In order to understand what actually change & its perspectives are, we traveled to FC College Lahore on 6th Dec ’14 where TEDxFCCollege was organized under the theme of “Change”. Keeping in accord with the TED spirit (i.e. no political, religious or corporate agenda) 5 speakers individually presented their agendas within the 18 mins timeline.
Change happens, Change with it – Dr. Ali Madeeh Hashmi
A psychiatrist by profession, Dr. Ali Madeeh Hashmi, unraveled his idea with the help of different personal life stories. According to him, there comes a time in your life when change just happens & you are left with no other option to change your course with it. It might seem difficult at first but it will be for the greater good. He is also currently working on a full length biography of Faiz Ahmed Faiz due to be published in 2016.
Learn to Question – Qasim Aslam
Qasim launched the History Project in 2013, an initiative that looks into how governments tamper with history in textbooks to breed a specific brand of patriotism. He raised the notion that, each one of us should have the capacity to question what we are taught. Our history books are filled with blatant lies, it’s time we question. Change beings when you question.
Do Something – Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed
A Law post-grad from UC Berkeley, Maryam undoubtedly has a bright future. Although, she could have gone on to work for the big guns, she decided instead to do something for the greater good of her countrymen. She was of the view that keep making tides of goodwill & eventually change will happen.
Smaller can be Meaningful – Mashall Chaudhri
Mashall is the founder and director of Reading Room Project (RRP), which uses the Internet and blended learning to teach low-income Pakistani students how to self-learn. She believes the first step to truly realizing the vision of self-learning for all is to teach English literacy in a deep and comprehensive way. If you are making an impact in only one person’s life, is it change? Yes, it is. No matter how small or big your target is, direct your energies to the good of others; stating that her project started with only 34 kids in Karachi.
Be the Helping Hand – Benje Williams
Benje is the co-founder & CEO of Amal Academy, a venture funded by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business that helps students and organizations realize their dreams and potential. Williams started his keynote talk with the success story of Abdul Sattar Edhi & eventually emphasized on considering your life as a voyage & be the helping hand.
Overall, TEDxFCCollege 2014 was full of emotions, thought provoking ideas & inspiration, with the only thing missing was the social presence.
Edited by: Majid
