Over 300 people from different parts of the country arrived at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) to attend TEDxLUMS 2018 on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Nearly 4500 people watched the event live on the TEDxLUMS Facebook page.
TEDxLUMS has been taking place since 2014. This year, the LUMS MBA Entrepreneurship Executive Club returned after a year’s hiatus with something bigger and better than before. The theme of this year’s event was ‘Breaking Stereotypes’. In accordance with the theme, the event invited many renowned people to share their inspirational tales of fighting the odds and breaking stereotypes. Quratulain Babur, the curator of TEDxLUMS, opened the event with a welcome note. She thanked all those who worked hard to make the event a success and introduced the audience to the theme.
The first speaker at the event was Idea Croron Ka’s Nabeel Qadeer. As an entrepreneur, he spoke about the mindset that makes a successful entrepreneur. IDEA (Impact, Discussion, Energy and Awareness), according to him, is the formula that one must follow to learn innovation. He also shared his journey, from multiple rejections to the epitome of success; the journey to successfully bringing his ‘Idea Croron Ka’ to life.
Next up was the charming Zainab Qayoom aka ZQ, a model and actress. ZQ had prepared a full speech, but she told the audience how her friends told her 'it just didn’t seem like her.' So, she decided to 'wing it' and be candid and realistic. She wanted to show people 'Zainab' as herself, and not the famous ZQ. Zainab’s story, full of ups and downs, narrated by her in her typical witty fashion, left the entire audience laughing profoundly and breaking in applause throughout.
Sa’ad Mohamed, the mountaineer who was all over the news recently, when he abandoned his journey to the summit of Mount Everest, to save a fellow Pakistani climber, was the next speaker at TEDxLUMS. He indulged the audience with his deep passion for mountaineering, and his interesting story of how he became a mountaineer. He shared ‘Things not to do on Everest’, which included ‘not to forget Achaar!’ Other instructions included ‘not to leave your nose uncovered’; ‘not to miss the view of Kala Pathar’; and ‘never to look down.’ He ended with his message, “Go out there, find your niche, and get on with it!”
The next speaker was truly inspiring, particularly for the young students of the University. Raj Kumar, the first Pakistani to win the Emerging Young Leaders Award, arrived at the event and left the audience in awe, with the story of his journey from Tharparkar to the US. Belonging to one of Pakistan’s most isolated and least-developed region, he shared his trip from the sand dunes of Thar to the skyline of the US. The audience was extremely impressed by the multitude of social projects he has successfully carried out and is still working on. Raj says he has returned to Thar to give back to his community. He implored the audience to do the same.
Author and activist, Tanzila Khan was the next speaker to grace the stage. Born with a disability, Tanzila did not let anything stop her, and went on to break every stereotype associated with herself. Her talk challenged the mindset of most people regarding disability. Tanzila refused to be a passive recipient of aid and pity; she wanted to be famous and successful based on her passion and achievements, not her disability. So, she set off on an exemplary journey, where she crosses new barriers every day. She wanted the audience and the general public to understand disability itself, and the very concept of ‘inclusion’ associated with it. She also introduced her start-up, where her team customises everyday products for disabled people, according to their specific needs.
Curator of Lahore’s famous International Banned Books Week, the social scientist and activist, Raza Naeem was also one of the speakers at TEDxLUMS. His biography is laden with tales of passion; he described his attempts to scale higher mountains each day because he gets a kick out of living dangerously. Raza made references of Iqbal and Habib Jalib during his talk, enlightening the audience with their mesmerising poetry as well as deeper implications. His dramatic reading of Jalib’s Dastoor bewitched the audience.
The renowned professor of NUST and the biggest name in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Pakistan, Dr. Yasar Ayaz also shared his journey. He was the last speaker of the day. Dr. Yasar highlighted the endless and mind-boggling potential and opportunities that come with Artificial Intelligence. He elaborated upon two of his own products using AI. One of these was a wheelchair with an attached headset; the headset is meant to receive instructions from the individual’s brain to guide its navigation. The product is under work in the RISE Lab at NUST.
The event was lit up with amazing performances from artists with special music skills. These performances included the “All Girls Band from Nescafé Basement”. Their rendition of Coldplay’s Fix You was unlike any other cover. The phenomenal duo, Ali & Muneeb captivated the audience with their instrumental performance of Khamaj. The Music Society of LUMS graced the stage as well; with Rafay exhibiting some enchanting vocals which held the audience in silent awe throughout his songs.
Thus, another chapter of TEDxLUMS was efficiently executed at the University. The audience had nothing but praise for the inspiring speakers as well as the hard-working organising committee. The event was widely covered on social media, especially on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram under the hashtag #TEDxLUMS.
