In this eye-opening TED Talk, Zubda Zia shines a light on a critical but often overlooked issue in education: the absence of science laboratories in schools. Drawing from her personal experiences and insights as an educator and advocate, she explores how the lack of hands-on learning opportunities is hindering curiosity, innovation, and critical thinking in future generations. With passion and clarity, Zubda makes a compelling case for equitable access to practical science education and challenges policymakers, educators, and communities to act. "No Labs" isn’t just a problem; it’s a call for change. Ms. Zubda Zia-Ur-Rehman is a distinguished academician, mentor, and advocate for women’s empowerment, serving as Head of the Economics Department at Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, since 2005. Ms. Zia is a SUSI Scholar 2023; she was among the 18 scholars from across the globe to be nominated for the ‘Study of US Institutes’ (SUSI) Scholars Program for ‘US Economy and Sustainable Development’. This six-week-long fellowship was funded by the US Department of State. She is the director of America Pakistan Education Exchange (APEX). Ms. Zia has won various grants. She recently won a Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF) grant worth USD 10,000, funded by the US Department of State. She, along with two American scholars, used the grant to work on a project titled ‘Phool Nagar and Kahror Pakka: Voices of the Land’. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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- 17:52The religious roots of diet culture | Sophia Day | TEDxTuftsMany Americans, particularly women, struggle with bodily dissatisfaction, and we often assume this is the result of secular phenomena, such as the diet and weight loss industry or pervasive beauty marketing. In reality, our body image woes are due to both secular and religious influences. Winding through centuries of Christian history, this talk explores how ancient philosophy and monastic eating practices inform the way we talk and think about food both in real life and in digital spaces, from ascetic nuns of the Middle Ages all the way to “girl dinner.” This talk posits that these traditions are not obsolete, but have rather evolved and are echoed in our modern-day eating practices. By acknowledging this religious history and by incorporating a design mindset, we can begin to move forward and genuinely heal our relationship with our bodies.Sophia (Phi to her friends) Day is an artist from the Chicagoland area. She graduated with her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts in 2023 and is currently serving as the Post-Graduate Exhibitions Fellow there. In addition, she also works and teaches at various local arts organizations. Her art practice combines making, curation, and research to amplify under-discussed narratives and to form connections across disciplines and histories. Raised Catholic, she has produced several bodies of artistic and academic work about the intersections of feminism and Catholicism and she brings this background, along with her experience in food systems, to her Tedx Tufts talk. When not juggling multiple jobs and art projects, she likes to host friends for dinner with her dog, Tommy.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- 10:33"Every Move you Make" | Marwa Fatafta | TEDxLAU WomenSurveillance as the New Frontier for Gender-based Violence Online. Marwa Fatafta is a Palestinian digital rights advocate and tech policy expert based in Berlin. She leads Access Now’s work on digital rights in the Middle East and North Africa region as the MENA Policy and Advocacy Director. Her work spans a number of issues at the nexus of human rights and technology including content governance and platform accountability, online censorship, surveillance tech, and transnational repression. She has written extensively on the digital occupation in Palestine and particularly interested in the role of new technologies in armed conflicts and humanitarian contexts. Marwa is also Policy Analyst at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, and an advisory board member of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Marwa was a Fulbright scholar to the US, and holds an MA in International Relations from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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