By Rama Chakaki
There is no shortage of inspiration in Palestine. There is a shortage of platforms and media venues featuring inspiring people in and outside Palestine on a local, regional and global scale. When you mention Palestine and Media, visions of a people torn apart by conflict comes to mind. Refugees, school children standing across from tanks and demolished homes. Google the words Palestine and Media, 5 million photos depicting conflict come up. TEDxRamallah is the beginning of a movement to change that.
In recent years, the non-profit, TED.com devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading has featured riveting talks by remarkable people from around the globe. The power of the talks, coupled with the viral nature of the Web, and the open licensing of the Creative Commons, spread to influence millions of people around the world in a positive manner.
So powerful were the talks, the TED conference organizers spun off TEDx, independently organized TED events that gather the world’s leading thinkers and doers, to build connections, share insights and foster inspiration.
When we met the TEDxRamallah licensee, we had just taken part of TEDxDubai as attendees, sponsors and organizers of the event. Fueled by the excitement of attending TED India, and the recent success of TEDxDubai, he approached us to help bring the platform to Palestine. And so the journey began, in spring of 2010.
Over the past few months, a group of young, old, Palestinian and global citizens, have come together from across the world, online, and in the real world to plan the event; everyone has a Palestinian inspirational story to share; everyone knows candidates to nominate to speak at the event, and many are simply there to support by all means.
The event will take place April 16th 2011. The aim is showcase inspiring stories of Palestine. TEDxRamallah aims to educate and inspire by providing a space for people to share their ideas in any field, whether science, education, literature, technology, design, etc. to contribute to the positive perception of Palestine. The tagline is READY.AIM.INSPIRE!
Throughout my life, I have known Palestinians from all walks of life. Their lives and stories are colorful, exciting, humbling and inspiring. They exist in every industry, country, and segment of society, from a female Palestinian refugee taxi driver in Lebanon to the scientist at MIT; a founder of a medical charity to support injured children who desperately need medical care, and a founder of a Palestinian Art Festival. The list is endless, and so is in the inspiration to be felt and shared. And hence, my involvement with organizing the event is to share these inspirations.
To date, we have over 20 sponsors lending their name, support and services to see TEDxRamallah happen. We have over 200 supporters on www.tedxramallah.com, and over 1000 supporters on Facebook. Volunteers are working in four cities around the Middle East to setup satellite events, spread the word about the event, and encourage community members to get involved.
You can get involved. It’s simple. Join our online community site at www.tedxramallah. Share stories of the inspiring Palestinians and stories of Palestine that you know. Blog about them, photograph them, create videos, animations, sketches.. tweet about them, share their stories with your friends on Facebook. Give them a platform on TV, the radio, magazines and newspapers. Share the event with your school, your workplace or to organize a TEDxRamallah satellite event in your hometown and feature inspiring Palestinians in your community on stage. READY.AIM.INSPIRE.
– Rama Chakaki is the co-founder and CEO of Baraka Ventures, a Dubai-based organization that fosters the development of sustainable businesses in the Middle East. Rama holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Management and an EE&CS degree from George Washington University. This article was contributed to PalestineChronicle.com.
