31st of August, 2010 saw TEDxLahore return to the city with a whole new spirit. From the jam-packed Ali Auditorium to a comprehensive list of speakers, the experience was quite enriching and motivating for almost everyone who attended the talks. One can easily say that TEDxLahore’s second year with the theme of ‘Collective Genius’ was far bigger and better than the first one.

Some 380 people were handpicked from more than a thousand applicants and all of them showed up! There were students, educationists, trainers, professionals, bloggers; people belonging to a very diverse and interesting group of individuals. Although some of the enthusiastic crowd was present at the venue two hours in advance of the planned timing, the event kicked off a bit late due to bad weather. The stage design was sleek and impressive, hats off to the people behind it. Same was the case with audio system provided by Bose, which apart from slight glitches worked pretty fine.

Arif Hasan at TEDxLahore - Photo by TEDxLahore

Before the talks, a minute of silence was observed to honor the lives lost in devastating floods, Airblue plane crash as well as to the victims of terrorism. After that, Arif Hasan, a renowned architect, took to the stage and discussed socio-economic changes in urban planning after Partition. He was followed by the duo of Omar Sheikh and Jabran Rafique, both of whom are super-mappers and the guys behind Attabad Lake markings and mapping on Google Mapmaker.

The only short-film filmed at TEDxLahore was titled ‘Building Pakistan’ with a patriotic theme depicted in a very innovative way. You can watch the video here.

Some other notable talks featured:

Ajmal Kamal – who talked about his dream of seeing everything written in Urdu available to everyone through print and electronic media.

Dr. Tariq Rahman – shed some light on how code-switching (multilingual overlapping e.g. Urdish & Urdi) is not exactly a bad thing in literature or everyday conversations.

Saima Zaidi – provided a visual treat by presenting the rich visual culture of Pakistan. References included a poster for Jhuley Laal, product packaging for Rooh Afza, Tibet Talcum Powder and a Mughal miniature depicting the folk love story of Shirin Farhad. She concluded her presentation with a resolve that we are a diverse and inclusive society as evident in our visual culture.

Beena Raza came next with her introduction to Sangan Nagar Institute of Philosophy & Arts. Apart from very lengthy text on slides, it was interesting to hear about another effort to revive our culture.

The show-stopper in the first half, without a doubt, was Noor Zehra’s mesmerizing performance on Sagar Veena. She played the instrument with so much ease yet captivating the whole audience in its magic. For those who are not aware, Noor Zehra happens to be Ali Noor and Ali Hamza’s mother.

Almost all of these speakers kept the audience glued to their seats despite some of the participants occasionally snoozing off due to tiredness or inspirational overdose. Just before the second half started, refreshments were served which included samosas, rolls, ras malai and rabrri milk by Nirala. Participants also got some time to network, talk and discuss ideas with each other.

The first half of the event was interesting but more on the informational side. Real surprise was packed in the second half of the evening during which each speaker was generously applauded by the audience. And yes, there were at least two standing ovations for Dr. Zeeshan Usmani and Mudassir Zia who honestly deserved it.

Dr. Zeeshan Usmani is a full-bright scholar and an associate professor at GIK Institute who has developed a very comprehensive computer simulation model for tracking the effects of shock waves after suicide bombings. He currently has the largest database of suicide bombings in Pakistan, which has helped him develop an intelligent model very useful for pre-emptive measures, calculating human causalities and identifying the perpetrators. His genius and humor-filled presentation style won him accolade by everyone in the auditorium. If there was an award for man of the match, it would have easily been shared by Dr. Usmani and Mudassir Zia.

Mudassir Zia was the only speaker to conduct his talk in Urdu, our national language, and perhaps the highest on inspirational value as he discussed remarkable achievements of his group of friends. His ideal of ‘first do, dare and then dream’ is very relevant to the current reality of our society where everyone talks big but does nothing. Mudassir and his friends have started a charity school (Ghulam Muhammad Grammar School), arranged patriotic street art competitions and conducted blood donation drives all by themselves without any external help or funding. Every member of their team works in his respective profession and then dedicates personal time and resources to all these noble activities.

In addition to Dr. Usmani and Mudassir Zia, other speakers included:

Dr. Nadeem-ul-Haque – discussed the paradigm of donor projects and production. Being the head of the Planning Commission of Pakistan, he admitted that our development is devoid of creativity and innovation because we give little creative and intellectual space to our youth. He was true is saying that we focus only on hardware (development projects) and do very less about changing the software (mind-set and intellectual skills of the people).

Live on Skype from London, Majid Nawaz discussed the need to develop national consensus to identify our leaders, symbols, alliances and finally a progressive narrative. Relating to different ideologies, Majid mentioned how every idea needs these four elements in order to be effective and strong enough to unite any nation.

Zubair Bhatti – the ex-DCO of Jhang shared his initiative of pre-emptive feedback gathering from common citizens. The idea is being implemented successfully across various districts of the Punjab where senior government officials call individuals to ask if there was any corruption witnessed by them. An automated telephone feedback line is also being started for recording complaints in this regard.

Dr. Asher Hasan – the founder of Naya Jeevan presented his NGO’s work on provision of quality healthcare to the deserving most in our society.

Finally, Dr. Aamir Khan came up with his dream of quality healthcare for all Pakistanis. With an impressive profile of achievements and successes, Dr. Aamir Khan, as the head of IRD, has initiated the use of mobile phone technology for mapping, tracking and curing pneumonia, TB and STDs amongst citizens of major urban areas in Pakistan. He acknowledged the genius behind mobile phones which has helped his system of paperless medical reports and patient data collection in the least developed areas of Pakistan.

Rafay Alam, scheduled to speak about Critical Mass (a campaign to encourage cycling in cities), could not make it from Delhi due to a flight delay but was generously appreciated by everyone present in the audience for his initiative.

Once the talks finished, Asim Fayyaz, Curator TEDxLahore, presented his concluding remarks which thanking everyone including the sponsors. What came later was a total surprise live performance on drums and dhol by Saad Sarfraz Sheikh and his friends.

Adding on to the suggestions given by other fellow bloggers, I would also appreciate the effort put in by everyone from organizers to volunteers. Although, one can say that the talks did not exceed the TED caliber, still, they were pretty decent; some of them quite innovative and even inspiring around the idea of ‘Collective Genius’. Since, TEDx phenomenon has just started with at least three chapters in Lahore alone, one can easily hope that we will see a marked improvement in the quality and inspirational quotient of talks in successive future events.

Hats off and two thumbs up for the organizers, speakers and audience at TEDxLahore!

Favorite sayings from TEDxLahore 2010:

- ‘Chinese curse: May you get what you wish for!’ – Dr. Nadeem-ul-Haque
- ‘The only helping hand is at the end of your arm’ – Mudassir Zia
- ‘The problem with problems: solve one, get one free – so we need to keep working’ – Dr.Aamir Khan

Takeaway:

- Lots of positivity, optimism, patriotism and loads of ideas to bring a change for the better
- A goody-bag with TEDxLahore soundtrack, WWF Natura magazine, discount vouchers on books from ‘…the last word’ Qadaffi Stadium and a cute little plant gifted by the Horticulture Society.

Pakistan will raise it’s flag to half mast on Thursday, July 29 as the whole nation mourns the loss of 152 passengers flying from Karachi to Islamabad on Airblue flight ABQ-202.

Inna lillahe wa inna illaihe rajioon!

Scene of the Airblue A321 crash site - Source: AFP via DAWN.com

At 9:40 AM Wednesday morning, the ten-year old Airbus A321 aircraft, flown by Airblue since 2006, plunged into the Margalla Hills about 8 KM from Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport after making an earlier unsuccessful attempt to land. The weather was torrential as it poured heavily enough to hamper rescue efforts and emergency relief operation. All 146 passengers and 6 crew were unfortunate to have boarded the flight as there were no survivors of what became the worst air disaster in Pakistan’s history. A list of everyone on board is available here.

May the souls of the deceased rest in peace and may God grant patience to their family and friends. Please pray and recite Dua-e-Maghfirat for everyone.

Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA), TiE Lahore and Sofizaz in colboration with Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) are organizing an interactive talk with Imran Sayeed who is an entrepreneur and technologist from the US. The event is supposed to be held at NIB Auditorium in LUMS and is a good learning and networking opportunity for entrepreneurs and people who are interested in entrepreneurship.

The event is free but everyone must register to attend. The details are as follows;

Event: Interactive Talk with Imran Sayeed
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Date: July 29, 2010
Venue: NIB Auditorium, LUMS
Register for Free at: http://bit.ly/a4Tn2t

Imran Sayeed’s Profile.

Imran Sayeed, a serial entrepreneur, a consultant, an engineer, a mentor, a rainmaker, and a great supporter of many initiatives in Pakistan including the OPEN-MITEF initiative is going to be in Lahore on July 29.

Imran is Senior Vice President, Global Architecture, Application Development and Management Practice and leads all commercial sector industry practices for Keane, a global BPO and IT Services company with ~14,000 professionals worldwide. Industry practices include Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, Pharmaceutial, Manufacturing, Retail, Hospitality & Travel and Energy, and together comprise most of the key business lines and customers for Keane.

To read more about Imran Sayeed and the event visit Jeahan Ara’s blog post Interactive talk with Imran Sayeed.

Don’t forget to read the last line on Jehan’s post to know what will be served after the event. ;)

Amid all the chaos and disillusionment that our country is going through right now, all we can and should do is talk about hope. After all, this is our country and we have to bring things in order on our own by uniting our minds and sharing ideas that can bring change for the good.

TEDxLahore is just about one such opportunity that shows hope for Pakistanis that there still are people who can turn things around for our society, country and the greater world at large by using the power of collective genius. Yes, ‘Collective Genius’ is the theme for this year’s TEDxLahore.

For starters, TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design) is a non-profit organization that has provided a platform through their annual conferences, talks and website for sharing ideas that can bring change in this world. Notable speakers at TED talks over the years have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Bill Gates and various notable individuals. In addition to TED talks, the movement encourages independently organized events hosted by colleges, communities and people across the world to share ideas worth spreading in their own context. These events are termed as TEDx.

Into it’s second year, we are glad to have another TEDx event happening right here in Lahore on 31st of July 2010. Being supported by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, TEDxLahore 2010 will provide an opportunity for individuals of the highest caliber to express their views and share their ideas for change.

To give you a tentative idea about things to expect at this year’s TEDxLahore, the list of speakers is as follows:

Arif Hasan - An architect, teacher and social researcher.
Dr. Nadeem ul Haque - Head of the Planning Commission of Pakistan.
Omer Sheikh and Jabran Rafique - Super Mappers (Google MapMaker)
Dr. Zeeshan-ul-Hassan Usmani - A researcher on the effects of herd behavior on impulse shopping
Ajmal Kamal - Editor of AAJ journal for Urdu literature
Dr. Asher Hasan – Founder and CEO of Naya Jeevan
Saima Zaidi - Author of ‘Mazaar, Bazaar’ – an exhaustive review of Pakistan’s visual culture.
Rafay Alam - A lawyer & environmental activist.
Mudassir Zia - Founder & President of Message Welfare Trust.
Beena Raza and Noor Zehra Kazim - Artists, Sitar players and teachers.
Dr. Aamir Khan - Epidemiologist, founder and Executive Director of IRD since 2004.
Zubair K. Bhatti - Ex-DCO Jhang & The Asia Foundation’s Director of Programs, Pakistan.
Dr. Tariq Rehman - Professor of Sociolinguistic History & specialist on Language Change.

You can find a detailed profile of all the speakers here, which will be more than enough to increase your excitement & eagerness to be a part of TEDxLahore as a present or virtual audience this year.

Let’s all look forward to what TEDxLahore brings for everyone on 31st of this month. Till then, keep following…

Website: http://www.TEDxLahore.com

Twitter: @TEDxLahore

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TEDxLahore

Live Viewing Parties: (click for more details)

Karachi – T2F

Islamabad – Civil Junction

Den Haag (The Hague) – Pakistan House

Three suicide bomb blasts have killed at least 30 people at the shrine of Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh in Lahore. More than 40 (some sources even quoting 80) people have been injured, some of them seriously, and taken to various hospitals in the city. Two of the blasts happened inside the compound while another one blew in the adjoining bazaar. Geo TV reports that even a hand grenade was found in the ablution area of the shrine. Thursdays are very busy days at Sufi shrines, especially Data Darbar, where thousands of Lahorities and people from across the country come to pay respects to the great Saint.

One of the blasts took place just outside the Shrine - Source: Dawn News

Lahore derives it’s Sufi heritage from dozens of saints and holy men out of which Data Sahib shines out the most. The city itself is lovingly known as ‘Data di Nagri’ (Data’s Town). An attack on this very symbol of harmony, humanity and peace, as well as at something more like our city’s identity, strikes at the very heart of every Lahori.

The news comes as a very sad and shocking reminder of the fact that these terrorists have no religion, faith or humanity left  in their hearts. These people are bloody killers who do not target minorities, Shias or Ahmedis only, rather, they would go to any extent in order to spread what they call ‘terror’. But they are badly mistaken for with every such incident, resolve of the people of this city against their twisted ideology becomes stronger and firmer.

We pray for the souls of the deceased – may all of them rest in peace. Amen!

(There is another rumor of an attack near Mizar of Bibi Pak Daman – the news has not been confirmed so far)

Continuing their brutal series of savage acts, 6 gunmen attacked Jinnah Hospital’s intensive care unit on June 01 early morning. Their prime motive was to rescue/kill an injured terrorist caught from the scene at Model Town Ahmadi worship place bombing, who was being treated at the hospital. The terrorists were dressed in police uniforms and reportedly headed straight to their target.

At least 6 people, including 3 constables, a sub-inspector, a security guard and other civilians fell victim to firing by terrorists who fled the scene after an unsuccessful attempt to rescue an accomplice. One of the terrorists is injured by retaliatory gunfire of the Police and may attempt to get medical treatment at other places.

Situation is reported to be under the control of security forces as senior officials, including the Inspector General of Police and the Chief Minister visited the scene of crime.

We salute the brave police jawans who lost their lives tonight and set a new example of resistance to terrorists’ will of creating violence and terror. May the souls of the deceased rest in peace. Amen!

May 28, 2010 – Another dawn on Lahore brought one of the bloodiest massacres of innocent human life in the city’s recent history. As came time for Friday prayers, terrorists stormed two worship places of the minority Ahmadi community at Garhi Shahu and Model Town areas while opening fire indiscriminately at the gathered people. The result was all too sad – 82 innocent lives, including children, lost to terrorism!

Around seven militants showed highly coordinated planning as they opened indiscriminate and heavy gunfire using grenades, AK-47s while culminating the siege with suicide bombings.

Outside one of the places under attack - Source: BBC News

As we cannot afford to lose hope, we can only pray for those who lost their lives this Friday and our condolences go to the relatives of innocent victims of May 28.

So far, responsibility of the horrendous attacks has been put on the Punjab-based factions of TTP while the Federal Government has claimed that they had intelligence reports on a possible attack on the Ahmadi community well in advance. The planning, coordination and the ever expanding civilian targets of these attacks raise alarming concerns for every Lahori and Pakistani in general. While there seems hardly any place safe from the terrorists, it is also a sad truth that some targets are too vulnerable to be ignored. Ironically, many of them fall out of the category for security installations, government institutions and senior officials.

Security forces trying to counter the siege - Image Source: Dawn News

Although, the security forces, specifically the Lahore Police, should be appreciated for ending the siege within four hours, however, the need for effective intelligence is desperately there in order to preempt the terrorists’ attempts. We need efforts like this instance where police caught 1,500 KG of explosives which were going to be used for all too obvious reasons.

Let’s hope for a tomorrow where every Pakistani will have a right to peacefully co-exist with people belonging to any caste, creed or religious affiliations. And be clear that Friday’s attacks were undertaken by the same who have killed innocent men, women and children all across the country, regardless of their sect. They are terrorists; deserve no leniency in front of the law and will soon face their pitiful end.

Guys n Gals,

In case you are unaware, MetBlogs is being forced to shut at the end of this month. MetBlogs has been a miraculous journey which started with just two people which grew into a global community of free expression.

Can I ask all authors and readers to post “I WANT TO SAVE METBLOGS” across all their web channels i.e. MetBlogs home page, Facebook status, Twitter, MySpace and so on.

Thank you very much (in advance),
azface

As I digest the endless stream of bad press about my country of birth, I feel utterly powerless to do anything but to pick up my pen (or laptop) to vent some anger and hopefully stir some thought.
I do wonder what it will take for the common man/woman to rise up against the establishment – much like the Red Shirts in Thailand. It seems the vicious cycle of ignorance, religous dogma and fear of the unknown has dulled our minds and seriously weakened our resolve.
Our so called “foe” India with all it’s social and religious ills still managed to produce leaders who had the vision to invest in Education and infrastrusture that has started to pay dividents back to the entire nation. About the same time the likes of Nehru were sowing the seeds of change back in the 70s, our ‘capable’ generals led by ZuH were plotting to destroy the future of the next two generations.
I sometimes wish somebody had the foresight and guts to offer ZuH a few crates of exploding mangoes a decade or so earlier – perhaps Pakistan and the rest of the world might have been a little different.
So when we all sit in our darkened homes across the country for up to 20 hours a day, we should really thank our ‘great’ generals and mostly uncle ZuH for filling our lives with darkness.

It is raining in Lahore. Finally.

The Lahore School of Economics is having its Sixth Annual Conference on the Management of the Pakistan Economy on the 22nd – 23rd of April, 2010 at the Lahore School main campus (on Burki Road). The theme of this year’s Conference is “Development Challenges in the New Decade”.

The Conference will bring together a group of distinguished academic researchers and decision makers from the private and public sectors. In each session the speakers will present papers related to the theme which will be followed by a short discussion.

The next decade is an important one for Pakistan, if it can successfully deal with the key challenges it faces, Pakistan can make the transition to a middle income country by 2020. These challenges include addressing the recurrent energy crises, developing an efficient water resources management system, overcoming the persistent poor government revenue mobilization effort and bridging the growing regional disparities and lack of trust between the four provinces. It is hoped that the papers and deliberations at the Conference will help in the formulation of policies to put the country on a sustainable growth path. {Via Logic is Variable}

Beginning May 12, 2010, Jazeera Aiways, Middle East regional carrier, is adding Lahore to its destination map. The airline will fly three times a week from Kuwait to Lahore. This is welcome news for Pakistan aviation industry, which in the past decade has seen bunch of international airlines terminating their operations in Pakistan due to deuterating security situation in the country. Let’s hope other major international airlines would also add back Pakistan to their destination maps soon.