TEDxDubai's 2009 Talks

Building for marginalised communities ! I first came across members of the Tai Phake tribe in the winter of 2004, while driving along the historic Stilwell road from Southwest China into India’s cloistered northeast for a documentary project. Since then, I have spent a large part of the past five years living amongst and working with members of this Buddhist tribe in Phaneng, a small village in upper Assam in North East India. Due to various reasons, this tribe numbers a mere 1500 today and is on the verge of extinction.

Laporte currently owns and operates a netcast network, TWiT.tv. The name is derived from the network's award winning, flagship podcast This WEEK in TECH, or TWiT, which is hosted by Laporte along with a rotating panel of guests usually made up of several other former TechTV employees. This show remains one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes and other podcast subscription services, as evidenced by winning an award at the November 2005 Podcasting Expo in California for the year's best podcast and by its over 280,000 weekly downloads. For the fist time in the Middle East Leo will address TEDx Dubai 2009 audience with a talk on how it is possible to revolutionize broadcasting, and live a happy life..

Mohammed is a 31 year old Emirati entrepreneur that has made his mark as a pioneer in the creative Industry in the Middle East. Mohammed will talk about the challenges and obstacles that especially young Emiratis have to overcome in order to achieve their goals and dreams. He hopes that his Story will inspire more young Nationals to take a chance and go after what they really believe in, regardless of what others think.

Abed will introduce TEDx Dubai audience to the world of Biophotonics and its possible key to technical developments in the Middle East - More on biophotonics here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophotonics

About The Talk Mohammad's biggest passion is emerging markets, considering the vast degree of cultural diversity and challenges it faces. He is fascinated by the role that technology plays in empowering people in those communities and has dedicated his career towards that passion.

About The Talk Talking about changing the image of Arabs and Muslims In Hollywood and much more, Bashar H. Atiyat will enlighten the TEDx Dubai audience on how is it possible to change the world starting from Tinseltown.

Married to Ewa and father of three daughters, Thomas is a businessman on a mission to change the world. Apart from being the founder of THE One – a home fashion chain that has grown from one store in Abu Dhabi in 1996 to 14 stores across the Middle East, with revenues of over US$96 million and 500 employees – he’s also an international, inspirational business speaker. Thomas holds no college degrees or any other prerequisites, which could possibly qualify him as a retail visionary in charge of a home fashion chain. He is simply an entrepreneur living his dream… A dream he had in 1993, in which an angel set him the task of saving the world from big box corporations. While Thomas has been described by some as the creator of the modern Middle Eastern furniture retail revolution, he doesn’t believe the world needs another retailer. He feels THE One has a higher purpose - a responsibility to improve the world we live in. That’s why, while expertly steering the company through these difficult economic times thanks to unique strategic thinking and effective change management, Thomas refused to compromise on THE One’s various Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Being an ideas-driven servant leader he has turned THE One into a Social Enterprise that is both magical and meaningful, inspiring fans with seasonal Home Fashion that is Always Different, Always Limited and Never Expensive, while Changing the World Together through ethical sourcing, challenged employees, local volunteering and THE Onederworld - our Sustainable Village Community programme. Thomas personally kicked off our first Onederworld project in Kenya in August 2008 and THE One is working with the Pimbiniet community on a five-year plan towards self-sufficiency through holistic community development, which includes Quality Primary Education, Healthcare Services, Alternative Income and Water Projects.

Masarat Daud is a 26-year-old Indian girl who left the rat-race of work life to become the Founder of the ‘8-Day Academy’ which is changing community literacy levels in villages in India. Currently focused on Rajasthan (Western India) which has one of the highest female illiteracy rate and also the highest child marriage rate, she is breaking stereotypes by working in the field, training teachers, parents and students. About The Talk Masarat Daud believes that eight days of education makes 100% literacy a realistic dream: - Introduction to the 8-Day Academy - Failure of the global urban education system has led to re-imagining education for all - Power of the 8-Day Academy; changes and outcome - Compact education powerhouse bridging the sexist divide in backward villages - Power of youth to change and to inspire

After leaving the University of Durham in 1988 with a French degree and hepatitis from a year in Bordeaux, Ian embarked on what was known as a ‘Diploma in Entrepreneurial Management’ at the Durham University Business School. Part of this year involved a series of workshops, which included a session entitled ‘The Psychology of Success’. This was something that made him think – perhaps for the first time ever. Despite success throughout his academic career (O-levels, A grades at A-level, Head Boy, Shiniest Shoes 1981) he now began to realise that there was more to life than waiting to be told what to do and doing it well. Attitude, creativity, taking responsibility, genius, goal setting and much more – all the stuff that he had never been told before but was beginning to wish he had. More to the point, he began to formulate the idea of working with young people to take these ideas into schools around the country. As is the case with wishes and problems, what you focus on grows and he was soon on the quest to find out as much as he could about success, motivation, creativity, learning and a whole range of related topics. Meanwhile, back at work, the Diploma had also involved working in a management role on the docks in a Northern town where he seemed to be one of the few people with a tie, let alone a job. After deciding that management life was not for him he decided to get himself into the world of advertising, something he managed by knocking repeatedly on doors throughout Newcastle until they gave up and let him in. A couple of years spent writing advertising for clients including the National Garden Festival and Formica and then his career peaked with an advert in the Beano. After that he decided to move into teaching as a way of moving closer to his goal of working with young people to help them become more successful through improved thinking skills. With a national shortage of languages teachers, especially male languages teachers, especially male languages teachers under the age of 80, he not only had a job for life but also first-hand experience of working to bring out the potential of keen young minds or at least teach them how to buy cabbages in a foreign language. Whilst teaching he met a colleague in the staffroom who liked his ideas and helped him set up Independent Thinking Ltd – this was in 1993 and since then he has never looked back, apart from during the long school holidays when he has still been working.

1000 journals are being distributed around schools, universities, and other venues to capture the spirit of the UAE and document the people who live here in a new and creative way. It also aims to enhance the appreciation of creativity within the society and foster the hidden talents of UAE residents and nationals. This talk will highlight the women's dream to start a new twenty-first century renaissance to bring the UAE forward through unleashing the extraordinary talents of its people.

Mohamed and Peyman Parham Al Awadhi are both Emiratis with over 26 years of multinational consumer-goods experience between them. At a time when it was popular for Emiratis to seek careers in the UAE government sector, they explored leadership roles with companies such as Philips, Master Foods, British American Tobacco, Pepsi, and Beiersdorf. Today they are the founding partners behind Wild Peeta, a UAE branded quick-service restaurant with a fresh new perspective on an age old sandwich, the Shawarma. The brothers have gained notoriety in recent months through their grass-roots approach at creating awareness for their business concept using social media sites. They share decision rights with their followers who are seen as the “invisible” board-members of the company. It is not uncommon to see their followers influencing decisions related to operations, design, and menu items. While Mohamed manages Wild Peeta on a full-time basis, Peyman also holds the position of Marketing and Communications Director for the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority. Mohamed and Peyman are both members of the Sheikh Mohammed Establishment for Young Business Leaders, a government organization whose vision is to nurture entrepreneurial spirit amongst Emiratis.

Ernst van der Poll is the founder of Tawasul, a Marine Ecology Placed - based education program that is focused on reconnecting the young people of Dubai to the sea,the source of an ecology and culture that inspired the Dubai of today and that will sustain its vision of tomorrow. Tawasul teaches children to solve problems and find solutions through hands on,community service learning revolving around marine life and living.

As creative director at the influential design and innovation company Ideo, Paul Bennett manages to keep his eye on the little things that matter, though his clients are among the biggest in the world (Procter & Gamble and Pepsi, to name but two). "Small is the new big,"Bennett says. And his design approach reflects this philosophy. For often, it's not the biggest ideas that have the most impact, but the small, the personal, and the intimate. Trained as a graphic designer, Bennett is a pragmatic design evangelist, preaching fervently that design can make the world a better place, and providing playful, inspired examples of how it does. Paul's intention was to arrive in Dubai and learn from it’s citizens rather than turn up with answers. He hopes to better understand the aspirations and dreams of the local population, and enable and inspire Dubai’s citizens to co-create their city of the future

Qais Sedki is the founder and managing director of Pageflip Publishing, an independent Dubai-based publishing house that focuses on producing original content classical Arabic graphic novels in traditional Japanese manga format. Pageflip’s debut title, Gold Ring, has been penned by Qais himself and has received raving reviews and generated great interest in the UAE and abroad. At TEDxDubai, Qais spoke to take on the daunting task of setting out a plan to change the world around us by putting our passions to good work.

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is the creator of THE 99-the first group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. Dr. Al-Mutawa's children's books are now used in schools throughout the Arab World. His quest for tolerance and global understanding led him to create THE 99. THE 99, has received positive attention from the international media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, Wired, Elle, The Washington Post and The Guardian. Recently, Forbes named THE 99 as one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe. About The Talk Dr.Naif Al Mutawa will adress the TEDx Dubai audience with a talk called : From Mecca to Metropolis. Dr. Al-Mutawa has had extensive clinical experience working with former prisoners of war in Kuwait as well as at the Survivors of Political Torture unit of Bellevue Hospital in New York. He has seen first hand the cancer that intolerance can bring to any society. His direct contact with the horrors of prisons and with people tortured because of their religious and political beliefs, led to his writing a timeless children’s tale that won a UNESCO prize for literature in the service of tolerance. He is also the recipient of The Festival Internacional de Humour e Quadrinhos Comics Award presented at Cartoons & Comics Festival in Brazil, The Ecademy Award from Columbia University School of Business, The Eliot-Pearson Award for Excellence in Children's Media from Tufts University, The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations “ Marketplace of Ideas” Award and ‘The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Award’, 2009 presented at the World Economic Forum on The Middle East, Dead Sea, Jordan.

Dubai's number one passion was to find a place between Emarati filmmakers , and her dream turned into reality in 2008 , when she was officially named as the Middle East's Youngest Director at the age of 11. Still owning the title , Dubai's short movies have earned countless attention from Arab Media such as Emirates Today , Gulf News , and Khaleej Times.Aiming to change the world's views on age , Dubai's going to talk about how "Age is just a number" , and is going to use her experiences in filmmaking and animation as a live example. "

Jamil is the guy who put modern Arabic Stand Up comedy on TV across the Middle East. His work behind the scenes has led to it expanding rapidly across the region as a home grown art form. In 2007 he produced the first ethnically relevant Stand Up comedy tour across 5 Arab countries. He used the tour to create a platform for amateur Arabic language stand up comedians and then televised the results. Starting with his protégé and discovery Wonho Chung (met him in a shoe store, but that's another story!) and the likes of the Egyptian George Azmy, Arabic stand up comedy events are spreading in the region like fleas in a camel market. His comedy writing and directing/ producing is continuous for stage, screen and online; the latest is a short comic film starring Wonho Chung in the role of 'Wonhoor'; a spoof of the new dubbed Turkish series phenomena in the region. Jamil is constantly creating content and chances for aspiring comics. Jamil will talk about the rise of modern Arabic Stand Up comedy and the importance of supporting Arabiccomics in order for them to create media content locally that can improve tolerance and understanding globally. He will share the story so far and where he wishes it is going.

Bruno Giussani is the European director of the TED Conferences and the programmer of TEDGlobal. As a member of TED's senior team, he participates in the definition of the organization's strategy and in the management of its global activities. He is also a writer - he has written several books and his articles have appeared in many media including the New York Times and the Economist - and an entrepreneur who has co-founded three Internet companies. He is based in Switzerland