Stand Up Against The Persecution of Minorities

Karachi, Pakistan (Thursday May 19^th 2011) — When TED Prize winner JR announced his wish to turn the world “Inside Out,” inviting people around the globe to share a photo portrait along with a statement about what they stand for, 7 photographers from Karachi stood up to participate. 25 individuals offered a portrait of themselves, and called attention to the issue of discrimination against minority communities in Pakistan.

These photographs serve as a means to expose the discrimination of these minority communities, and to initiate dialogue on the issue through these personal portraits.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy a TED Senior Fellow pledged to bring ‘Inside Out’ to her home city of Karachi when she attended the TED conference in Long Beach earlier this year. “Using visual mediums to express viewpoints on social and political issues is an effective means of awakening the Pakistani soul. I hope this project will initiate a much needed conversation about how we see others around us.”

“We come from a place that is already inside-out, topsy turvy, upside down in many ways. For me this project is a way to step back and actually see the world for what it is and people for who they truly are. Just -Other people- Once are differences are stripped away it is clear, we are all the same and that is why its so important that we are treated the same. That is what this project signifies to me,” says Sitwat Rizvi- one of the participating photographers.

The community is united around a common belief in the peaceful coexistence and acceptance of all communities, and a mission to engage and educate the general public, about the persecution that these communities are subject to. Amean J. one of the group leaders believes that “The concept of public art is not very common in this part of the world but audiences in other developing countries have responded to this with optimism and we are also looking forward to a positive response”.

The project will be unveiled in two locations in Karachi on May 26^th and a slideshow of images will be presented at TEDxKarachi on May 27^th 2011.
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TEDxKarachi 2011 is celebrating individuals who have Made the Impossible Possible, on May 28th 2011.

Last year, TEDxKarachi 2010 held a competition for short films themed “What Pakistan Needs Now”, and featured the winning video- a short film by Ali Kapadia at the TEDxKarachi event. In keeping with this traditon, we invite you to submit a short film on the theme “Making the Impossible Possible” for TEDxKarachi 2011.

Be it arts or politics, healthcare or environment, education or development, or more tech – the narrative can be based on any subject matter as long as it relates to the main theme. Make it quirky, inspiring, or funny and use any form of expression (documentary, fiction/non-fiction, animation – all are welcome). The idea is to really stand out and be ‘TED’ in spirit.

[LCT-|-embed]Deadline for submission is May 8th, 2011 and the winners will be announced on May 21st, 2011. Each winner, needless to say, gets a pass to TEDxKarachi and will get a chance to showcase his/her work in-front of an audience of 400+ TEDx participants, it will also be featured on the TEDxKarachi website and it will also be watched LIVE during the session as it is being streamed online across the world

Once you’re ready, email us a YouTube link of your film on tedxkarachi@gmail.com with Subject prepended with [VIDEO ENTRY]

The TEDxKarachi team is in full gear preparations for TEDxKarachi 2011 slated to be held on 28th May 2011. The selected theme is Making the Impossible Possible and work in underway to select an amazing line-up of speakers to dazzle Karachi yet again. With limited seating available we simply cant invite everyone and hence open the doors for people to Apply to Attend out of which we will select a few nominations. If you are interested then please fill out this form before the 1st of May. Rest assured efforts are underway to ensure an error free high quality LIVE stream of the event for those who are unable to attend.

At the same time we are also interested in inviting a team of volunteers to help us on the day of the event, if you are available for the two days 27th and 28th of May then please apply here to Volunteer

Rest assured an update on the Speaker list should be coming shortly in a few days leading up to the event as we out the finishing touches on the arragnments, but do hold your breath its interesting

TEDxKarachi 2011 - 28th May 2011

Follow this website or the Facebook page to keep yourself updated leading up the event. If you are interested in attending this event then please apply here

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