TEDx Comes to Karachi

Awab Alvi (Teeth Maestro)

(Editor’s Note: This post is a special contribution from Dr. Awab Alvi – dentist, cyber activist, blogger, TedIndia Fellow, and good friend of ATP. Awab Alvi is also one of the organizers of TEDxKarachi and has worked tirelessly to organize the event. He has kindly written this post on our invitation. Livestreaming is expected to start at 3.30PM Pakistan time, June 4, 2010.)

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a non-profit organization that holds a series of events where some of the world’s leading thinkers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. What started in 1984 as a conference centered on technology, entertainment and design has evolved to include a host of other disciplines, the event has finally found its way to Karachi in the form of TEDxKarachi.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx where x = independently organized TED event. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

On the 4th of June Karachi will host the first ever TEDxKarachi event at the Southend Club Auditorium, the TEDx stage will feature a select seven leading achievers for a strict 18 brief minutes to pitch their ideas to the audience.  The central theme of TEDxKarachi is “What Pakistan Needs Now…” and speakers are expected to rally around this notion hoping to inspire more creativity from Pakistan.

Chris Anderson, the curator of TED has specially flown into Pakistan to share his own 18 minutes on the TED stage, Chris was born in a remote village in Pakistan, and spent his early years in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where his father worked as a missionary eye surgeon, for him to come back to Pakistan and speak on the TEDxKarachi is something to really look forward to.  His wife Jacquelain Novgrats of Acumen Fund joins Chris Anderson on the TEDxKarachi stage to discuss the intricacies of philanthropic efforts that will lead Pakistan into a brighter future. She is the founder of and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor.

On a local level there are five more individuals who will also take the TEDxKarachi stage, Roshaneh Zafar, of Kashf Foundation, who has helped pull women and their families out of poverty through micro-financing. Asad Umar, the CEO of Engro will shed light on the intricacies of the energy crisis and his ground breaking effort to build the Thar Coal Energy project. Monis Rehman, the CEO of Naseeb Networks, represents in part a success story of the IT industry, who returned to Pakistan and came through to build one of the largest job portals of the country and an extensive GPS mapping project.

TEDxKarachi will also feature Asad Rizvi, a motivational speaker, who was recently acknowledged by Tony Robbins in a TEDTalk for conflict resolution, wrapping up the local list of speakers will be a special dance performance by Joshindar Chagga to the entertainment of TEDxKarachi audience. The entire list of speakers and their biodata can be seen here.

The event is being orgnaized by a handful of TED’sters, including myself. It is being curated by Asad Rehman, a TEDIndia attendee, documentary film maker and TED Fellow Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, myself [Dr. Awab Alvi], and a host of managers Sumaira Jaffery, Meher Jaffri and Hiba Ali Raza.

The limited attendance invite-only event is being set up to be live streamed online so that the larger general audience can enjoy this event.