Imagine that Pluto is welcoming travelers! Will you go there? A fresh start on a new planet. The whole planet is yours and you are free to choose what to take and what to leave. Name it, take it! Which values would you like to share on Pluto? Which clothes would you wear on Pluto? Which technologies would you take there? Which education would you find? Which jobs would you work? What about your tribe?
What if you only have a bench on Pluto? Would you rather have only one person accompanying you or would you prefer different people to come and go? What are the things that you want them to teach you or leave on your bench?
What if you yourself is Pluto? Someone who is trying to fit in again, someone who is controversial. Everyone of us is an outsider with her/his quirks that need an outlet to pursue your passions. Your bench on Pluto is the place where you would tailor to your own taste and only share your thoughts. A place where you will connect with others and enjoy the fresh thoughts.
It was my first time to attend a TEDx Conference in the middle of the working week, the event started around 5 PM after a long working day at the office. I had mixed feelings on this point, it was a good end that broke the routine; however my energy level was very low which affected my overall experience. I have only attended 2 blocks out of the 3. However, at the end I was happy with the 2 blocks and the workshop that I have attend. I was happy with the reunion with the good spirits. Thanks to my TEDx Tribe.
If you don't know how the TEDx conferences go, it is a full-day conference with around 10 talks divided among 3 blocks. Each block includes 3 talks and 1 performance. The talks are diverse to cater the main topics associated with TEDx, which are: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. After every block, there is a break. During those breaks, all of the attendees gather in a dedicated networking area to know each other and do some other activities. During this event El-Garage Maker-space offered 2 different workshops one to create a coaster with a geometric design and the other one is Decoupage.
I have attended 6 talks out of the 9 talks and 1 entertainment slot out of the 2. The performer was Ali Baghdady, he was singing while playing on his Oud. However, his performance on Oud wasn't the traditional one. It is not my type of music, however it is good to try something different every now and then.
The first speaker was Amir Roushdy who talked about the mind controlled prosthetics, prosthetics is the artificial limbs used instead of any amputated limb. We either know the prosthetics that are only used to complete the picture with no functionality, or the ones that function such as a robot with a limb that can rotate 360 degrees which is impossible in the real limbs. However, science has reached the mind controlled limbs; which is totally controlled by the patient's brain and functions in a humanly manner.
The second speaker was Nora Kahil who talked about the forgotten beauty of Downtown Cairo, she is an architect who is passionate about old Downtown Cairo. So, she has devoted her life to do a comparison between the old Downtown Cairo from the classic movies and the new one from the current status we see. And she showed as a before and after slideshow proving her point. Proving that architecture is a reflection to our attitudes and values.
The third speaker was Youssra Hammouda who talked about philosophical thinking and how to practice it on daily basis. She has proved that philosophy is like any other science has 2 levels, one is basic the other is advanced and complicated. And in all cases everyone of us should possess a philosophical background to THINK efficiently about everything.
The fourth speaker was Ahmed Al Kabbany who talked about using Virtual Reality (VR) to help autistic children. As simple as this Ahmed has used VR glasses to play with children having autism for an easier integration through drawings and colors.
The fifth speaker was Mostafa Hassanien who talked about farms with no soil. Yes, you read it right. Mostafa is planting farms with no soil so the trees grows 3x faster to cope with the population increase we have. He even uses Fish farms as organic fertilizers for the plants.
The sixth speaker was Sherein El-Rayess who talked about emotional abuse. Based on the definition of emotional abuse, 100% of the population have experienced some sort of emotional abuse. Do you remember when we were kids and our parents said that they do love us if we did something right? Do you remember in school when our parents were happy with our good grades and sad with our bad grades? Do you remember the lover who remained asking for love without giving back? Do you remember when you stated that you love something in specific, however your parter didn't do it because it is irrational to her/him?
It was my first time to attend a Decoupage workshop and did my first art piece in the picture above. This is a plain piece of wood, then we transfer the paper to it using varnish and water, then we add the Tiffany Blue frame. There was a full set of sponsors offering another offers, such as: Air Zone trampoline, Virgin Megastore, Bomba Beanbags, Cairo Runners, KukuRuza popcorn, Cilantro coffeeshop, Avocato, Dish Foods, El Lido Foods, Target casting agency, Diamond the success hub, Dive mania, Voo, and SWAT.