The spectacular photography of Maha Fawzy: a TEDxAlexandriaU art unit team member.  

http://vizualize.me/maha.fawzy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37790909@N03/

Volunteering is all about empowerment. That is why we are sharing with you one of TEDxAlexandriaU’s arts unit team member’s work: Tarek Madkour.

A revelation shared by a TEDxAlexandriaU team member: Noha Fathi/Talks unit team member: 

 I’m still roaming in the sky, viewing life from above in a futile attempt to capture traces of the diminishing beauty therein, the beauty that the dark fire of injustice and bloody violence consumed the bulk of it only to give way to vague ugliness to prevail.

Inadvertently, a tear fell from me, fell amid the fangs of the raging fire which swallowed it ferociously. My sole tear will never put it out, I know, but at least its fragrant vapor lingering on the smoggy horizon may be smelled by others, compelling a rainbow of hope to reluctantly manifest itself under the thin rays of sunlight that poke every now and then through the cracks between the overcast clouds.

An Arabic poem shared by a TEDxALEXANDRIAU team member:  

Yara Muhammad Abd El-Latif 

صدقيني الليل ده فاني 

و مهما بذلوا من التفاني في الشرور

للشر يومه

اللظالم مش هيقومله قومة

عجلة الحرب اللي شغالة بوقود الأغبياء

لازم ييجي يوم و تعطل

الغباء فاني و فاني صبر كل الأبرياء

الفناء حق في حياتنا

الممات ماهوش سباق

صدقيني الليل ده فاني

أملك اللي في الحياة

طول ما ألوانه بتبرق

طول ما احنا مؤمنين

إن كل الكون ده فاني

عكس قدرة العظيم

قلة الذل اللي سكة

تحتها ينشق بير

بير أمل يدي و يدي

يسقي كل الصابرين

صدقيني الظلم فاني

صدقيني الله كبير

طول ما قنديل الإيمان

عالي نوره في البيوت

و الشوارع  و المواني

و القلوب الصافية،

تاني يرجع البصر

للمهزوزين

يزرعوا بذور الأماني

يتولد راجل جديد

اسمه حب

اسمه حرية

قلبه مخلوق من حديد

آخرة صبر الصابرين

حب يحصد زرعهم

يعدم  الكره اللي زاني

اللي ناهب العقول

اللي قاتل الأماني

اللي مهون الكرامة

على الشاردين

اللي محرف كل دين

We simply cannot disregard the remarkable influence that technology has had upon our lives; with everything facilitated and convenient enough to only take a few seconds to get ready, we grew accustomed to desire our results to come fast and with minimal effort. You will find yourself fidgeting with your hair locks or your key chains for your early morning loaf of bread to get ready even though it is being microwaved for less than 35 seconds!

I believe that this is the sad consequence that we are obliged to bear with everything signed, sealed, and delivered in an instant. We can no longer bear the intensity and profoundness of drastic forms of changes; young gentlemen accelerate their muscle building by supplements, young women desiring that perfect shape with no consideration to the effort and persistence required; surgeries and dubious medications are the short cut. Amidst a hectic, fast-paced life style, microwaved change became the one and only form of change that is most consumed by those who wish to grow better in versatile respects of life.  

Sarcastically, the natural and prolonged patterns of change that are far more psychologically reassuring became frowned upon. We’re depriving ourselves from the psychological luxury of knowing deep inside of us how persistent and determined we are. Change is not only about a photoshopped, fast-delivered result; it is about the perseverance and the renewable intent to keep moving because you need to see yourself in an improved manner; you yearn to eye yourself in a mirror with no shame or frustration burdening your heart and weighing you down. And how it is possible for us to earn this spiritual and psychological triumph when we know that we are feeble enough to thrive only upon shortcuts and microwaved results?

The beauty of experiencing the long road of natural change patterns lies within the satisfaction that it incurs and how that positively affects us and those around us. We are only capable of allocating our energies and time to others when we feel okay and good enough about ourselves. How is it feasible to respond to a request for listening and aiding when you are already stressed out, burdened, and ashamed? You shine from the outside when your inside is in a goodly infectious status. The following phrase sums it up, ” if you’re okay, they’re okay!”

Naturalness in the happening of change can be seen in the steady persistence to learn a new language, earn physical adequacy, improve your communication style, or master a new science. Our tendency to have the results consistent with our impatient and hectic life style appears in those canned, 2 days extensive corporate courses, the 5-minutes YouTube video telling you the secrets to successful communication, the best-selling 50-pages book on how to turn from a novice speaker to a native in less than a week or that nicely packaged supplement with the out-of-this-world shape advertised on its cover! Come on! Without even pondering about it, there has to be something wrong with these dubious shortcut methods. How can I familiarize myself with an ever-widening database of English vocabulary in a week! How can I possibly sweat it off and experience a better mood, health and blood circulation in 2 weeks? It is true that natural methods to earning change can be accelerated through efficient time-management and persistence but not to a microwaved, overnight extent!  

Do things for the joy of the experience. Run to hear that sporadic pace of breathing, to enjoy the cold air gusting against that sweating face of yours. Do not skip the present to yield the future. Run to feel your muscles ache. Learn to know that you can. Prove to yourself before anybody else that you’re fully capable of enduring the most troublesome requirements for solid and authentic forms of change. Don’t microwave your life, thereby losing the joy of a slowly-fading moment. Enjoy for doing anything else brings about a heartless life.

Author: Muhammad Hazem Sherif/Publicity Unit Head 

This is a remarkable Twitter account that contains a remarkable number of uplifting and inspirational quotes.

Get to know the reasons why TEDxAlexandriaU’s staff members joined.

TEDxAlexandriaU is an independently organized (TED event). In 2011, Alexandria witnessed the launch of the first self-organized TED event in Alexandria, Egypt with versatile ideas in the fields of technology, art, and entertainment under the theme of ” unlock ”. With its videos available for online viewing, TEDxAlexandriaU 2011 came to influence many. This year, TEDxAlexandriaU will be presented in an improved and a more influential manner.

In 2012, TEDxAlexandriaU aims to tackle different ideas under the umbrella of the Egyptian culture. With Speakers applying from different backgrounds, it is certain that this year will be a TED-like experience with an Egyptian flavor.

 Every country enjoys its own identity and culture. That is why they chose our Egyptian culture as this year’s theme; to revive what belongs to us; what is withering under the pressure of globalization and open online communication.  And, to their surprise, they found numerous speakers with invaluable ideas pertaining to our identity and culture and all the topics that it can foster.

   TED signifies the value of ideas and the impact they can engender. With the availability of holding an independent, self-organized TED event in any place around the world, all those with ideas worth spreading can stand up, inhale deeply, and spread their ideas like the sweetest aromas. 

TEDxAlexandriaU 2012 will be held in July, 2012. You can communicate with TEDxAlexnandriaU through:

•   Website : www.tedxalexandriau.com
•   Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/TEDxAlexU
•   Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/TEDxAlexandriaU

The power of x

Dancers + camera + kaleidoscope = this infinitely gorgeous short video. (Watch in 1080p fullscreen if you can.) It’s made for TEDxSummit, an unprecedented gathering of TEDx organizers from around the world— and the video celebrates “the power of x” to multiply great ideas.
Learn more about TEDxSummit: http://tedxsummit.ted.com
Credits:
Agency: WE ARE Pi http://wearepi.com/
Creative Directors: Hobson-Chant
Strategy: Alex Bennett-Grant
Agency producer: Jamie Nami Kim
Director: Körner Union http://www.koernerunion.com/
Production company: Big Productions Paris http://www.bigproductions.fr/
Producer: Raphaël Carassic
DOP: Laurent Tangy
Set Designer: Laurent Tesseyre
Choreographers: Icouldneverbeadancer http://icouldneverbeadancer.com/
Editor: Matthilde Carlier
Wardrobe: Elisabeth Rousseau
Hair & Make-Up: Avril Carpentier
Line Producer: Nicolas Avram
Head of Post-Production: Natacha Dolar
Post-Production: Mikros Image http://www.mikrosimage.eu/
Music artist: Yasmine Hamdan www.yasminehamdan.com
Producer: Toolbox Audio http://www.toolboxaudio.com/
Sound design: WAVE Amsterdam http://www.wavestudios.co.uk/