Imagine talking about something you really love in just 5 minutes? Sounds crazy right? But that is exactly what happened at IgniteOruba last April 26, 2014 at Al Oruba International School. More than 20 speakers and artists performed in front of an enthusiastic crowd to talk about their passions and endeavors and The Pink Tarha was proud to be a part of the speakers for that event!

If you’re familiar with the popular TedTalks, then you’ll have an idea of what Ignite events are like. However in Ignite events, speakers are tasked to dish out their stories in a series of twenty slides that automatically progresses every fifteen seconds. That’s a total of five minutes for the entire speech. For the past two years, the school supported and organized TEDxOruba events. But this year the organizers wanted something new and fresh and decided to organize IgniteOruba, in hopes of sparking new passions and developing awareness of one’s talents and skills.

Sundrenched was in the Philippines when she asked me to give a talk about The Pink Tarha at IgniteOruba. I was excited, elated and terrified about the whole idea. How can I resist? So I prepared my slides and my speech the moment I got the confirmation from the event coordinator. I then realized how hard it was to sum up five amazing years into five minutes!

On the day of the event I was accompanied by my husband and our friend Jou. The event was held at the school auditorium with the men and women’s seats segregated. The school auditorium is just perfect for this kind of event. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to take photos because our camera phones were collected at the reception. Oh well, you’ll just have to take my word for it! Kidding. Here are some photos from the event organizers.

Hosts Hussam Galal and Ahmed Salah

Seeing the stage and the red curtains gave me the jitters. But all that was forgotten when the show started. We watched a mix of young students and adults talk about their various interests and passions. And it wasn’t limited to speeches, some presented their musical talents and another student rapped in Arabic. One of the speakers talked about overcoming stage fright and another urged her father to quit smoking.

While most of the speeches were in Arabic, we could tell by the way the students presented their talk that they truly prepared for this moment. Kudus to the school faculty and students who worked really hard on this endeavor!

Dr. Mohamed AL-Saadoun on Staying Positive

Moumen Afandy on Life Obstacles

Dr. Safaa Mahfouz talked about Self-Improvement

Abdullah Aqily talked about his journey as a Fat Fighter

Sampaguita Pride talked about The Pink Tarha

My takeaway from this experience? I think the jolt of excitement of being on stage boosted my morale and has inspired me to pursue and tick off a few items from my bucket list. I realized that the things we do can turn into something great if we pour love, dedication and patience into everything that we do. IgniteOruba has indeed ignited a new passion in me, a new lease on life as a writer and artist.To the organizers of IgniteOruba thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to share our passion with everyone that night. More power!Cheers!