TEDxAbuDhabi 2012 is
The Spaces in Between —
TEDxAbuDhabi Conference, will be the first of a series of annually held conferences in AbuDhabi, UAE. The content will include talks about science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world.
They might bridge a gap between one point in time and the next, or from a vision toan achievement, or from the known to the unknown. They add intimacy and intrigue. They can make things worse. They can make things better.
Welcome
TEDxAbuDhabi Conference, will be the first of a series of annually held conferences in AbuDhabi, UAE. The content will include talks about science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world.
Over one day, our speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter presentations, including music, performance and comedy.
There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience for one day, on May the 26th in Abu Dhabi. Amazing speakers, powerful connections and unforgettable moments will all happen at TEDxAbuDhabi.
This short trailer will give you a taste of the magic that happens at TED. Amazing speakers, powerful connections and unforgettable moments happen at each of our four-day "brain spa" events, in Long Beach and Edinburgh -- and they echo throughout the web, as we release videos from the conferences on TED.com
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About TED
TED is an annual event where some of the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. "TED" stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. Attendees have called it "the ultimate brain spa" and "a four-day journey into the future." The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.
Return to topAbout TEDx
In 2009 TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. The concept has gone viral, and events in more than 118 countries, and a vast number of cities and communities have already been held or are in formative stages. The goal is to spark deep discussions and connections in groups both intimate and expansive. (If you'd like to find out more about the TEDx program, this is the place.)
Our event is called TEDxAbuDhabi, where x=independently organized TED event. At our upcoming TEDxAbuDhabi events, TEDTalks video and live speakers will be combined to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.
So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers knowledge and inspiration from the communities' most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls
to engage with ideas and each other.
Please take a look at this video to learn more about TED and TEDx: http://www.ted.com/pages/129
Speakers
At TEDxAbuDhabi, we search year-round for presenters who will inform and inspire, surprise and delight.
The shy scientist no one has heard of, the geeky young inventor with and amazing new design, a social entrepreneur, a business person changing the world, a policy maker with innovative views they all all welcome on stage at TEDxAbuDhabi.
We are looking to show both amazing voices from Abu Dhabi, the region as well as globally recognized speakers.
Nayla Al Khaja
Filmmaker
Nayla Al Khaja
Filmmaker
Nayla Al Khaja, was not deterred by the fact there was no film industry to speak of in the UAE, nor any role models to guide her in her career choice. After graduation she went about making short films and hit the jackpot with her first film, Arabana, which won a lot of praise for its dark overtones and controversial subject matter. It touched on the sensitive topic of child abuse, and was used by UNICEF in one of its awareness campaigns.
At 33, Nayla is known as the UAE's first female film producer/director and Canon Middle East brand ambassador. In January 2012 she launched a new film club in Abu Dhabi known as 'Aflam,' which was founded by her company D-SEVEN Motion Pictures. The club will serve as a platform to significantly boost and support Arab filmmakers. Nayla's long term goal is to produce commercial films for the UAE people by the UAE people and develop a film economy. By doing this she hopes to change the stereotypes that are often presented in imported films.
Ahmad Mohammad Al-Astad
Knowledge Spreader
Ahmad Mohammad Al-Astad
Knowledge Spreader
Mr. Ahmad Mohammad Al-Astad is currently the Director of Economic and Social Studies Department at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi (ECSSR). Ahmad has presented many papers in local and international conferences and his latest research papers include 'The UAE National Security: Concepts and Principles' and 'The UAE Economy: A Success Story'. Ahmad looks at questions with real impact on modern life and the future of UAE. At ECSSR, he is a catalyst and an advocate for spreading knowledge and his work frequently invokes scientific findings, literature, design and economics.
Jourdan Younis
Activist and Adviser
Jourdan Younis
Activist and Adviser
Jourdan Younis is a native Californian who has over 10 years of international experience in the field of Sustainable Development. His passion and interest in this field has led him to successfully launch and develop many sustainability projects worldwide. In particular, Jourdan focuses his efforts on research and development in clean-tech, and sustainability. His background encompasses London Business School, California Polytechnic University, and several international sustainability consulting operations, including Sowwah Square in Abu Dhabi and the Energy Foundation in San Francisco.
Jourdan actively looks for solutions to some of the issues we live and breathe on a daily basis. For example, the fact that we spend 90% of our time indoors leads him to explain some mind-blowing data and statistics about the consequences of this lifestyle.
Tarek S. Niazi
Writer and Scientist
Tarek S. Niazi
Writer and Scientist
Tarek S. Niazi is the author of the book 'More Than 60 Minutes: When Earth Stands Still.' Niazi's interests run the gamut from geology to history, astronomy to theology, and most of the sciences, including physics. His global travels have given him a deep appreciation for the mosaic of life and culture on Earth. A successful executive, and a scientist and researcher by nature, Tarek has published a book of great insight that has created much controversy. He asks, Could Global Warming be attributed to the weakening of the Magnetic Field Force? And Are there any historical and geological records to tell us about sudden Climate Change? Tarek answers these intriguing questions and invites the curious minds to explore the Earth's changes; the cause, the reason and the consequence.
Yiannis Lagos
Entrepreneur and Curious Researcher
Yiannis Lagos
Entrepreneur and Curious Researcher
Yiannis Lagos is the President International Markets for Humantelligence and is responsible for leading global expansion of the company. An Executive and Entrepreneur with broad experience in leadership positions, he brings passion and enthusiasm to his studies about people in the workplace. Yiannis invests his time and energy to discover what makes people tick at work.
Through clever studies, Yiannis has researched behavioral characteristics and workforce trends globally since 2006. He has developed a deep understanding based on scientific evidence about what drives and motivates the workers from all walks of life in the Middle East and worldwide. His upcoming work tells the fascinating story of what lies ahead in the modern workplace.
Gus Halwani
Neuroscientist and Jazz guitarist
Gus Halwani
Neuroscientist and Jazz guitarist
What do a Funky Jazz guitarist, neuroscientist and teacher have in common? No idea? Gus Halwani is what. Currently finishing his Doctoral Dissertation at Harvard-MIT, Health Sciences and Technology, Gus is a self confessed learning junkie. He has the uncanny ability to make people from all walks of life feel knowledgeable and respected by being open to new ways of thinking. I am sure that there are not too many people in the world who have Quantitative Celluar Neuroscience next to jazz guitar as hobbies on their CV.
Among other things, (like researching the links between Music, Neuro-imagery and stroke recovery) Gus is making a gutsy effort to create a better link between those who develop education policies to those who know how the brain works, The ultimate goal being, that the policy writers are better informed as to what goes on in the classroom and so can write policies that are more effective to education as a whole – that's affects us all right?
Shaima Al Sayed
Comedian and Storyteller
Shaima Al Sayed
Comedian and Storyteller
Shaima Al Sayed (@ShaimaAlSayed) is a self-made achiever and extremely passionate about what she does, and has her hand in a few pies. Besides punching in time in a day job, she is an active member in the Emarati initiative "Think Up" (@ThinkupGCC) helping out upcoming young Emarati Talents in finding their stepping stone. She is also a tutor to foreigners on "How to Speak Emarati" wherein she gives classes that offer the students a way to speak the local dialect and be able to communicate in Arabic with an extra angle of introducing the local culture & customs to them. She has the most unconventional hobby for a girl in Sheila and Abaya – a stand-up Comedienne. Being the first in the field to go on stage and perform professionally in the UAE dressed in the way she does, she concentrates on erasing stereotypes that non-Arabs have about Emaratis through her comedy. She has performed in various professional shows, and has been featured in some of the infamous TV shows, radio channels, newspapers, and magazines. She presents her comedy mostly in English, and sometimes in Arabic.
Yalman Khan
Entrepreneur and Futurist
Yalman Khan
Entrepreneur and Futurist
As the global population reaches 7 billion many countries are concerned about world food security. Not only are there more mouths to feed, but we have less arable land to grow crops and water is becoming more scarce. With this in mind, how is farming going to look in the future? Or is the future of farming already here?
Yalman Khan and Kunal Wadhwani believe the future IS here and are tackling the issues of world food security, land degradation and overuse of chemicals head on. Yalman and Kunal are the co-founders of Agricel, an innovative start-up and pioneer in the field of Film Farming. Film farming is a technology in which plants are cultivated on a hydro-membrane composed of water-soluble polymer and hydrogel. This hydro-membrane absorbs water and nutrients from the culture medium allowing the plant to access exactly what it needs with no excesses. Let us tell you that their solution saves up to 90% of water consumption and uses up to 80% less fertilizer than conventional farming!
Kunal Wadhwani
Entrepreneur and Futurist
Kunal Wadhwani
Entrepreneur and Futurist
As the global population reaches 7 billion many countries are concerned about world food security. Not only are there more mouths to feed, but we have less arable land to grow crops and water is becoming more scarce. With this in mind, how is farming going to look in the future? Or is the future of farming already here?
Yalman Khan and Kunal Wadhwani believe the future IS here and are tackling the issues of world food security, land degradation and overuse of chemicals head on. Yalman and Kunal are the co-founders of Agricel, an innovative start-up and pioneer in the field of Film Farming. Film farming is a technology in which plants are cultivated on a hydro-membrane composed of water-soluble polymer and hydrogel. This hydro-membrane absorbs water and nutrients from the culture medium allowing the plant to access exactly what it needs with no excesses. Let us tell you that their solution saves up to 90% of water consumption and uses up to 80% less fertilizer than conventional farming!
Mohamed Mourad
Innovation Catalyst
Mohamad Mourad
Innovation Catalyst
Mohamad Mourad is Google Gulf's regional manager. Prior to joining Google, Mohamad held the position of Principal at Booz & Company, a strategy consultancy, where he led the Middle East region's Mergers and Acquisitions and New Business Development activities in the Telecommunications, Media and Technology sectors. Prior to joining Booz & Company, he held positions in industry in the capacities of business development and business planning. Mohamad holds an MBA degree from INSEAD in France
The program and complete list of speakers will be made available before the event. We still have some unexpected surprises ready for you. Even more, we would love to hear your ideas. If you know someone who should be on the TEDxAbuDhabi stage please start a conversation and suggest a speaker.
Please send us an email at carmen@tedxabudhabi.ae and tell us why you or your recommendation would be a well-match to the TEDxAbuDhabi stage.
Partnerships
With your support, TEDxAbuDhabi is making 2012: The Spaces in Between a beautiful experience together with your worthy innovations.
Partner
Creative Partner Web Partner
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This is an invitation — an opportunity for corporations to become a part of TEDxAbuDhabi's future. We invite you to become our partners for being part of something meaningful, for more than a logo and for interacting with the TEDxAbuDhabi community of innovators and creative people.
At TEDxAbuDhabi we aim to be a knowledge-sharing platform inspired by the TED concept — a place where collaboration is the glue that binds people together. We want TEDxAbuDhabi Partnerships to be a place for corporations, NGOs and the TEDxAbuDhabi community from the worlds of science, design, technology, business, education, and arts to collaborate in a humancentered way.
Contact us at carmen@tedxabudhabi.ae to discover more about partnership opportunities with TEDxAbuDhabi.
Venue
Our home in Abu Dhabi: ADNEC
MAY 26, 2012
TEDxAbuDhabi will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Center, one of the most modern venues in the world and the largest exhibition venue in the Middle East. Easily accessible, modern and unique, ADNEC is considered both a high-tech venue and a significant landmark in Abu Dhabi. Conference Room B has a capacity of 500 seats and is conveniently located close to the Food Court and Lounge Area.
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The TEDxAbuDhabi 2012 experience:
- A one-day program featuring TED's famous 18-minute talks, plus short talks and entertainment including, music, comedy, dance, video and other surprises
- Between the sessions, the opportunity to make connections, start conversations and share visions over coffee and snacks
- The TEDxAbuDhabi Gift Bag
- Most importantly, remarkable people both on stage and in the audience who will inspire, motivate, influence, energise, and support you.
Team
The TEDxAbuDhabi event wouldn't happen without the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers helping to drive the event forward. For our 2012 event meet our core organizing team:
Carmen Oprea
Curator and Organizer
An entrepreneur, social cameleon, change agent and all around nice girl, Carmen leads our overall efforts as an event team. She is a curious mind, enthusiastic about traveling, passionate about photography and keen about design, Carmen has the experience and the expertise to make things happen. Previous to TEDxAbuDhabi you also found her in TEDxBucharest curating ideas worth spreading.
Touch base with Carmen at: carmen@tedxabudhabi.ae
Mubarak Al Amry
Co-Curator and Executive Producer
As an original founding committee member, Mubarak brings more than 10 years of experience in managing business development and marketing at a national and regional level for both start-up and global organizations. You'll usually find him at the Al Amry Group of Companies managing a diversified business portfolio and in his free time investing time in his passions: beautiful design and architecture, TED talks and traveling.
Touch base with Mubarak at: mubarak@tedxabudhabi.ae
Tunde Gal
Media Relations Coordinator
You'll find Tunde living in a world divided between figure skating and economics, addicted to life-long learning, traveling and discovering. The best proverb to find what you seek in road of life: "Leave no stone unturned". (Edward Bulwer Lytton). She joined the TEDxAbuDhabi team because of her passion for life, for creativity and the belief that ideas can change worlds
Touch base with Tunde for any media partnership related inquiry at: tunde@tedxabudhabi.ae
Oksana Shumylo
Adviser and Executive Director
Oksana was one of the first members to join the TEDxAbuDhabi team. She is Information Systems Consultant who is juggling her work and her passion for different art forms. Oksana is a charming communicator and golf fanatic, and you will always find her full of energy ready to take on a new challenge. She is extremely resourceful and result oriented and is a key player in the TEDxAbuDhabi team.
Touch base with Oksana at: oksana@tedxabudhabi.ae
Kareem Ebaid
Social Media Catalyst
Kareem comes from Tanta, Egypt. After obtaining studying at Tanta University in Egypt he now works as aSystem Engineer in Abu Dhabi . Kareem is also the co-organizer of TEDxTanta and joined TEDxAbuDhabi with the idea of helping out the team with all design and social media related jobs and ended up doind so much more.
Touch base with Kareem at: kareem@tedxabudhabi.ae
Faris Abdulkhadir
Community Catalyst
Faris is from Birmingham, UK. He has lived most of his life traveling and therefore experienced living among different backgrounds and cultures. He holds a BA Hons Business & Management Degree from Birmingham City University and among his passions you'll find Motorcycles, Organizational behavior, Motivational Theories, Organization Structural Change. We are happy to have triggered the TED addiction for Faris since he joined the TEDxAbuDhabi team.
Touch base with Faris at: faris@tedxabudhabi.ae
Jessica Dall'anese
Event Logistics & Attendee Management
Jessica is 29,originally from France, studied events management in the US and has been working in this field in UAE for over 3 years. Her strengths lie in her professionalism, straight forward personality and attention to details. Jessica's passion for events took her all the way from San Francisco to the tallest tower in the world, and now supporting TEDx Abu Dhabi.
Touch base with Jessica at: jessica@tedxabudhabi.ae
Lucinda Yule
Community Catalyst
Lucy Yule likes to try new things. Her working life is an example of this from being a cash register operator to working in the taxidermy department of a museum, from being a cook to being a tractor driving horticulturist, from being a data entry operator for the government to being a teacher at a climate controlled vegetable farm in the middle of the desert. A typical Aussie girl, Lucy has lived in the UAE for five years with her husband and two sons. Her style is to identify needs and then develop methods to meet those needs efficiently, with a smile on her face – her mantra being less talk more action. Her hobbies are diverse as her career including, cross- stitch, kite-boarding, guitar, camping and reading.
Touch base with Lucinda at: lucy@tedxabudhabi.ae
Alenoush Mirzaians
Media and Coordination
With a passion for learning and sharing, it's no wonder that Alenoush is a TED enthusiast. She joins us in Abu Dhabi from Los Angeles, California and brings experience from her background in strategy and the entertainment arts. For TEDx Abu Dhabi, she wears many hats, having a hand in public relations, content creation and stage coordination.
Apply
TEDxAbuDhabi Conference Date
May 26, 2012
Venue
ADNEC, Conference room B, Abu Dhabi
Attendance to TEDxAbuDhabi is
350 AED ($100 USD) (includes attendance, coffee breaks and snacks)
The applications for TEDxAbuDhabi are now open. Thank you for your interest in joining us. Judging from the applications we have received so far, this conference is already shaping up to be a world-class event, with speakers from the UAE's leading business, educational, entrepreneurial, arts, cultural and non-profit sectors. Apply below to be a part of this very exciting and inspirational event!
Ticket purchases are non-refundable as tickets are limited in number.
The TEDxAbuDhabi Team is working hard to subsidize the costs for all attendees. The current ticket price (350 AED) is based on the bare minimum needed to cover expenses incurred for food, rental and production of the TEDxAbuDhabi conference. We assure you that we are doing our best to gather sponsorship in order to lower rates for attendees in the near future.
A limited number of scholarships will be available for attendees with financial constraints preventing them from otherwise attending. Applications for scholarships should be sent to the event organisers at carmen@tedxabudhabi.ae. We believe in helping the best and most passionate people of the UAE gather and share with one another, and are working hard to promote equitable access.
TEDxAbuDhabi Conference Attendance
Applicants will be notified on a rolling basis. Due to extremely high demand, those accepted will have 72 hours to purchase their tickets before they are released. Only a limited number of TEDxAbuDhabi registrations are available.
Apply NowContact
Thank you for your interest in TEDxAbuDhabi. For your ease please find below our contact details, we would love to hear from you.
- For sponsorship information please email Carmen at carmen@tedxabudhabi.ae
- For event partnership (workshops and other activities) please email Faris at faris@tedxabudhabi.ae
- For media inquiries please email Tunde at tunde@tedxabudhabi.ae
- For speaker nominations please email Carmen at carmen@tedxabudhabi.ae
- For volunteer applications please email Jessica at Jessica@tedxabudhabi.ae