To inspire, young professionals share their success stories

The event was held in 80 cities across the world on the same day.

ISLAMABAD:

Ideas to inspire urban innovation and efforts to provide a more equitable future for cities such as Islamabad were discussed at the TEDxCity2.0 event on Saturday.

The event, held by the TEDxMargalla team, was held in 80 cities around the world on the same day and focused on issues such as promotion of heritage, excess food conservation, volunteerism and ways to spread hope through talks and presentations. Around 100 people attended the Islamabad event at Kuch Khaas.

TEDx programmes are local, independently organised events that follow the TED format. TED is a non-profit venture that promotes “ideas worth spreading” through two annual conferences. They are globally renowned for showcasing the works of thinkers and innovators.

Umair Jaffar, founder of the Institute for Preservation of Art and Culture (IPAC), briefed the audience about IPAC’s “Schools of Harmony” project, which attempts to introduce Islamabad’s schoolchildren to the country’s cultural heritage through interactions with folk artists.

Jaffar believes it is important to pass on this information to the younger generation, because the country’s intangible cultural heritage is fighting for its survival.

“Some of Pakistan’s traditional performing arts are on the brink of extinction. The legacies of classical music that were developed over thousands of year are disappearing forever with the demise of folk artists, and we don’t even know about it,” he said.

The project also helps provide for the livelihood of folk artists and development of a music curriculum through a self-sustainable model based on financial contributions from students of private schools.

Mudassir Zia, a mechanical engineer, explained how he channelled his dream of becoming a cartoonist by starting “Let’s Paint Pakistan”, a street art movement in Lahore, where participants replaced wall-chalking and graffiti on the walls with patriotic and positive murals about Pakistan.

In 2012, 2,300 participants painted 450 walls in different areas as part of the third street art competition arranged by Zia and his organisation, “Message Welfare Trust”.

Zia will organise a similar street art competition in Satellite Town in Rawalpindi on November 4.

Perhaps the most interesting talk was given by Muzammil Hasan Zaidi of Lolz Studios. The 22-year-old came up with “Project Islamabad” to debunk the “dead city” image of Islamabad.

The project’s final product was a time lapse video, which shows life over 24 hours in the capital city. The video was created from over 11,000 photos and became one of the top three search results for Islamabad on YouTube within three months.

Based on his observations of social media updates of his friends, peers and followers, Zaidi said he had noticed that “people are running low on hope and dying to find something to inspire them.”

This was the sixth TED event held by TEDxMargalla in Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2012.