Tasneem Chopra wants to challenge those who impose, and also those who receive stereotypes. She regularly speaks about the issue of combating prejudice, and in particular, subverting Islamophobic hype, from the authentic perspective of a Muslim/minority in the West. She beckons her audiences to“not believe the hype, but exceed it, by understanding the role you have to play in enforcing or defeating the status quo.”
Tasneem recently shared this idea with a diverse audience of over 500delegates at TEDxMelbourne: Untapped held at Swinburne’s Advanced Technologies Centre in May. TEDxMelbourne brings people together to share ideas, knowledge and inspiration through a series of events throughout the year. The event’s ‘Untapped’ theme showcased undiscovered and unrecognised ideas through a series of videos and live talks.
Link: Don’t Believe the Hype, Exceed It – The War Against Stereotypes
As a Curator at the Immigration Museum, Victoria, Tasneem has over a decade of experience as a Cross Cultural Consultant and ‘Stereotype Exceeder’, engaging audiences as varied as Supreme Court Judges and primary school students. She’s a fifth generation East African born woman, of Indian heritage, and also a proudly raised country Victorian, to which she owes her love for Harley Davidson motorbikes.
“It’s about leveraging a stereotype to turn a negative into a positive, not as an apologist, but as an activist.” says Tasneem “Own you narrative before someone else owns it for you”.
Tasneem believes everyone can leverage social change and help progress us as a society that counters stereotypes through conversation. She also maintains that “the empowerment you get from self- respect, begets respect” and that this can pay forward change.
“Melbourne is full of great, untapped ideas worth spreading,” said TEDxMelbourne curator, Jon Yeo, “We were really excited about the calibre of like Tasneem that we had at this event and audience feedback about the Talks has been extremely positive.”
TEDxMelbourne hopes to host another event under the ‘Untapped’ theme later this year.
To find out more about TEDxMelbourne visit http://tedxmelbourne.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/TEDxMelbourne
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers 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. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
Started as a conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with many initiatives.
At a TED conference, the world’s leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. TED speakers have included Roger Ebert, Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, Brian Greene, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Three major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Vancouver, Canada, simultaneous with TEDActive, in Whistler, BC; and the TEDGlobal Conference takes place each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.
On TED.com, talks from TED conferences are shared with the world for free as TED Talks videos. A new TED Talk is posted every weekday. Through the Open Translation Project, TED Talks are subtitled by volunteers worldwide into more than 90 languages. Through our distribution networks, TED Talks are shared on TV, radio, Netflix and many websites.
The TEDx initiative grants free licenses to people around the world to organize TED-style events in their communities with TED Talks and live speakers. More than 5,000 TEDx events have been held, and selected talks from these events are also turned into TED Talks videos.
The annual TED Prize grants $1 million to an exceptional individual with a wish to change the world. The TED Fellows program helps 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. TED-Ed creates short video lessons by pairing master teachers with animators, for use in classroom instruction or independent learning.
For information about TED’s upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration
Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED
Contact for further enquiries about TEDxMelbourne:
Jon Yeo, jon@tedxmelbourne.com
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