Friday, 30th April 2010 | 7:00 pm
Compelling Conversations is an open forum to discuss controversial, alternative, radical, and contested ideas. These sessions will be held in a participatory circle and will be largely audience-led. Facilitators will kick off the discussion with a brief opening statement or presentation, after which we will open up the floor. Join us at T2F to debate issues that you’ve been itching to talk about with other people.
SUICIDE
Naadaañ haéñ jo kahtay haéñ keh kyooñ jeetay ho, Ghalib
Qismat mayñ haé marnay ki tamanna koee din aur
Every year, about one million people commit suicide, worldwide. While there are no official statistics for Pakistan, the press reports cases of it on an almost daily basis. Many of us have lost friends and colleagues or know of people who have contemplated taking their own life. Yet, in our society especially, suicide is rarely discussed in an open and serious manner. The first session of the Compelling Conversations series aims to begin a dialogue. We do not intend to have a debate ‘for’ or ‘against’ a motion … the aim is to share thoughts on what causes people to contemplate suicide, the different ways in which suicide is viewed by our society, and possible methods for prevention.
Date: Friday, 30th April, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support our vision of intellectual poverty alleviation by donating generously.
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map
Poet and fiction writer, 
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on America’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from consumers with the consent of the government’s regulatory agencies. The nation’s food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of farmers, the safety of workers, and the environment. Alongside the bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, and tomatoes that don’t go bad, there are also new strains of E. coli – the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 people annually. America is riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Usman Anees started taking piano lessons at the age of 8 from his father. Three years later he was able to sight-read well and prepare concert work independently. He practices 5-6 hours each day and has a repertoire of over 200 classical works ranging from Baroque to Modernism. Usman has also written a dozen compositions, including 2 piano sonatas and a piano concerto. Currently, Usman is experimenting with music composition and is incorporating eastern raags into his work, whilst maintaining the Western technique of harmonies. He is also arranging popular film music into the pianistic idiom. Usman performs in Karachi and Lahore and has even performed at a concert in Berlin.
Samina Quraeshi is an educator, designer, artist, photographer, and author. Formerly Henry R. Luce Professor in Family and Community at the University of Miami and Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts, she is currently the Gardner Visiting Artist at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Samina has exhibited her artwork internationally and is the author of Legacy of the Indus: A Discovery of Pakistan, Lahore: The City Within, and Legends of the Indus. She has received numerous awards including the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Medal for Distinguished service in Cultural Preservation and the Arts in Pakistan. 
Shazia Mirza is a very funny award winning British Asian stand up Comedian from Birmingham England.
