GeekFest's taking place tonight at at the New Improved Formula Shelter. Dubbed 'GeekaFest - One for the Girls', it includes all-girl geek talks and a showcase of woman-driven small businesses. BTW, the theme doesn't mean a women only event - those of the male persuasion
are most welcome as, indeed, are those who remain uncertain...
Jacky's is offering cash for your junk, see below, so do bring old mobiles, MP3 players and the like to have them recycled to ISO standards and possibly even get yourself a Jacky's voucher in return!
Long post, sorry, but there's a lot happening. In no
particular order then:
BOOKS
Please
do bring any unwanted old books with you as @devinadivecha and @tdallonsy are
collecting books for their fund raising drive for the Manzil special needs
school in Sharjah. They’re targeting 10,000 books collected and they’re
currently at 7,000 so you could really help with a box of those unwanted pot
boilers!!!
STUFF
The
nice chaps at Stuff Magazine have arranged to have free copies for everyone at
GeekaFest! Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy peach? Altogether now
ahhhhh!
GAMEFEST
Once
again powered by Bonkers Gamer Website Lochal Archade, GameFest will feature Team Fortress 2 and, for
the gentler-spirited Geeka, Child of Eden. There's a really cool area upstairs at Shelter that's just perfect for the Gamers to do their thing, too!
GEEKSHOPS
New to GeekFest and made possible by the funky new
layout, which includes a closed off meeting room upstairs, we're hosting
a series of three workshops for the more serious minded geek - this
time focused around starting up your own business - you can get
inspiration from the women who make up the Geeka Showcase (see below)
and then join in one of the three workshop events taking place. If you
want to guarantee a seat at these (space is limited to an estimated
10-12 people), you should probably get in touch with one of the workshop
leaders fast!
8-8.30PM
Public Relations for startups
Mita Ray (Market Buzz Public Relations - @mita56)
Building public relations and communications into
your startup plan is essential, but few startups feel they can afford
professional communications. Mita has some solutions...
8.30-9PM
Human Resources - making those first hires
Ash Athawale (Senior Executive Consultant for IT, Reed Global)
From your first hire to world domination seems a long way, but how do
you manage those first appointments and grow your team? Our team of HR
specialists have some crucial answers to help you make probably some of the most crucial hiring decisions you'll ever face...
(Ash will be joined by Carolyn Bartz, Executive Consultant for HR at Reed
Global. You can email Victoria.Wilcox(at)reedglobal (dot)com to ensure
you're names on the door!)
9-9.30PM
So you think you want to start a company?
PK Gulati (Angel investor - @pkgulati)
Among other things the man behind The Indus Entrepeneurs in the UAE,
angel investor and serial start-up fosterer PK Gulati looks at what you
really, really need to know to make the decision to create a startup and
then how to make it work. If think you've got an entrepeneurial bone in
your body and want to do something about it, you'll need to be at this
workshop.
TECHNOCASES
We’re joined at GeekFest this week by two Technology Showcases, Pickapic and Jacky’s Electronics.
Pickapic
is a Dubai-based startup with a smart service that lets you download
their software and use it to create an album of your photography and
then print it as a one-off, printing press quality, hardback book. You
can take a look at their website linked here if you can’t wait for Thursday!
Jacky’s
is using the opportunity to introduce people to its EcoExchange
initiative. EcoExchange is a program that lets you take your old
GeekJunk to Jacky’s, where they’ll offer you a price for it (where it’s
worth anything!) and then either sell it on or dispose of it to ISO
standards. There’s a good post on the program here on the Jacky’s Electronics blog.
So you can bring any of your old gadgets (details of what they'll
accept below) along to GeekFest at the New Shelter this Thursday and
trade it in for Jacky's vouchers!
GEEKATALKS
In
possible order of appearance, starting at 8pm and kept to their 15 minute timeslots by the gentle ministrations of Monsignor Rupert Bumfrey, we have:
Amazing
Women
Known
to many as @amazingsusan, Susan Macaulay is a feminist, writer, speaker, coach,
blogger, expatriate Canadian, citizen of the world, wannabe geek, humble
traveler, sometimes rabble rouser, self-proclaimed amazing woman AND social
mediapreneur.
From
being a self-proclaimed ‘blog virgin’ in 2008, she now
singlehandedly (virtually), runs AmazingWomenRock.com (55,000 unique
visits/month), three Facebook pages (combined fanship: 26,000), and three
twitter accounts (total following: 30,000). Find out how she did it, take a
walk through the new amazingwomenrock.com and find out about @shequotes, her newest
venture!
Film, culture and stuff
Nayla
Al Khaja (@naylaalkhaja) possibly needs no introduction, but here we go anyway. Nayla Al Khaja
is the first woman film producer in the United Arab Emirates. The CEO of
D-SEVEN Motion Pictures and D-SEVEN FZ LLC, a marketing and design agency that
offers full Media campaign and corporate branding services, Nayla has secured a
reputation for creating films that explore topics that skate close to the
comfort zones of Emirati culture – her latest award winning film, Malal (bored)
looks at an Emirati woman whose honeymoon reveals the pressures of arranged
marriages.
The
state of autism in the UAE and fighting for change
A
reporter working on Commercial Interior Design & Middle East Architect
magazines, Devina Divecha (@devinadivecha) is a keen photographer, food blogger and sci-fi fan. She’s
involved in driving a series of initiatives to help people with autism in the
UAE – a personal project with her autistic brother, fund raising for special
needs education and a project to help families with special needs children. And
that’s precisely what she’ll be talking about!
Steppin'
the Heels of an Emiratiya blogger
A
journalism graduate, Aida Al Busaidy’s official career began in 2003. A well
known figure, Aida (@AidaAlB) has worked in TV, newspapers and communications and currently
is a columnist with The National, as well as blogging at
aidaaalb.posterous.com. She’ll be looking at the challenges and successes of
communications as an Emirati, as well as quite how your life is changed when
you put it all online!
THE
GEEKA SHOWCASE
All
well known online, these nine small businesses have one thing in common – the
entrepreneurs behind them are all female. They’ll be available to talk about
what they do, sell you stuff, give tips on starting your own small business and
all sorts! More details with links and all that good stuff over at GeordieArmani’s Blog linked here – many thanks to her for co-ordinating this smashing collection of talented and interesting entrepreneurial types!
House
of Colour Dubai
Debbie and partner in colourful crime Janet Small will
be available to answer all your questions related to colour and personal
image. We offer services for both the male and the females of the species
so don't be shy, come along and have a chat. We will also be showcasing
our hand-made jewellery and a selection of fab hairslides and other bits and
pieces.
Financial
Planning in the UAE
Keren Bobker, the best
Female Financial Advisor in the UAE, passionate about women's rights, writer of
On Your Side Column in the National, regular contributor on the air
with Dubai Today, Night Line, and various other written publications
in the UAE.
Simply
Irresistible
Mehnaz Anshah and her wonderful range of home made
cakes, were they made with women in mind? Possibly but let's face it the men
all love cake though some won't admit it, looking foward to seeing her range of
delicious delicacies
Teezers
Mahjabeen Umar, a Mommy by Day a designer by night, with her
fabulous iron on transfers, a great way to transform a plain item of clothing.
Spagenie
Simply the best Spa deals in town!
Mamavents
Public events news views and competitions for women and
families
Elan Interiors
LLC
Ratna Dutta will be showcasing her design studio and
fit out business with the ability to create and implement entire
concepts for
Interiors.
My
Exwardrobe
A fabulous new initiative for selling on your good
quality 'pre loved' clothes
The
English Tea Party
Original vintage crockery available for
hire for tea parties, established in the UK in 2006 and now available in the
UAE.
NEWS
We’ll
also have a surprise announcement or two to make on the day!!!
EATS
As usual, The Limetree will be doing 'the business'!
MORES
GeekaFest takes place Thursday, the 22nd September, from around 7.30pm onwards. You can get more information on Facebook (linked here) or Twitter (@GeekFestDubai). There's a Facebook event page, too, linked here.
