TEDx Guwahati Event organized at Guwahati on 2nd Jan 2011
- organized at Hotel Gateway Grandeur, Guwahati -

2nd Jan 2011

Flavours of Optimism-an online web discussion

Guwahati, January 2, 2011: Conflict, unemployment, lack of opportunities may have bogged the state for a long time now, but in the midst of all the turmoil, there are individuals and organizations that are working with a section of the affected people, encouraging them and empowering them to challenge and move on with their lives. This was the common consensus of the speakers during the independent web online discussion, initiated by TEDx Guwahati.

TEDx Guwahati was a confluence of 10 such individuals who, in their various capacities as administrators, doctors, corporate heads, entrepreneurs and social workers have helped change the lives of people, giving them a second chance at living life fully again.

‘The language of tears is the same all over the world’ and so are the colours of optimism. TEDx Guwahati’s theme was ‘Flavours of Optimism’, saw the amalgamation of such ideas as varied as those of Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who talked about Aashwas, a sensitization campaign at Kekerikuchi, Rangia, which had been ravaged by ethnic violence and left in its wake, traumatized children, men and women.

He also talked about the various schemes of the state government, the stress management sessions for the sub inspectors of the Assam police and added that tremendous changes have been noted in juvenile justice and protection in the state.

Dilip Sarma, a JNU alumnus who is presently involved in mobilizing, training and handholding youth in soft skills and enterprise creation in conflict ridden and border areas in northeast India spoke about the desire in an individual to change for the better, no matter how dire his present circumstances might seem to be.

He cited examples of youths he have worked with, individuals who have come from extremely backward areas of the state and who had no little or no idea of how to go about realizing their dreams. “It is not important whether a person is able to stand on his own, what is important is to keep trying to achieve, be focused and do what they want to make out of life,” said Sarma.

Faith Gonsalves, founder and Project Officer of “Music Basti”, a music education and awareness project works towards empowering ‘street children’ through music highlighted some of the activities being carried on in the three centres in Delhi and described the music workshops which are run by professional musicians and recording artists. Nitin Gupta, the CEO of Entertainment Engineers, and a Chemical Engineer from IIT Bombay is famous for creating a Cult Play ‘Love In December’. He talked about the self sustained development of entrepreneurship, for which academic qualification is countable but not absolutely necessary.

Sushanto Mitra, CEO, Society for Innovation and Enterpreneurship (SINE), IIT Mumbai, said that every problem is an opportunity in disguise and needs to be explored from all aspects. He stressed upon the triple problems of population-poverty-infrastructure and explained how each carry its own solution within itself.

The other speakers who spoke on various options of development of the north Eastern region in national perspective includes M Krishna Saikia, the CEO of Greencover Overseas, an export and trading enterprise involved in the processing, trading and exporting of spices, herbs, aromatic oils, minor forest products and minerals, Dr. Amal Kataki, the Director of Dr. B.Barooah Cancer Institute, Jatin Sarkar, currently posted as General Manager in RITES, a global infrastructure organization, Kamesh Salam, Former President, World Bamboo Organisation and Director of the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) and T Chendil Kumar ( CK), Chief Catalyst, CK Consultants, Bangalore. The independent web online discussion was earlier inaugurated by Dr. Gautam Borua, director, IIT, Guwahati.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com.

TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TED Global is held each year in Oxford, UK.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TED Talk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to organize local, independent TED-like events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

Our event is called TEDxGuwahati, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxGuwahati event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

About TEDx Guwahati (http://www.tedxguwahati.com)

TEDx Guwahati is an independently organized TEDx event operated under license from TED. TEDx Guwahati is an attempt to take the TED movement to India’s North Eastern Region, which is comprised of 8 states connected to mainland India through a small stretch of land called Chicken’s Neck. The theme for TEDx Guwahati is Flavours of Optimism.

The Region’s geographical isolation has been a constraint in the development pace resulting in a comparatively lower growth rate than the National Average. TEDx speakers list has been conceived with a focus on some of the regional stalwarts and friends of India’s North East, in the fields of technology, innovation, music, enterpreneurship, the arts et al.