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Posts tagged with: TEDxKarachi
Dec 20, 2015    |      Comments Off on Depression

Depression

DEPRESSION ! it is a disease often undiagnosed or hidden away, specially in Pakistan, as it is considered as taboo to seek help from a Psychiatrist and in the fear of being stigmatize people do not seek counselling.

What is Depression?A must-watch for anyone who has ever suffered from depression, or known someone who has: http://ow.ly/VUyyb

Posted by TED-Ed on Tuesday, December 15, 2015

If I recall the TEDxKarachi 2014 talk by Ahsan Jamil last year – who highlighted the importance of this disease said that over 30 to 40 per cent of the adult population in Karachi may be suffering from common mental disorders. Many people are suffering from common mental disorders, such as anxiety and mild to moderate depression, if solutions, were available and if accessed, would allow the patients to live perfectly functional lives.

“There are only 27 consultant psychiatrists for a population of almost 20 million. This works out to one psychiatrist for every 750,000 individuals,”

Ahsan Jamil predicted that in the next 4-5 years depression would be the most prevalent (yet unrecognised) disease for Pakistanis and there is no consolidated effort to address the concerns of people suffering from depression.

Jun 11, 2010    |       2 comments

Op-Ed: A Global Ideas Bank

Just published in The Express Tribune my Op-ed on “A Global Ideas Bank” talking about TEDxKarachi and the power of positive energy, I wrap up the discussion with “We have to start believing in our own selves to bring this country on the road to progress. We should no longer tolerate mediocrity; our own ideas must shape our destiny, not the ideas of some corrupt Tom Dick or Harry who has no vision beyond the infinite depth of his own pocket. TEDx which is you and me and an idea, intends to do more of such events across educational institutions and very soon Pakistan will be feted to a new breed of inspiring youngsters who will lead Pakistan to a brighter future. Let there be no doubt that we shall change Pakistan.“

Jun 8, 2010    |       8 comments

What Pakistan Needs Now: Sanity

The past weekend saw the arrival of TEDx to Karachi. And it would be no understatement to say that the truly spectacular event took the local TED enthusiasts by storm (no pun intended to the tropical storm ‘Phet’, which despite its best efforts was unable to dampen the spirits of our organizers). The event was executed in style and gave its attendees a lot of food for thought on this one throbbing question: ‘What Pakistan Needs Now?’ The speakers touched upon tolerance, justice, leadership, women empowerment, interconnection, energy, innovation, hope and similar much needed qualities and resources that Pakistan needs now. The winning video short by Ali Kapadia summarized it pretty nicely: what we need the most is imagination and innovation. As I sat there, inspired (and that’s saying something about our remarkable speakers, because I’m not an easy person to inspire), an inescapable thought came to my mind, and it is something which we as a society tend to overlook most of the time: What Pakistan Needs Now is also a bit of ‘sanity’.

Mental health policies are a fundamental and necessary means for the promotion of mental health awareness in any given population. W.H.O. studies reveal that 40.5% of the countries have no mental health policy at all. Is Pakistan one of them? Well, almost. Pakistan’s mental health policy was first formulated as late as 1997. It aimed at addressing issues of advocacy, promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and inter-sectional collaboration. It set out to produce trained care providers, to establish resource centers at teaching psychiatric hospitals and detoxification centers. It also provided for crisis intervention and counseling services, special facilities for mentally handicapped and up gradation of large mental hospitals. But the said policy is not comprehensive and even today a very meager percentage of the total health care expenditure is allocated towards mental health budget.
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Jun 1, 2010    |       15 comments

TEDx comes to Karachi

Many of you may have seen the brilliant work being done at TED.com, they are in the business of promoting “Ideas worth spreading”. I am overjoyed to update that TED is coming to Karachi in the form of TEDxKarachi on the 4th of June at the South End Club auditorium. This has been a tireless effort by Asad Rehman [TED Attendee], Sharmeen Obaid {TED Fellow], Dr. Awab Alvi [TEDIndia Fellow], Sumaira Jaffery, Meher Jafferi [Event Manager] and Hiba Ali Raza [Event Manager] who have worked hard for the past 2 months to put this event together.

TED is an annual event where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. What started in 1984 as a conference centered around Technology, Entertainment and Design (“TED”) has evolved to include a host of other disciplines, the driving philosophy being “Ideas Worth Spreading.” TED’s diverse audience – CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists – is almost as extraordinary as the speakers who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bono, Stephen Hawking and James Cameron.

In the spirit of ‘ideas worth spreading’ TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, inspiring live speakers and TEDTalks videos combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.
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