JEDDAH: Thamer Shaker plays multiple roles in his day-to-day life, a self-styled entrepreneur, human resources expert and a business consultant who assesses organizational strength and competencies. However, none of these roles give him as much fame as his role as a weekly columnist for Okaz, the Arabic daily. Shaker is a prolific writer who has also written three books over the past few years. His latest being reflections on Saudi youth and the issues they face. Titled “Qazam, Imlaq, Watan” Shaker's latest book translates to mean “Dwarfs, Giants and the Nation”. It is an observation of how people's personal action can impact on society. Saudi Gazette caught up with Shaker to get an insight into his talk at the upcoming TEDxArabia conference on Dec. 2, bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs and change-agents. He described what innovation means to him and how he feels a need to connect with Saudi youth and help them grow as individuals and consequently have a positive influence on society. “Innovation means believing in yourself and being free of all fear. This helps to prepare us to move forward. Believing that as a Muslim you can do a lot and have a goal for life. Innovation is something that the community can benefit from. Not something you make and hide under your bed. You have to show it, share it, believe in it. All these factors will create leadership.” Shaker is a philosophical philanthropist who believes in sharing his thoughts, ideas and beliefs in the hope of enhancing the ideals and purpose of young Saudis. ”Simplify the information that you have and give it to people in a way that reaches the masses. Your idea has to come from your heart, it has to be so sincere that when they hear it, they can believe in it and take it forward.” Theme Delving further into the theme of his upcoming speech at TEDxArabia, Shaker said, “During this talk I'll make reference to my recent book, Qazam, Imlaq, Watan. I want to reiterate that our goal is serving our watan, our people. As individuals, we can choose to have a massive impact on our society and community. We can, if we choose, undertake tasks for our own well-being that can be of tremendous benefit to our community, directly and indirectly. Or we can choose to be qazam (dwarfs), and live for ourselves and remain self-centered, never making a difference to anyone else's life but our own. “I also want the audience to realize that everything is possible even if the environment around us is poor and incompetent.” He says he is looking forward to interacting with the audience at Thursday's event, “I've written books that address them, heard from them but this is one of the first few times I'll get to interact with them directly. I want to answer their questions and know what they think and understand their perceptions.” Besides his column that appears in the Okaz newspaper every Monday, Shaker has a wealth of advice for the youth. “The most important piece of advice I can give the younger generation is time [management]. We are not taking care of it. We are wasting time and misusing it. Plan your day well, make sure by the end of the day, you accomplish what you set out to do. He who values his time, values that of others and in turn others value his time. I want them to remember that success is not a destination, it's a journey and we need to ensure that this journey is worthwhile.” Shaker is currently working on a fourth book which will be published in March 2011. He is one of 20 speakers invited to talk at TEDxArabia, a non-profit event. TEDxArabia has received tremendous support from the Telecommunications and Information Technology Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. For information on tickets and other speakers visit www.tedxarabia.com.
