Kabul City Center Mall
Roya Mahboob, CEO of the Afghan Citadel Software Project, gave a speech last week in Kabul, Afghanistan to TEDx. This was the first TEDx meeting in the country.
The theme of the TED meeting was "The Art of the Unexpected". The event description from TED.com reads:
"We start with a location. Afghanistan: a country continually in the news, usually for negative reasons; with a history, culture and mixture of peoples and traditions as diverse as anywhere on earth. Kabul: a city of empires, of conquest, of the arts, of Shah’s and Amirs, of poets and writers, of destruction, of architecture, of civil war, of terrible crimes and great hurts, yet a city of hope, of growth, of tomorrow. We meet a group of people, a group of expats and Afghan’s, of artist’s, students, business women, and development workers, and we find they are all inspired by their surroundings, inspired and hopeful for the people they work with, the people they are related to, and the people for whom they believe Afghanistan can offer a future they deserve. We find that this group of people is committed to bringing TEDx and the positivity of spreading ideas of value to Kabul...Beneath the heavy weight of oppression and violence, war and invasion, there still beats the true heart of Afghanistan: innovative, kind, entrepreneurial, creative, caring and intelligent."
During her speech, Roya discussed ways to involve and empower women through the use of social media, social networks and software:
"Social media and software can be tools used to empower women in Afghanistan. For example, Afghan women can use their knowledge of Film Annex to blog, use their influence, and make money on the site. More financial opportunities for women leads to less opposition."
She also spoke of how Afghan university students could use blogging as a way to get paid by taking advantage of Your Buzz on the Film Annex platform, how the online incubator can help Afghan women, as well as the background and objectives of Examer software.
See her full presentation below.
http://capitalpartners.filmannex.com/blog/bid/161516/Roya-Mahboob-Discusses-Digital-Media-Women-s-Empowerment-at-TEDx-Meeting-in-Kabul-Afghanistan
