TEDxAbuDhabiU's Podcast

Born in Wimbledon around the time the tournament was being played, my parents were convinced that I was going to be the Egyptian Boris Becker.

Sadly, I had a terrible backhand and was never much of a tennis player.

On the 17th of May of 2007 at precisely 9:49AM I reached the summit of 8,850m Mount Everest to become the first Egyptian and youngest Arab to do so.

To me, Everest was never just a mountain but a life ambition that was achieved through years of hard work and perseverance. We all have our own Everest to climb and we need to understand that this involves as much dreaming and gazing into the night’s sky as knowing that the road will almost always be long and hard.

Since my return from Everest, I began using my Everest and other education/work/expeditions experiences as a tool to help motivate and inspire people, especially youth, to believe that impossible is nothing and achieve their dreams.

Ahmed Arshi – Emirati Film maker, Book author, HBO script writer. Wonderful story teller. Ahmed Arshi was born in Dubai and since he was 7 years old he enjoyed writing.

Ahmed developped his wrtiting skills over the years by writing short stories.

Ahmed studied in Canada and graduated from Ryerson with a Bachelors in 2003 and a Master Degree in film production and script writing in 2005.

He returned to the UAE in 2006 with an extensive experience in film and television. Ahmed put his expertise and his knowledge at the services of the growing film industry and he was involved in the formation of many entities which are flourishing today.

Ahmed successfully published two novels “Life is a reason” and “Brothers in terror” in the year of 2007
Ahmed won Best Screenplay ”Undeserved Fate” in 2008 at ADFF
Ahmed is in the process of developing a couple of feature films.
Ahmed is a writer for an upcoming TV show for HBO, “BROTHERS”
Ahmed Arshi is a member of the prestigious Writers Guild of America (WGA).
Ahmed is one of the speakers at TEDxAbudhabiu on April 2011.

After a varied and successful career working for large corporations, and after having 3 children, Jacqueline dared to follow her heart, qualifying as a life coach in 2001 and setting up her own business in London.

Then after 5 years of being a successful Life Coaching in London, Jacqueline dared to follow her heart, with her husband – to the U.A.E; leaving behind family, friends – and clients!

Once again, out of her comfort zone, she started over, successfully setting up her coaching business, helping her clients in Dubai achieve health, happiness and success.

Jacqueline is a member of Mensa and has a diploma with The British wheel of Yoga, using her analytical and intuitive skills to help clients simplify and clarify their life goals.

Her empathy and compassion create a space for clients to feel truly heard and understood. In following her heart, Jacqueline has had to step out of her comfort zone time after time, and has always embraced the challenge!

Jacqueline coaches us; “dare to follow your heart.“

Taryam Al Subaihi is Senior Corporate Communications Manager for Etihad Airways. Taryam is a passionate writer about the Emirati culture. He began his career as a journalist, the first UAE national man to write for an English daily. He later became the first Emirati columnist and international correspondent for English dailies, reporting on major disaster areas such as Pakistan where he covered the 2005 earthquake from major cities and various rural communities across country.

Taryam left the world of reporting to move into the field of corporate communications, but continues to write columns promoting awareness of the Emirati culture. Having spent sometime in the West, he is determined to build the bridge between Emiratis and expatriates in the country through his published writing. He is also in the process of writing a novel that will educate readers about the unique customs and traditions of the UAE through story.

He recently embarked on a journey to Antarctica with Sir Robert Swan, a renowned polar explorer and environmentalist who was the first man to walk to both North and South poles. He was also accompanied by his friend and colleague from Etihad Airways, Ali Al Shamsi. Taryam and Ali were joined by three other Emiratis and 66 team members from all over the world who took part in the 2041 International Antarctica Expedition 2011.

In 2041, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty could potentially be modified or amended to allow drilling and mining in Antarctica. The expedition was set up by Robert Swan to create environment ambassadors across the globe to promote reusable and sustainable energy in the hope of reducing climate change and the need for fossil fuels, thus avoiding the possible exploitation and corruption of Antarctica.

With the wealth of knowledge gained on their journey to the ‘icy deserts’ Taryam and Ali hope to begin educating their communities and the Emirati youth about the preservation of the environment.

Aida Al Busaidy is the Planning, Internal & Online Manager at Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) where she is responsible for setting up internal communications policies and guidelines and corporate values, and ensures compliance is followed across the company. In addition to setting the tone of voice, language and creating an overall corporate culture that defines Masdar as an organization through various mediums and platforms, she also oversees the communications planning and the social media for Masdar.

With over 8 years of experience in the Communications filed, Aida previously was the Vice President of Corporate Communications & of Dubai Investment Group (DIG), she was responsible for the internal and external communications of the company, which includes DIG’s brand positioning, message development and investor relations & moved on to head up the internal communications structure for Dubai Group, a company under Dubai Holding.

Aida was a weekly columnist for Emirates Today for over two years, in which she wrote about the life of modern Emirati women and currently contributes to The National newspaper. Her contribution to public relations campaigns in the agency (Bates PanGulf where she first worked) includes TEDAD Census 2005, Marriott International Hotel, Dubai Shopping Festival and more. Aida also co hosted a local TV show “Her Say” on Dubai to give the audience an Emirati view of society. The show was aimed at bridging the gap between the local and the expat communities, by having four presenters representing Dubai’s diversity and multicultural identity. The show addressed hot topics, which are important to the cosmopolitan city’s residents, as well as entertain the viewers with lighthearted conversation and news.

Aida has a Bachelors degree in Journalism from Arkansas State University.

Aida freelances as Master of Ceremonies and has covered over 100 events such as the World Future Energy Summit 2011, World Economic Forum Meeting in 2010 in Dubai, and has appeared for several major television and radio shows, in addition, she a member of the Communications Advisory Council for Wollongong University, and a member of Young Arab Leaders & received the Best Employee Award from Dubai Holding in 2007. Aida was nominated into the prestigious Ahlan Hot 100 people to watch for 2011.

A very passionate advocator for the rights of women, Aida is involved in any activity that will help in the betterment of the less fortunate. Along with 3 other friends, she created “Promise Of A Generation” – An Accidental Majlis platform to discuss social issues in the UAE.

Aida is the eldest of four children in her family and enjoys reading, writing, singing and dancing. She also enjoys art, skydiving, traveling and anything adventurous and keeps in touch with the latest fashion trends.

Dr Sarah Mavrinac, aidha’s founder and current president, is a Harvard-trained academic and committed advocate of financial education.
Until the end of 2006, she was a management professor, leading courses and conducting research at such leading global business schools as the Ivey Business School in Canada and INSEAD in France and Singapore.

In 2005, while in Singapore with INSEAD, Mavrinac joined the executive committee of UNIFEM Singapore. While there, she was inspired by the concept of financial education for the socio-economic empowerment of women.

In December 2006, she left her post in academia to devote herself full-time to the strategic development and rapid expansion of aidha.

Sarah, a former academic, left her faculty position at INSEAD to spearhead aidha in 2006. With a doctorate earned from the Harvard Business School, she is a committed advocate of financial education and economic empowerment.

For her work with aidha, Sarah was named Singapore’s International Woman of the Year in 2007. In 2008, she received the Singapore Social Entrepreneur of the Year award from the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation.

Sarah challenges us; “do I dare to put it all on the line…?“

Laurel will play and speak about “daring to” take her own path to learning and performing music and art.
Find out why she plays the Violin like a Cello.

Have you ever thought about the weird ergonomics of how the violin is held?

Magnus Nystedt loves to bring the latest technology news and information to readers, listeners and viewers around the Middle East.
Whatever the medium- print, online, radio, TV- he’s used it to inform and educate customers about the latest and greatest. You can catch him every Saturday in Khaleej Times and every Tuesday on Dubai Eye 103.8, besides his work as Group Editor of Consumer Technology at CPI in Dubai.

Gazing into the crystal ball is never an easy task, especially when it comes to the latest technology. In consumer electronics it often feels like developments are happening so fast that your head will spin unless you’re careful.
Even though I work with the latest gadgets every day, it’s hard to keep up, but I will attempt to give you my view of some of the technologies that will affect your life the nextfew years. Some things you already know about, others may surprise you.

Managing Director of Wild Planet Productions & Project Leader of Sharkquest Arabia

Jonathan Ali Khan & Son
Jonathan Ali Khan is a natural history & underwater film-maker with a strong passion for conservation. He first moved to Dubai in 1986 as a photo-journalist between war torn assignments in Eritrea and Afghanistan and decided to make the UAE his home switching to commercial photography, advertising and later to television production.

Since the first Gulf War and resulting oil spill disaster, Jonathan has dedicated his professional life to exploring and documenting Arabia’s natural environment and wildlife conservation linking media to important regional issues through award winning TV series such as “Arabia’s Cycle of Life” (the first regionally produced natural history series to have been picked up by Animal Planet).

Armed with a grant from the Emirates Foundation and intimate knowledge about this region’s underwater world and threatened terrestrial habitats, Jonathan is determined to use mainstream media as a catalyst for change in the face of this region’s lack of awareness.

Sharkquest Arabia Musandam Expedition 2011
Although conservation of carnivorous predators may seem contentious to some… sharks deserve particular attention as our planet has already lost over 80% of most shark species. With over 73 million sharks being killed globally every year for their fins, Jonathan is currently drawing attention to the role the Arab world plays in meeting the demand for China’s insatiable appetite for shark fin soup through the creation of a documentary project called Sharkquest Arabia.

Assessing the status of Arabia’s shark populations through a series of diving and research expeditions throughout all the seas of Arabia, Jonathan is attempting to expose the truth about one of the biggest commercial sellouts that man has ever perpetuated against the marine life of our planet.

Sharkquest Arabia pulls together regional and global research in order to argue the point that unless we take a stand that truthfully delineates the nature of the threats facing our natural environment and the wildlife that we are now responsible to protect; then the world will always remain just a collection of marketable resources being sold off to the highest bidder by people who are poised to take advantage of ignorance, greed and apathy.

Sumayyah Al Suwaidi is a consumate digital artist. She uses the latest technology to create art which moves the emotions and senses.
Sumayyah’s paintings have been exhibited in the UAE, Germany, Hong Kong, USA, and Morocco.

Sumayyah has shared her gift with others in workshops and lectures, and sits as a judge and panelist on many art competitions on a national scale.

Sumayyah also curated “Lights in Harmony”, “The Ramadan Art Bazaar” – an annual art exhibition at Ghaf Gallery to help people buy original art at reasonable prices.

Sumayyah asks the question, “do I dare to walk my own path…?

Born in Chicago, ALIA YUNIS is a PEN Emerging Voices Fellow. She has worked as a journalist and filmmaker in several countries. As the daughter of an environmental engineer and a UN diplomat, she grew up in the Midwest, particularly the Twin Cities, and in Beirut during the civil war, graduating from high school in Athens, Greece.
She completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Minnesota and American University in Washington, DC. Her fiction has been published in several anthologies. She teaches film and television at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.

Alia Yunis’ novel, The Night Counter (Random House, 2010), has been critically acclaimed by the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and several other publications. The Boston Globe called it “ wonderfully imaginative…poignant, hilarious.”

Scheherazade, the legendary storyteller of The Arabian Nights, helped Alia tell the story of The Night Counter. The author explains how Scheherazade has inspired her creative journey since childhood, just one of the reasons she calls her the world’ s first female superhero.

Alia asks us, “where does fiction start and reality end…?