Posts Tagged ‘TEDxBeirut’
How you become a Peace Activist in Lebanon
Aisha Habli posted this January 18, 2014
Why I Became a Peace Activist
Aisha Habli and fellow activists organize youth activities to tackle issues of identity and segregation in Lebanon. Photo credit: Joanna Choukeir, July 2012. (One of the girls looks like Lynn or Lin)
On the last Friday of 2013, an explosion hit Lebanon’s busy capital Beirut, killing 6 civilians, injuring 45 others, and assassinating Mohammad Chatah, former Finance Minister and senior advisor to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
The bombing was only a short distance from the site of the car bomb that targeted former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 and marked the beginning of a series of car bombings and assassinations that have been occurring regularly ever since.
All Lebanese political parties have been targets of such terrorist acts. The beginning of 2014 has already seen yet another car bombing in the southern suburb of Dahieh, and a historic library in the northern city of Tripoli was torched damaging thousands of books and manuscripts.
In times like these, I am reminded of why I am a social and peace activist. Things are not well in Lebanon or the region, and until we change our mentalities, things won’t change anytime soon.
Aisha records reflections from youth on social integration. Photo credit: Hanane Kai, July 2012.
I grew up in multicultural communities in Saudi Arabia and moved to Lebanon in 2007 to pursue my higher education. I was fascinated by the Lebanese hospitality and generosity.
To my disappointment I have lately noticed an increasingly polarized community—one where your name, hometown, religion, and political affiliation define you.
Because of these labels, I am sometimes offered special privileges and, at other times, treated with distrust, both equally frustrating.
I have even been turned down for a job that I was qualified for because of my name, Aisha, which was the name of the Prophet Muhammad’s favorite wife, who played a large part in the conflict that later divided Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites.(She got involved in and led the first civil war in the battle of “The Camel” against the troops of Calif Ali who were ironically Sunnis (followers of the power to be)
In the interviewer’s words, with a name like Aisha, I would “cause a loss in the company’s market and could only work in select regions based on their religious and political associations.”
Refusing to tolerate this as the norm, I wanted to get to know the people of my country in person, rather than rely on the media outlets and adopt the prejudices around me.
I sought out communities where people of various Lebanese backgrounds engaged in dialogue, exchanged ideas, and pursued reform and innovation.
The people I met were hopeful and inspiring. Soon enough, I became a social and peace activist, eager to improve my community through projects that encourage dialogue and break down social barriers.
‘Imaginers’ share their passion for Imagination Studio. Video by Joanna Choukeir.
In 2011, I joined Imagination Studio, a co-creation project that aimed to tackle the leading social integration barriers facing Lebanese youth, including religious sects, political affiliation, poor mobility between regions, and media influence. We organized workshops to analyze these ‘barriers’ and designed activities to bring together youth in public spaces across Lebanon.
Today, the research methodology used for Imagination Studio is being developed as a guideline to support worldwide organizations in using social design to tackle social segregation.
I have also volunteered as an organizer at TEDxBeirut. The success of the TEDx communities in Lebanon comes from the networking opportunities they provide to individuals of various backgrounds. The events cultivate dialogue on a variety of issues including education, healthcare, technology, design, entertainment, and entrepreneurship.
Walkabout Drum Circle entertains the TEDxBeirut crowd with West African, interactive drumming. Photo credit: Nadim Kamel, May 2012.
Once a week, I participate as a mentor for The Nawaya Network. As one of the first mentorship programs for disadvantaged youth in Lebanon and the Arab world, it aims to create a positive and nurturing environment that allows youth to discover their hidden potential.
My other passion is peace activism. I am the local and international outreach coordinator at the Media Association for Peace, an organization based in Lebanon that trains media practitioners in peace journalism techniques and promotes the implementation of peace journalism.
Media Association for Peace members celebrate the International Day of Peace. Photo credit: Mostapha Raad, September 2012.
The concept behind peace journalism, also known as conflict-sensitive journalism, is to report news from an unbiased standpoint. It gives equal value to both sides of a conflict, creates opportunities for non-violent responses to conflict, and proposes solutions.
A study from a professor at Park University suggests that the practice of peace journalism in Ugandan local media mitigated violence during elections in 2011.
Peace journalism is not just a tool for becoming a more responsible journalist but also a tool for better communicating with others. It has made me a better listener, helping me be open to a wider variety of viewpoints and learn the many angles of “the truth” in a story.
Things are rarely ever black and white, and through peace journalism, news reports humanize and give a voice to both sides of a conflict.
This summer, I witnessed violent clashes in my hometown of Sidon in southern Lebanon. Being a part of the story gave me insight into how a news story is put together in the Lebanese media.
The news outlets spotlighted two opposing sides of the conflict: radical Sunni Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir and the Lebanese Army, with civilian reports on Hezbollah’s involvement as a third front.
Being held hostage inside my house, I felt devalued in the media as a civilian. While our hearts and prayers were with our friends and family closest to the clashes, the media was focused on polarizing the situation and creating a thrilling evening news report.
Aisha and fellow social activists exchange ideas. Photo credit: Hanane Kai, February 2012.
Rarely does one find peace efforts that have long-lasting effects, but peace journalism has promise, as it focuses on violence prevention.
It can help media outlets report news in a more sensitive and responsible way by providing neutral facts, giving both sides of a conflict an equal voice, humanizing the conflict, being selective about terminology and images associated with the news story, and lastly, proposing solutions.
After a peace-journalism report, the viewer is informed with facts, able to deduce his or her own opinion, and willing to feel compassion for both sides of a conflict rather than aggression towards or fear of one side. “Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion,” as the Dalai Lama XIV said.
I am one of many activists in Lebanon calling for an alternative to the current situation, in which we are more involved in decision making and the country’s security status. Lebanese civilians are tired of being victims of sectarian and political tension and are becoming proactive.
TEDxBeirut participants share their views and personalize the event’s theme: “All we need is…” Photo credit: Nadim Kamel, November 2012.
Aisha Habli studies biomedical engineering and works as a public relations and media specialist. She is a social and peace activist and a member of the Media Association for Peace and MasterPeace Lebanon.
Beauty of Arabic language? Tedblogguest “From Lebanon to the world”
Archaeologists believe that Phoenician traders, who set out from the shores of Lebanon, spread their alphabet across the ancient Mediterranean world, unleashing a chain reaction that they couldn’t have conceived of even in their wildest dreams.
From Lebanon to the world: Why today’s talk on the beauty of Arabic is so important right now
Today, we are honored to spread that word again as Suzanne Talhouk’s talk from TEDxBeirut,
“Don’t kill your language,” becomes the first talk in Arabic featured on TED.com.
Like the alphabet of those Phoenician traders, this talk emerged from a deep-rooted need that TEDxBeirut has come to satisfy — the itch to speak out on the issues that matter to people here in Lebanon.
The stage of TEDxBeirut 2012. This annual event has become a beacon of hope in the Lebanese city. Photo by Assaad Chbeir
To Speak the Truth
The release of this talk comes at a particularly difficult moment for the Arabic language and for Lebanon, as both are still trying to find their place in the world.
For both, the potential is all there: both are endowed with an amazing wealth of ideas. (The Arabic language can claim a vocabulary more than 12 million words; Lebanon can claim as many millions and more of its descendants scattered around the world.)
Both are warm and well-connected. (The Lebanese are renowned for their hospitality; Arabic script is cursive, joining letters together like Lebanon joins different communities, and sparked traditions of literature and calligraphy.)
Both can lay claim to a rich heritage. (Arabic gave the world Averroes and Avicenna; Lebanon gave the world Kahlil Gibranand Fairuz).
Yet, all this potential is weighed down by baggage from the past. You may know that Lebanon went through a civil war from 1975 to 1990. Like Belgium in WWII, Lebanon became the fighting ground of many nations. Beirut, at its center, was the cosmopolitan scene where warring languages were, and still are, spoken.
Not much has changed.
Lebanon is more cosmopolitan than ever and even more hotly contested. The Lebanese continue to speak in different languages with each other, and public discourse focuses on issues beyond our borders — so much so that there is rarely an honest public conversation about the issues that affect the lives of people living here.
This leaves people feeling helpless in affecting real change around them.
It is a lot like the divide between formal and vernacular language in Arabic. Except the cost of the conversations we never have in Lebanon is hefty and paid for in intermittent violence as well as in gridlock in education, healthcare and the economy.
It is no wonder why Lebanon, for all its Mediterranean charm, is also among the countries with the highest rates of depression in the world.
The Right to Bear Good News
We started TEDxBeirut as a way to share big ideas and real issues with a small local community. It grew, quickly and organically, to become the bearer of good news in Lebanon, a counterweight to our grim public life — which remains mute on issues like education or the economy.
When we talk to people about TEDxBeirut, our speakers and the work they do, we see their faces light up as if they suddenly found hope again.
Attendees at TEDxBeirut fill in the blank on the question, “All we need is _____.” Photo by Nina Sharabati
Finding a Lost Generation
Many of our speakers are over the age of 30. That means we have speakers who grew up in the civil war, who worked on rebuilding and who continue to do so. Most — if not all of them — grew up speaking at least two languages and — more likely — three as is the norm in Lebanon, where the native Arabic is also the least appreciated language.
What makes these speakers so exceptional is their flair for addressing the toughest problems we face in Lebanon, from recycling (Ziad Abichaker: A garbage love story) to technology start-ups (Bassam Jalgha: Why can’t we have our own NASA?).
The work these speakers do today shows the potential of their lost generation, which has so much more to give than war. TEDxBeirut puts these speaker front and center — in plain sight — for people to meet, learn from and be inspired by. Allowing this generation to be discovered sets off positive chain reactions with amazing effects.
Lebanon is Full of Potential
Beirut is brimming with incredible people with bold ideas. We loved Suzanne Talhouk‘s candor from the first moment we met her and, as we worked with her, her talk began to change how we talk and write in Arabic and how we think of our native language.
It even began to change our habits. But the reception the talk received on the web went even further than we could have imagined. The talk went viral soon after it was posted, and it unleashed a conversation between Arabic speakers from Morocco to Iraq, and the curious from across the globe.
Suzanne’s movement, which started in Lebanon, was soon enthusiastically carried forward by volunteers to countries like Jordan.
Lebanon is a place that can be difficult and, at times, violent. But we at TEDxBeirut choose to press on and be witnesses to the good news and hidden heroes working here. Otherwise, we’d miss the greatest opportunity of all: to stand for something more than the sum of our parts. That is everything to us.
Now, on with the conversation — in as many languages as possible.
A TEDxBeirut balloon. Photo: TEDxBeirut
The next TEDxBeirut will take place in mid-2014. It is organized by John Chehaybar, Reem Maktabi, Farah Hinnawi, Rim Baltaji. Find out much more here »
Focusing on “Ideas in action”: TEDxBeirut 2012
Ideas? Who cares about ideas?
Ideas are all over the place, space and time.
They are the same ideas: edited, reformulated, updated, new terms replacing “outdated” terminologies…
They are the same ideas: One generation emulate the trend or fashion to discredit sets of ideas as non valid for the period, paradigm shifts in a few disciplines, ideas too general and not accounting for the reality of discovered idiosyncrasies…
And the next generation dust off many discredited ideas and programs, and adopt them as very relevant to the period and time…
Archives are packed with all kinds of worthy ready-to apply projects and ideas that nobody was assigned to take on the responsibility of following through, of selecting teams to consider as the ideas as theirs and take the plunge of transforming valid and detailed ideas into socially pertinent applications…
Ideas? Almost every week I have gorgeous well-developed ideas, a few I took the trouble to post in the category “Daydream projects”…
And who read projects and programs?
TEDx annual event in the Near East (Palestine in Ramallah, and Lebanon in Beirut) have shifted perceptibly from the realm of ideas to the pragmatic direction: What is useful and badly needed are the discovery of teams and associations grabbing ideas suited for the region and communities and transforming them into tangible projects.
The thousands of people who are familiar with the countless speakers of TED might have realized that the ideas thrown around are basically Ideas generated by elite classes of billionaires, trying to disseminate a new ideology of “Reformed” elite classes, reaching for the other less fortunate classes around the world…in order to develop mental capabilities?
Ideas, there are plenty and can be gathered in shovelful.
There are thousands of ideas and detailed projects in archives in all government ministers around the world and in companies. And there are a few bold and determined persons who are dusting off these files and retrieving a few of these ideas that are still very much “modern” and readily applicable…
TEDx Beirut 2012 adopted the theme: “All we need is…”
In the case of Lebanon, we actually need almost everything to make our daily life barely sufferable: From potable water reaching homes, electricity, affordable heading fuel, non-contaminated imported food, trustworthy imported medications, managing refugees (Palestinians and recently Syrians by the hundred of thousands), managing safe and sane prison systems, reforming the judicial system, passing legislations for civil marriage…
Just your basic needs: We have to leave out the fundamental problems, a long laundry list of political and social reforms, sitting in drawers since 1943…
TEDxBeirut 2012 was hoping to focus on solutions rather than the problems, as if the problems have already been identified, clarified, discussed, and agreed upon for resolution…
And how can you focus on solutions for problems not seen as problems by many communities?
What we need are varieties of opportunities, created and facilitated by private associations, organizations and public institutions…
What is needed are options for possibilities to grow and gather people around definite feasible projects, tailor-made to Lebanon and the Near-East conditions…
“From limitation to Inspirations“?
How to inspire the Lebanese into associating into teams, and focusing on specific pragmatic projects and programs that the society badly needs and take a life of their own…
Ideas, there are plenty of ideas.
And focusing just on ideas within the domain of new technologies is plainly an elitist idea, which can be afforded by the elite classes around the world.
Elites conversing with elites and letting the common people share and bask in their glorious ideas…
Unconsciously, TEDxBeirut reversed this trend: MOST of the speakers had no new ideas and what I observed is a refreshing new direction of discovering “Ideas in action”…
Many speakers have moved to applying older ideas and constituting associations and organizations in order to realize good ideas that their time has come.
The speakers were:
1. Sareen Akharjalian: Created an online comic called “Ink On The Side”
2. Amal al Dahouk is a marketing manager at Exeed and a blogger whenhopespeaks.com
3. Hani Asfour is an architect specializing in design of workspaces at Polypod (polypod.com.lb
4. Loryn Atoui is founder of One Wig Stand for providing wigs to cancer patients (onewigstand.org)
5. Jana Bou Reslan is in Educational PhD program and teaches at La Sagesse Univ. Her coming project is a book “I are, We am: Beyond Oneness”. (iPoetry.info)
6. Farid Chehab is advisor to the board of leo Burnett MENA and an author “A bet for a national conscience”. I overheard that he is the representative of the owners of luxury hotels and resort complexes in order to secure plenty of water for them…
7. Rabih el Chaer is managing director of Lebanon Transparency Association, such as advising on rule of laws, public affairs programs, and media… (transparency-Lebanon.org)
8. Esraa Haidar founded a marketing firm Consult-E Market and keep a blog on the topic of veiled women (7ijab.wordpress.com)
9. Marjorie Henningsen is experienced in mathematics education and Educational Reform, curriculum and Instruction… Co-founded Wellspring Learning Community (wellspring.edu.lb)
10. Zeina Saab founded The Nawaya Network dedicated to developing hidden potentials for at-risk youth (nawaya.org)
11. Imad Saoud is an “Aquatic scientists” with emphasis on coastal reef ecology. The talk is to optimize usage of water, both fresh and salty, in order to feed growing population (See note)
12. Suzanne Talhouk founded the association “Fe3l Amr” (Verb order) and advises media associations
13. Salim Zwein talked on the usage of Thorium as a cheap, clean, efficient and abundant source of energy to replace uranium…
Note 1: Prof. Charles el Achi, director of NASA/Cal Tech Jet Propulsion Lab, paid a visit and briefly talked on team building for the Mars landing of Rover Curiosity.
Note 2: https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/technology-education-and-development-ted-corporation-who-is-chris-anderson/
Note 3: In the next 40 years, we expect to add two billion people to the world, and the amount of freshwater in the world is not increasing…
So how are we going to feed these extra 2 billion people?
With the same drop of water we have cleaned the cow shed, produced energy, produced duckweed, farmed fish and irrigated our crop.
Now this is how you feed two billion people if you do not have much water.”
If each Lebanese person saves one liter of water a day, that will amount to 4 million liters every day.
With 4 million liters I can produce 80,000 kg of tomatoes and 80,000 kg of fish while decreasing energy use by more than 100,000 liters of fuel and decreasing pollution tremendously.”
Michelle has hope for Lebanon: Sort of 5 reasons…
“Since the Syrian revolution began over 20 months ago, the headlines around the world concerning Lebanon have all had the same tone – “Lebanon on the brink”, “Tensions in a divided Lebanon run high”…
And since last May, we have seen what appears to be a breakdown of Lebanon’s social fabric. Fighting in Tripoli between Bab el Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, tire burning around the country, the so-called “military wing” of the clan Moqdad family kidnapping of Gulf nationals, Syrians…and blocking the road to the airport.
A travel ban for the nationals of UAE, Qatar and Bahrain crippled Lebanon’s tourism over the summer.
And a month ago, the car bomb that ripped through Beirut’s bustling Ashrafieh district that claimed 3 lives, including that of Brigadier General Wissam al Hassan, his bodyguard, and an innocent woman walking in the area. In the days that followed, protestors stormed the Grand Serail, (the PM administration) and gunfights erupted in several areas around Beirut.
International media basically had a field day predicting the next civil war in Lebanon, and elaborating on the oversimplified narrative of Syria’s conflict “spilling over” and Lebanon’s sectarian divides continuing to “widen” as change rocks the region. What happened instead?
Millions of Lebanese woke up in the morning, got in their cars and faced mind-numbing traffic to get to work for completely unfair salaries. For that, I respect them and their resilience immensely.
Schools, bars, restaurants, and malls remained open despite shooting in several areas of Beirut. In the days that followed, life here largely returned to normal, and the media’s eye shifted away from Lebanon. Basically, over the space of two days, columnists and foreign correspondants from around the world predicted a major breakdown of social and political institutions in this country.
And that may yet happen. But instead of breaking down worst case scenarios, let’s take a look at the reality of the past month in Beirut.
1. Beirut White March
A week after the blast in Ashrafieh, around a thousand Lebanese gathered in Martyr’s Square dressed in white, and marched peacefully to Sassine Square (the location of the blast) to show solidarity for the victims, and to express frustration with the March 8/14 rift that characterizes Lebanese politics. “March against March” and “5losna Ba2a” signs were held up, along with hundreds of Lebanese flags.
The mood was positive, despite the grim events of the week before. I overheard two photographers jockying for position joke to each other “In peaceful protests, the photographers are the ones who fight.”
No violence.
2. Ashrafieh for All
Again, immediately after the bombing, a group of young Lebanese began the “Ashrafieh for All” initiative. Spread through Facebook, the group description simply read: “[We are] a group of young people looking to help the people of Ashrafieh out. This is in no way political. Anyone willing to help can join.”
Over the following weeks, hundreds of volunteers, including youth groups such as les Scouts du Liban, collected food, water, clothes, medicine and money for those whose homes had been destroyed in the explosion. Major Lebanese brands including Zaatar w Zeit, Roadsters Diner and many more also contributed to the efforts.
3. Beirut Marathon
On November 11th, in the pouring rain, over a thousand Lebanese gathered to complete a 10 km run, or a full marathon, throughout Beirut. Thousands of Lebanese of different faiths gathered together in a massive crowd, while jogging, under a torrential downpour – sound like a perfect recipe for conflict. But no – the event was a great success.
4. Seculars in AUB election
Student elections at the American University of Beirut are closely watched, as they are known for representing Lebanon’s political divides. Unlike typical student elections, which are either popularity contests or based on campaigns pertaining to student life, AUB’s are highly politicized. Competing student parties openly endorse the March 8 and March 14 camps that divide national Lebanese politics, and have a history of high tensions, and even outbursts of violence.
Given the events of the past few months, many expected this year’s election season to be particularly inflammatory. Though the elections were highly politicized as usual, with political chants and quite a bit of booing taking place as results were announced, there were no fights. And in an interesting turn of events, AUB’s very own Secular Club, supporting candidates running independently of any politically affiliated organizations, performed particularly well this year.
For a soundbite I compiled featuring interviews with AUB students regarding their view of the influence of Lebanese politics on student elections, click here: www.beirutnewsnetwork.com/michelle. You may be surprised by what you hear. While some cited the inevitability of Lebanese politics spilling into AUB, others expressed major disappointment with this – despite the fact that they had won because they ran with politically-backed parties.
5. TEDxBeirut
TEDxBeirut, a full-day conference that took place November 17th at Beirut’s UNESCO Palace, brought together Lebanese speakers, activists, innovators, leaders, and regular citizens with “ideas worth sharing” as a part of the larger TED talks global movement. A TEDx conference even took place in Tripoli, despite the strife that has marked the city since this summer.
What does all this mean?
Lebanese people are far from war-hungry sectarian-driven individuals. The above events show that Lebanese do want to live together, and enjoy normal, happy lives. And that’s what gives me hope in Lebanon this independence day.
As summarized by Bernard Pivot:
“Les Libanais sont sûrs qu’il y aura un autre attentat. Puis, plus tard, un autre. Ils ne vivent cependant pas dans la crainte. Ils vivent.” (The Lebanese are sure another car blast is being readied, and another… They don’t live in fear. They live.)
On top of that, JLO carried a Lebanese flag on stage while performing in Dubai. I mean what more do you really need? End of article
If the reader has noticed, almost all of these events are set in Beirut, where about a third of the population live and work. Outside of Beirut, in this tiny country, life is controlled and administered by the communities: The pseudo-State (government, institutions, and deputies…) exists just in Greater Beirut. A few sectors in Beirut get high priority in potable water, 24/24 electricity, and all the amenities that other sections in Beirut don’t enjoy…
Apparently, the rate of hope is “measured” on how people living and commuting to Beirut behave and have fun…
What’s planned for Zouk Mikael (Lebanon) this Sept. 12 at 8pm? A special TEDx session?
Posted on: September 10, 2012
Time Out Editors posted on Aug 27 2012:
Register for Wednesday Sept. 14 session for TEDxBeirutSalon at the Youth and Culture Center, Zouk Mikael. Register here: http://tedxbeirutsalon-zouk.eventbrite.com/
“Be the change you wish to see”: Back to TEDxBeirut?
Count on Lebanese to review past event, like the TEDxBeirut that was held in September of last year. This time around, it is worthwhile a serious recollection of this non-profit project that came through with flying color. It was a great event that required 6 months preparation and the exhausting last month, which prevented two dozens in the board from getting a couple of sleep daily.
A few members in the organizing board had quit secure and well-paying jobs, a few risked being fired by spending work-hours doing something else other than their paying work, a few stacked up phone bills of around a $1,000, and a few shifted the entire focus of their consultancy towards a non profitable project.
I have posted many articles on TEDxBeirut, TEDxRamallah and other sessions…
Note 1: I wish we could get the full translation of the video presentation: It is very hard to listen to the video with the slow internet connection in Lebanon and many regions of the world. In any case, I am the type who enjoy reading and not sit still and listen when in front of computers…
Note 2: https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/most-highly-rated-ted-talks/
- Hot posts this week (Oct. 11, 2011)
- How to gain a friend? What Charlie Chaplin said?
- Not a good idea dying simultaneously with Steve Jobs: Who is Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth?
- Technology, Education, and Development (TED) corporation: Who is Chris Anderson?
- Is Imagination a better quality than Smart? Comparing TEDxRamallah and TEDxBeirut
- Hoods participating in: Occupy Wall Street protests
- Why women live longer than men? Simple!
- Do you prefer to take the shortcut or this magic formula?
- Have you met this Salesman?
- “Your time is limited”: Isad Steve Jobs on TED
- Are you Curious how Syria upheaval will unfold? Must know history of Syria between 7th and 11th centuries
Hot posts this week (October 6)
Posted on: October 6, 2011
- Hot posts this week (October 6)
- Noam Chomsky on “Occupy Wall Street protests”
- Occupy Wall Street: Is Statement Official?
- From blogging to writing? Shouldn’t it be the way around?
- Goodbye perfectionism. Hello “Let go”. How to learn to delegate tasks?
- Culture of Contempt: Misplaced comprehension of Personal Failure?
- Session 3 of TEDxBeirut: Any follow-up session to wrap it up?
- Sketches of a few speakers at TEDxBeirut by David Habchy
- Session 2 of TEDxBeirut: “From limitation to Inspiration”
- Is developing a working system: An obsession to be productive?
- Session One of TEDxBeirut: Inspiration regardless of lack of limitations
Session 2 of TEDxBeirut: “From limitation to Inspiration”
My previous post on Session One was “Inspiration regardless of lack of limitations”. I decided to be a tad generous today.
Note: You may read detailed info on 8 speakers on this post https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/mostly-a-hoax-from-limitation-to-inspiration-slogan-of-tedxbeirut/
Session 2
Sessions 2 and 3 were more inspiring. Still, the speakers didn’t exhibit great limitations to inspire us even more.
After the coffe-break at 11:40, a TEDx speaker was displayed on the vast screen. Mat Cutt? was haranguing audience to adopting small sustainable changes for 30 days, such as trying to write enough every day to finally producing a novel of 50,000 words in 30 day. The novel is a start, but you may claim to be an author…You might bike to work for a month and experience the changes in your work habit, or taking a single picture every day…
Ali Jaber, MBC’s director, took the stage at 12:20 (read details in the previous link). Ali said that the Arab States have 1,100 TV stations with operating cost of over $ billion and generating $5.5 billion in ads…Ali was behind the project of acceding to 100 MBites for the students of the Arab American University in Dubai. The university is linked to 148 US universities via internet and the students (70% enjoying grants) can follow varieties of courses on-line.
Ali Jaber is the only speaker, so far, who answered my request for feedback to the link I have emailed him. This failure in responses prompted me to prepare an article titled “Culture of contempt: Misplacement in comprehending personal failure?”
Mazen Hajjar, a beer brewer, talked at 12:38. He said that civilization used barley 9,000 years ago to make beer, while using barley for baking bread is just 3,000 years old. In Europe, people drank beer because water was demonstrated not to be safe for drinking and caused illness. Mazen explained 3 guideline to better tasting beer:
First,beer must be bottled in dark color glasses: light ruins the flavor and taste
Second, pour beer in a glass for full inhalation of aroma,
Third, keep beer warm for a better taste; better, drink it warm…I tasted Mazen’s beer at lunch break and liked it.
Clara Sfeir improvised a dance performance at (12:48). Liliane Chlela produced and played the music for the dance.
Joanna Choukeir Hojeili talked at 1:00 pm. (Read link for further details on Joanna). She talked about her idea “Imagination Studio”, a workshop planned for 30 youth who answered her innovative interview methods on October 1st. The youth are from different Lebanese background, location, religion, culture…
The next day, Joanna received the all of 40 volunteer experts and professionals to aid in making the workshop a success. The workshop is to allow the youth of coming up with a practical project to implement as a collective group. Details on the outcome of the workshop is to transpire within 3 weeks.
Reine Abbas spoke at 1:11 pm. The story is Reine and her husband were driving and were caught in between two mass demonstrations, blocking the road, and putting fire on tires. This terrifying event catalyzed Reine into designing a video game Douma. Now, you may shoot at politicians and sectarian leader, using a vast array of fire arms. Within a couple of days, 12,000 tried the video game.
Reine had to resolve this dangerous societal trend: First, how to react to violence; second, how to keep kids off the streets; and having a good understanding of Lebanon’s “leaders”
Bassam Jalgha talked at 1:20. He was wondering why we have no car manufacturing facilities…He learned to play on the OUD, an Arabic traditional musical instrument when he was 12, but he could not tune it. Now, he invented an equipment for tuning his Oud. It took Bassam two years to develop that instrument for lack of appropriate hi-tech spare parts. He went on to tune the oud and play a piece.
Gilber Doumit talked at 1:30. He tried to explain politically engaged activist entrepreneurship… Sort of researching, packaging, and negotiating social and governmental programs.. Do I have a purpose in life? Can I influence on system level? How to negotiate responsibly, by adapting to government requirement, and pragmatically influencing political programs?
We adjourned for lunch break. The menu didn’t change much: Croissant in varieties of forms and shapes, bouchees of meat, cheese, juices, Nescafe, beer, but no vegetables or fruits. I know several vegan and vegetarian people who were dying of hunger. Time to be flexible and adaptive to fast culinary requirement and exigencies…In any case, the third session, after lunch and no siesta, is usually doomed to be more on the dosing side, regardless of how inspirational a speaker is. Sort of the speaker must learn clowning to attracting attention first…
Adonis Diaries 
Hot posts this week (Oct. 17, 2011)
Posted by: adonis49 on: October 17, 2011
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