GeekFest - Tonight

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.

GeekFest

Just a quick note to let you all know that GeekFest is once again occuring at The Shelter in Al Quoz tonight. It'll be kicking off around 7.30pm and will feature five talks, a workshop on how to put together podcasts and a display from the EWS/WWF asking us to be nicer to turtles. The talks are:



To Nablus by Cam
Blogger Sara has won numerous hearts with her delightful accounts of life as a volunteer teaching in Nablus. Her blog, UssaNabulsiyeh, instantly gained a wide readership that has grown steadily day by day. We’re going to talk to Sara over videochat and listen to what she’s made of the Nablus experience so far. If this works we’ll try and do other cam link-ups in future.

The Giga-Pixel Man
Gerald Donovan’s videos of the Dubai fountains have gained him over two million views on YouTube, while his speeded up Dubai Metro video was hosted by Gizmodo and CNN. His GigaPixel images of Dubai have been similar smash hits. How does a man who seems to have the knack of ‘going viral’ view the phenomenon and what’s he going to get up to next? One answer is a stunning Gigapixel image of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed mosque, unveiled especially for GeekFest!

New Music Nation
DJ RoneJaxx is one of a burgeoning band of Middle East based hip-hop artists who are finding a growing audience around the region as young people take to the musical form to find expression. With catchy tunes and smart videos, he’s a leading member of a regional scene that’s finding its feet – but does the Arab World need to ape US rap and hip-hop or does it need a musical identity of its own? And how is technology affecting artists with something to say and no deal with ‘the man’ to help them say it? (A name-check here to Hass, whose Re-Volt Radio hip hop blog led to us discovering Monsieur Jaxx!)

Where are we going to go now?
Needing no introduction, Yousef Tuqan Tuqan comes from a long line of computer nerds and is one of the most respected figures in the world of Web Development in the Middle East. Online agency Flip Media have carved a niche as the go-to guys for web stuff, from sites to apps – even if they command a premium in return for a ferocious reputation for quality work. So who better to ask where the Internet is actually going next? Yousef’s promised to tell us...

The New Entrepeneurialism
There’s more talk of innovation, funding and the like these days than ever before. There’s more concrete reality taking place as well, with funds like Jordan’s Oasis500 and angel investors popping up to support new online businesses. One of the team behind the amazingly successful, and arguably first, entrepreneurial event in the region, ArabNet, Samer Karam Founder and CEO of Seeqnce, the first startup catalyst in the Arab World, will be outlining some of the initiatives in the region that are driving a new wave of online entrepreneurship – taking from similarly risk averse cultures: their challenges, opportunities, threats, solutions.



On a slightly more sober note than usual, we're also looking at ways we can raise funds to help Ola, a little girl from Nablus who needs to find $18,000 urgently to fund the operation that will save her life - without it her immediate future is exceedingly uncertain as she has a brain tumour that could snuff it out within days. Ola came to our attention because of Sara's blog (featured above).

GeekFest Dubai (The NOTGITEX Edition) Here's a link to The Shelter in Al Quoz. You can do the Facebook thing or follow @GeekFestDubai on Twitter (or tap me up at @alexandermcnabb) for more information.

Cheers!

GeekFest Dubai 4.0 – When Geeks Go Green

Just a quickie to remind y'all that GeekFest is on at The Shelter in Al Quoz tonight, starting at 7.30pm. There are the usual quartet of unusual GeekTalks (details of the talks here), GameFest appears to have taken on a life of its own (the chance to frag each other in networked games around a table) and there are various arty happenings taking place too.

One unusual aspect of tonight's event is that we're asking everyone to bring any old techno-trash as we've arranged with recycling company EnviroServe to have it all recycled - either refurbished and given to a deserving cause or rendered down and made safe and/or re-usable. So if you've got any old PCs, disks, screens, cable, faxes, printers, modems, networking kit, radios, mobiles, desktop phones, VCRs or TVs or any other electronic junk you don't want, bring it down to The Shelter. We're aiming to beat DICs collection drive, which ended up collecting 1,000 bits of techno-jetsam.

GeekFest Dubai 4.0, When Geeks Go Green, will take place on tonight, the 29th April 2010, at The Shelter in Al Quoz (this is the link to the Google map). You can do the Facebook thing or follow @GeekFestDubai on Twitter.

Cheers!

GeekFest 2.0

GeekFest 2.0 is to be held at The Shelter on the 22nd October, which is next Thursday.

As you may remember, we put GeekFest 2.0 back to give Twestival Dubai some space. Now it's full steam ahead for the 22nd.

GeekFest is intended to be an offline social for online people and would be interesting for anyone who's involved in the online world and in using technology to create, educate, entertain, inform or just play around.

The event remains resolutely un-organised. We're suggesting a 7pm start, but you can please yourselves when you turn up. We have added a couple of aspects to the event, mainly to cater to the feedback that while everyone loved GeekFest 1.0, they thought some things to give it more, well, purpose might be in order. Your wish is our command...

TechnoCases
We have, as previously reported, brought in two technology companies to mount technology showcases at the event. Both Nokia and Lenovo will be there showing off their snazzy new gadgets. Both have promised not to hassle the geeks - the idea is that they're there for you to talk to if you want to - no aggressive marketing, shouting or anything. If this works, we'll do more of these next time.

GeekTalks
After 8 o'clock, we'll have a number of speaking slots for people to share interesting technologies, projects, thoughts, ideas, practical things or disgusting personal habits. Each slot will be 15 minutes long maximum and it will be up to the speaker to invite his/her audience, start on time and end on time. This will either work perfectly because of the collective will for it to do so, or will descend into absolute chaos. Either way, we're not taking responsibility.

There are a total of four talks booked for the night, details are here if you want more info. They'll take us into the worlds of HDR photography, TEDx, the future of publishing and The National's mysterious new project.

Windows 7 Launch Party
As you may or may not know, Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system launches around the world on October 22nd and Microsoft has earnestly been soliciting participants for a number of launch parties around the world. You can find out more from this gloriously inept video.

Sadly, our plans to host a Windows 7 Launch Party have had to be cancelled following a violently outraged reaction to the idea from the Macintosh community. You haven't heard the last of this, Mac Freaks.

Eats
The Shelter, as you probably are aware, has many enviable features - including its very own More Café.

Location
The Shelter is in Dubai's Al Qouz industrial area. Here's a map!

Registration
Are you kidding? Just turn up...

If you want to get updates and stuff, you can follow @GeekFestDubai on Twitter and there's a GeekFest FaceBook group too, for no particularly good reason. You can also email either myself or Saadia Zahid at the addresses given on the GeekFest Twitter page.