GeekFest Dubai 4.0 - GeekTalks

The GeekTalks have become a hotly anticipated element of the happy gathering of technophiles that is GeekFest Dubai and this month's clutch of chattering in the little ideas-friendly hothouse that is the cinema at GeekFest's home, Dubai's funky hangout The Shelter, is going to be, believe me, the hottest of them all.

How we're going to follow this lot, I don't know. I guess we'll just have to do what we've always done and sit back waiting to see what happens!

Don't forget, BTW, that this GeekFest is themed 'When Geeks Go Green' - Spot On resident tree-hugger Alec Harden was keen to save the planet rather than have fun at GeekFest and cajoled us into asking everyone to bring their old technology along so that it can be recycled by the nice people at recycling non-profit company EnviroServe. Alec organised that, so don't go accusing us of getting organised or anything!

We'll be collecting any unwanted technology stuff, from Tom Gara's old iPhone through to old printers, cables, phones, PCs, any old PCBs, calculators, IBM 3090s, ICL OnePerDesks, Osborne portables, magnetic core memories, Ataris, batteries, TVs - anything and everything, in fact. And then EnviroServe is going to recycle them. We're aiming to beat out Dubai Internet City's slightly sad total of 1,000 items recycled across the whole zone and we're already over 1/4 of the way there, with over 250 old bits of tech stuff already on the way in!


THE TALKS

Will, as always be over-crowded and yet remain on a first-come, first-served seating basis. The first two talks will start at 8.00pm, the second two at 9.00pm. Each talk will last for fifteen minutes. The talkers are in charge of when they start and finish, how they present and what they present. All we do is agree the slot.

A Geek in Niqab
The Niqab [face-veil] has fast become the hot-topic in the Media. Often portrayed as being either mysterious or fanatical, this simple piece of cloth has stirred huge controversy. Hamna Ahmed, a GeekFest regular and Niqabi will give a personal perspective on the media and public perceptions she has encountered. Currently finishing a two-year diploma in Quranic studies, Hamna is enthusiastic about food, good causes and is a Twitter addict!

A Gamer’s Life
Mohammad Alhuraiz is the man behind lochalarchade.com, a gaming site that specialises in underrated and underappreciated games for the Middle East – as well as running a popular and successful podcast that serves the regional gamer community. The site’s about to start pushing user created content and Mohammad’s going to be talking about the evolution of the site as well as sharing ten top tips for successful podcasting in the Middle East.
(Mohammad was nominated as a GeekTalker by Muhamad Ali J.)

Two Fat Ladies – Making Milestones
Talking about creating milestones, trekking, helping kids and never growing up – no matter what the body says. Oh yes and using technology along the way! Young at heart Mita is a PR specialist who lives and breathes technology. She is an active proponent of social media as an intricate part of everyday life – both personal and professional - and never more so than when raising money for children in Nepal.

XeroError 
Ashraf Ghori is the man behind Xpanse CGI, the studio that created XeroError. For anyone that hasn’t heard of this ground-breaking project, XeroError is the first CGI Science Fiction film produced in the UAE, hell, in all likelihood the Middle East! Ashraf will will be joined by associate producers Mohammad Mondal & Waqqas Qadir Sheikh as well as Phat Mo, an actor in the film.

Ashraf and the team will be talking informally about how they did it on a shoestring budget, coffee-laced late nights and sheer dedication to an unlikely vision – and will be showing stunning clips from the finished film.

THE SMALL PRINT

GeekFest Dubai 4.0, When Geeks Go Green, will take place on the 29th April 2010 at The Shelter in Al Quoz (this is the link to the location map). You can do the Facebook thing or follow @GeekFestDubai on Twitter. GeekFest Dubai is jointly UNorganised by myself and Shelter supremo Saadia Zahid (@Saadia on Twitter) and is a not for profit event held without harming any small furry animals.

BTW, the first Jordanian GeekFest took place in Amman  last night at the Mohtaref Remal Café!

GeekFest Beirut 2.0 hasn't happened yet as they're so UNorganised they missed their own date for it to take place. GeekFest Cairo is, as Gulf News would have it, 'on the anvil' but no date has been set. And we thought WE were UNorganised! :)