteered and taken part in events taking place in my schools, involving myself in as many acts of service possible. Ever since my childhood, I have always loved to inspire people and make a movement. I’ve taken part in many school productions and triathlons. In my free time, I like to play music and read books. I feel as if I can freely express myself through music and reading books take me on amazing adventures. I have always been very enthusiastic about saving the environment and so in the future I aim to create awareness about the rising global warming issue and hopefully create a long-lasting solution.

Safa Al Dulaimi

iGCSE Student

Living most of her life in London, Safa is an Iraqi student, who has lived in Abu Dhabi since August of 2014. Safa enjoys travelling, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures through the eyes of a tourist. On top of this, she enjoys being innovative, and tries to find different ways to express herself creatively in any form. Art plays a huge role in her life, with her being currently halfway through her GCSE Art course. Having always been passionate about the ways in which the world works, Safa takes interest in the human brain, and how we as humans influence the behaviour of others. A simple question from her younger brother strikes an ongoing 2year project to explore the brains anatomy and see whether it is Nature or Nurture that shaped her. Safa will talk about both sides of this controversial debate, and explore which theory really shapes us to be the way we are.

Samy Zian

iGCSE Student

I was born and raised in Morocco, but then moved to Abu Dhabi which I have continued to live in for around half of my life. I don't have a lot of confidence in my public speaking ability, but I do have some experience, such as the Open Mic event when I was in year 9 and the talent show; nevertheless I’m willing to go out of my comfort zone. I am very passionate about my studies and love to learn. I believe that what makes someone special is not their talent at doing something but the amount of hard work they put into improving at that thing. I am presenting this TED talk with my friend Assad, my best friend since year 8, to talk about computer science and what the future holds for the field.

Sara Al Nobani

iGCSE Student

Sara is a bicultural child from Jordan and Scotland and has lived in Abu Dhabi for the majority of her lifetime. At a young age, she started Taekwondo and immediately grew a passion for the sport. Hopefully, she should receive her black belt in the coming months. Besides Taekwondo, her hobbies include reading and any form of physical activity. Growing up surrounded by a culture that opposes her own, she has been exposed to various ideas and perspectives and even has some of her own to share. Ever since participating in a speech giving competition at 7 years old, she always had a fondness for writing, specifically speech and script writing. The school education system has recently seemed to be a topic of interest for many speechwriters, which provoked her to base her speech off a similar idea.