JEDDAH: TEDxArabia was held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Thursday evening, independently organized by a group of enthusiastic young Saudis who volunteered to devote their time to the belief that “if an idea can inspire a thought, and a thought can change lives, it is worth sharing it with the rest of the world”. There are currently 600 TEDx events worldwide, with an average audience of between 100 and 200, but Thursday's event with more than 800 in attendance was the largest ever TEDx in the Middle East. Most speakers were from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and included some well-known names, such as, Dr. Ali Abo Al-Hassan, Dr. Walid Fitaihi, founder and CEO International Medical Center, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Dr. Hani Al-Munei, Muhannad Abu Diyah, and Hani Khoja. Khoja talked about the need to collaborate and innovate and also disclosed his personal vision for the upcoming years. “I hope to transform Saudi Arabia into a powerful and positive source of innovation, energy and leadership for the world. I hope to create 1,000 jobs for Saudis every year, transform Saudi companies into successful global players, create one independently run NGO every year while building one GM/CEO every year,” he said. Dr. Haidy Al-Askary, Deputy Executive Director for Research at Prince Salman Center for Disability Research in Riyadh, talked about how her team is trying to develop new methods of communication among the disabled. The last speaker, Dr. Al-Mutawa, described his personal journey which led to the development of “The 99”, his comic series that is gaining popularity in the Arab world. The audience was treated to an exclusive 20-minute preview of an animated film of the series. Ziad Jarrar, successfully launched Insanniah, which positions him as a “Life Coach”, one who is able to engage people, “to provoke their thinking and share ideas on how we may look at things from a different perspective”. He said, “All the ideas and innovation shared today make me feel that indeed Saudi Arabia is on its way to developing an ecosystem for innovation. I'm open to providing the young generation the advice or help they need to kick-start their growth and I hope we can take this today to the next level.” Members of the audience were enthusiastic about TEDxArabia and glad that they had attended the event. Raha Eskh, a student in the foundation year at King Abdul Aziz University, said that this was her first time attending a TEDx program, and that it gave her many ideas about how those in her age group can be creative. “As the speakers talked about creativity and their success, it inspired me to think about how I can become a successful businesswoman.” Another attendee Hafizur Rahman, a father of five, said that he learned a lot from the event. “I think such programs should be continued. It was my first time to attend such an event and I really enjoyed it. I learned how people reach out and grab success in their lives. And when you listen to how others have become successful it helps you to develop yourself.” Although most speakers addressed the audience in Arabic, Fatima Abdullah said that she thought that the program should have been entirely in Arabic with no English used at all. “In my opinion, as this was TEDxArabia it should be done in the Arabic language as most of the audience were Saudis or Arabic speakers. However, I did learn many things from today's program and I will try to implement them in my life and try to develop myself,” she said. Fatima Abdul Kader, a medical student who worked in the event as a volunteer, said that she had attended many TEDx programs in America and she liked the way they were organized, and the way that people shared ideas and expressed themselves. “I hope that there will be more Arabic events which will give people ideas of how to be creative in their lives.” She also said that she was encouraged to see so many young people in the audience.
