TEDxLUMS was hosted on Sunday, May 1, 2016 by the LUMS Executive Entrepreneurship Society. The event proved to be a success with a packed house and marked the third consecutive year that TEDx license was granted to the Entrepreneurship Society at LUMS. This year’s theme revolved around “Thriving in Turmoil” owing to the turbulent times being faced by Pakistan’s economy. The speakers reflected the diversity of views and imbibed passion and spirit amongst the youth by sharing their inspirational stories of thriving in turmoil.
The event started off with a beautiful performance by Amal Nadeem, a LUMS student and violinist of the only all-female music band of Pakistan. She played a mashup of a few songs including the popular “Game of Thrones” theme song and “Take Me to Church.”
Later, CEO of Bukhsh Foundation, Fiza Farhan, a LUMS alumna who also happens to be the only Pakistani women entrepreneur to be featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list of social entrepreneurship inspired the youth to believe in themselves and follow their dreams by giving examples from her personal life and how she faced difficult circumstances in her life, which made her who she is today.
Followed by Fiza was the true “Thriving in Turmoil” story by Yasar Rashed, Chairman Stylo Group. His heart wrenching story was an eye opener for everyone and the light at the end of the tunnel. His tale convinced the audience to keep trying, aim high even if you have nothing because someday you will have everything.
The second performance of the event was by Ahsan Naeem; he performed a parody of a typical TED talk, and showed the audience how to give a TED talk about nothing and still keep people interested in it.
The third speaker of the day was Murtaza Ali, Art director at Central Markex Art Center. His brief stint with Rashid Rana at Venice Biennele brought a diverse view of Thriving in Turmoil. His latest example of bridging gaps between culture by setting up a unique video conference tool in Lahore and in Europe was a depiction of “Innovation” and “Breaking Barriers”. The videos showed how communication needs no language.
TEDx veteran, Badar Khushnood was next in line who talked about how people with limited education follow their passion and are still successful. He talked about his project "Mera Passion Pakistan" and showed how you can use technology to catalyse a positive change in the society.
The last speaker was Maheen Kardar, founder and design director of Karma, a fashion brand. She had a very unique story to tell; her own. She narrated her life story from being a kid who had the unique ability to remember what a particular person was wearing, to setting up the Karma brand with a loan from her parents. She talked about different issues her company faced and finished the talk on a high note telling the audience that she would not change anything about her past and would do it all over again in Pakistan.
The last performance of the day was by Yasir Iqbal, a LUMS student who is a self-taught Rubab Player. His performance was loved by the audience and provided the perfect ending to the event.
