Upcoming Talks
9 Feb
I’ll be speaking at my alma mater next Saturday, on… (drum roll) photojournalism and… poverty in Asia, as part of a AIESEC-organized campaign to increase awareness of poverty on campus. I don’t know why exactly they think I’d be an expert on that, other than how much time I spend travelling around the poorer regions of Asia and how much my career seems inextricably associated with this poverty, but what I’ll be trying to do is put a human face on the issue. Which is fitting. I spent much of my academic life there writing clinical essays about Asian poverty, its traits and possible solutions (and did best doing that); but spent my life outside academia in Bangladesh, wherever it was, working, putting what I learned theoretically inside a classroom to good use outside of it. So it’ll be interesting to go back on campus to talk about my work, especially at a time (i.e. right now) when I’m especially motivated about my career goals.
There are several other events on campus that weekend, including a screening of that documentary about East Timor by a young Singaporean, which looks fairly promising as well. I don’t know yet what the contents of my talk will be, but you can take a look at the transcript of my speech last year at Nanyang Technological University, for a preview of what to expect, I guess. Come to check out the SMU campus (the oh so wonderful place I spent 3 years in), the fervour of my three-person fan club (my dad, my mum and my brother), or… the wide variety of beer on campus at Ice Cold Beer.
Date: Saturday, February 16, 11 to 1 pm
Venue Seminar Room 2.4, SMU School of Information Systems
Admission: Free
Register: Email to pol.smu [no-spam-at]gmail.com
VillageTalk (which I spoke at last year) took its inspiration from the ever-wonderful TED Talks; after half a year, one half of the original VillageTalk duo, Kelvin, has spun off the first sequel in the form of InterestTHINK. A list of confirmed speakers can be found here.
Date: 23 February 2008, 10am – 3pm
Venue: The Pod, National Library Board @ Bugis
Admission: Free (lunch included)
Register: http://register.interesthink.com
