ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – TEDxNishtiman came to Erbil’s Saad Abdullah Hall on Saturday with 12 Kurdish and international speakers addressing an audience of hundreds from across Kurdistan and the world for the one-day event, sponsored by Rudaw. 

“Being passionate about new ideas and new ways of thinking encouraged me to organize TEDxNishtiman,” read a statement by organizer Rawand Hussen, who has now organized five TEDx events.

“The TEDxNishtiman stage is a perfect platform to discuss solution–based methods to serve the community and improve the daily lives of the people,” he said. “We hope our events create a ripple effect to share ideas and impact, positively, on the lives of the people.”

TEDx events are independently run conferences following the format of the widely popular TED Talks, which feature a series of short, powerful talks on a range of subjects under the slogan “ideas worth sharing”.

Hussen said the hard work of volunteers made this TEDxNishtiman dream a reality.

“We wouldn’t be here without these volunteers who gave up their time and energy to make their event happen,” he added. “This day is dedicated to them.”

More than 150 volunteers from across the Kurdistan Region worked over the past three months to create this TED experience.

Several Kurdish officials attended, including Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, several consuls, diplomats, and members of international organizations.

The first speaker was Mazhar Khalaqi, a famous singer from Iran who began singing at the age of eight. He spoke of the struggles Kurds face in expressing their culture in Iran.

Another speaker, Nujeen Mustafa, is a disabled girl from Aleppo, Syria, who was forced to flee her country in the midst of war. Her message to Arabs, Kurds and Turks is: “The only way we can survive together is to accept each other.”

Another speaker was Marcello Bonotto, co-founder of Re:Coded, a humanitarian organization training conflict-affected youth how to code and become tech leaders in their communities. 

Several other speakers took part, including artists, entrepreneurs, a war photographer, a girl who survived leukemia, and an academic born in to an Assyrian family in Kirkuk. Others spoke about education and religious liberties.

Besides speakers, there were also musical performances. Rastak Music Group, from Iran, played traditional Kurdish music, dedicating its final performance to the famed Kurdish folklore singer Mazhar Khaleqi, which earned a standing ovation.

“The most important part of this event is that the volunteers in Kurdistan organized the event,” organizer Asrin Ardashir told Rudaw English. “We have volunteers from Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok.”

This year’s theme – “ripple” – was chosen to signify that even small things can create waves across the country.

“TEDxNishtiman is a small move that’s going to make a commotion amongst the youth and as the wave becomes bigger and bigger, it will spread across the country,” Ardashir said. 

Soma Abdulla, a university student and English teacher told Rudaw this was the second time she had participated in a TEDx event.

“When you are participating in TEDx, you know what’s going on inside or outside of your country, in the world,” she said. 

Fahim Farhang, a communications manager for an Erbil advertising firm, told Rudaw he has attended several TEDx events outside the country and in the Kurdistan Region.

“TEDxNishtiman is something better,” Farhang said. “Last year was really perfect, the organization was great and the volunteers were enthusiastic and I felt there was a vision for it.”

However, he said that he felt this year it was more commercialized.

“The event itself is for inspiring people and the theme is about ripples, but I could not feel that this year,” he said.