Theme: Freedom

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Birla Institute of Management Technology
Plot No 5
Knowledge Park 2
Greater NOIDA, 201306
India

Pradeep Kashyap

Pradeep Kashyap, Founder MART, is known as the father of rural marketing in India. He is recognized as a thought leader and is a regular speaker at CEO forums in India and abroad. He has been Marketing Advisor to Ministry of Rural Development and has served on Prime Minister Office and Chief Minister Committees on rural development. He is a World Bank and United Nations consultant. He was Chairman, Khadi Commission National Marketing Committee and member of the NABARD and SIDBI national advisory committees. For the past 25 years he has worked relentlessly to create tens of thousands of livelihoods for rural poor through collective marketing, public private partnerships and the 300 Gramshree melas organized in 75 cities for sale of rural products. He co-created Project Shakti with Hindustan Unilever to appoint 46,000 poor women from micro finance groups as company dealers. He has pioneered Inclusive Marketing, a concept which can impact poverty positively because it looks at the poor not only as consumers but also as producers of goods and services. He was the only speaker from India at Cannes Lions 2008 among the 50 Global speakers that addressed the 2,000 participants in France. His topic ‘Rural India: The Emerging Market’. He was the key note speaker at an International conference in 2010 on inclusive marketing in Chicago. He has given talks at University of Cambridge and London Business School, UK. He was a speaker at the TEDxDeccan August 2011 event on ‘Creating an Endearing Organization’. He is a recipient of the Jamna Lal Bajaj Endowment Award 1991 for his outstanding contribution to rural development. His career spans 40 years. He is President, Rural Marketing Association of India.

Shubhra Chaturvedi

Ex corporate executive and now a full time artist and photographer, Shubhra describes herself as a hunter and gatherer of stories. They either play out on a canvas or from behind a lens.

Mohak Mathur

Professionally trained as an investment banker and a startup specialist for about four years. He considers himself a keen student of human nature and enjoys any and all kinds of conversations from mythology to business models, as long as those conversations don't involve negativity and blames. Mohak is the co-founder of Filmbooth, an Indian non-profit outfit which promotes short filmmaking and spreads messages of social relevance through campaigns such as film festivals and film competitions. Their mission is to promote the idea that "everyone is a film maker" and to blend meaning with entertainment and humour with serious issues. Mohak's keen personal interests include short films, theatre and world travel.

Sanjay Trehan

Sanjay Trehan currently heads MSN India at Microsoft. With over 20 years of rich industry experience, he is an accomplished internet and media professional. Trehan has a vision for the way the Internet space is unfolding in India. He is adept at leveraging strategic relationships to expand business through joint ventures, acquisitions and partnerships. Prior to joining Microsoft, Trehan was the founding CEO of NDTV Convergence Ltd., the digital arm of the NDTV Group. He has also worked as Vice President, Broadband and Web 2.0 at Indiatimes, and the Chief of Internet Business at HT Media Ltd. An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Trehan has addressed several global conferences. He is also a founding member of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), and is currently a member of the CII Committee for Telecom and Broadband. Trehan is deeply interested in poetry and contemporary literature. He has a blog titled ‘Ramblings and Wanderings’, and enjoys listening to ‘Pink Floyd’.

Julianne Wurm

Julianne is a best-selling author with a doctorate from Columbia University in New York City. Julianne works with educators to innovate way we conceive of teaching and learning. Julianne is currently conducting research about how ideas spread. She has been traveling to TEDx events around the world to explore how this big idea has has such wide-spread success. This is one of 2 books she is writing, slated for publication in 2012.

Shivendra Chauhan

Less noticed Shivendra Singh Chauhan is a 33-year-old journalist who led the India Against Corruption (IAC) campaign. Shivendra, suffers from back pains – attributed to spending 18 hours a day networking with activists via Facebook and Twitter. He has been unable to walk forSHIVENDRA CHAUHAN Volunteer at India against Corruption Delhi, Indialast three months but is still slogging on for this cause, despite doctors’ advice to take proper rest by lying in bed and not to sit on chairs or even cushions for long hours. A graduate of Lucknow University, Shivendra works in one of Delhi’s leading dailies, Navbharat Times. He came to Delhi from Lucknow in 1998 to study law but gave it up after a year for journalism. Shivendra uses social networking sites to mobilise public opinion and meet new people. His Facebook IAC page has over 200,000 followers.

Ajay Jain

Ajay Jain spends his life in the pursuit of ideas. Attainable or not, this is his way of leading a full life. To ensure he does not feel stupid at 60. He is currently a traveller, author, photographer and blogger. He has written six books to date, covering travel, management and self-help. And he believes in the power of communities to share and propel ideas. He can be found online on his blog Kunzum.com, and with strong followings on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But real world matters to him even more so; he set up the highly popular Kunzum Travel Café in New Delhi in 2010. It has since emerged as, what he calls, the Face-to-Facebook of travel enthusiasts and creative folks. Ajay holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Delhi College of Engineering), Management and Journalism (Cardiff University, UK). His earlier careers have included Information Technology and Sports Management. He has worked as business journalist with the Financial Express and written columns for many other publications.

Jitendra Aggarwal

Dr. Jitender Aggarwal is the CEO of Sarthak Educational Trust, an NGO that works towards the empowerment of the disabled. He was a dentist by profession. He ran a clinic at the Delhi Development Authority flats in Vikaspuri. At the age of 32, he lost his central vision leading to visual impairment. Dr. Jitendra took the plunge of uplifting the living conditions of the disabled. He has been working arduously towards obtaining employment opportunities for JITENDRA AGGARWAL CEO Sarthak Educational Trust, Indiapeople with disability. Dr. Aggarwal provides overall direction to the organization, monitors program activities and supervises team’s work. He is highly dedicated and committed towards the cause and for him his work is his passion.

Manisha Ahlawat

Manisha Ahlawat has more than ten years of experience in managing retail and services businesses in India as well as in USA. She graduated from Georgia State University’s MBA program in 2000 and at the same time continued to work in the booming retail industry in Atlanta, USA. AJAY JAIN Traveller, Author, Photographer & Blogger New Delhi, IndiaAjay Jain spends his life in the pursuit of ideas. Attainable or not, this is his way of leading a full life. To ensure he does not feel stupid at 60. He is currently a traveller, author, photographer and blogger. He has written six books to date, covering travel, management and self-help. And he believes in the power of communities to share and propel ideas. He can be found online on his blog Kunzum.com, and with strong followings on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But real world matters to him even more so; he set up the highly popular Kunzum Travel Café in New Delhi in 2010. It has since emerged as, what he calls, the Face-to-Facebook of travel enthusiasts and creative folks. Ajay holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Delhi College of Engineering), Management and Journalism (Cardiff University, UK). His earlier careers have included Information Technology and Sports Management. He has worked as business journalist with the Financial Express and written columns for many other publications. see moresee more"When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free" -Shankar Arora "Realize the existence of truth,peace,humanity and brotherhood within and around us" -Megha Singh Tomar "Authentic Individuality" -Dhaval Gokani "Freedom is to express oneself without restrictions.. :)" -Vivek Kashyap "Love Live Laugh" -Nisha Chandnani "Freedom means to liberate your true inner being" -Priya Tyagi "Possessing sufficient time to do what I want to" -Kurian Panjikaran "My END being not controlled by an insane freak with a handful of RDX" -Yuvraj Sarda What is Freedom?After experimenting in different formats in retail for few more years she moved back to New Delhi, India, in 2003 to find herself in the midst of yet another retail boom much similar to the one in Atlanta. She started working with Crossword Bookstores in Gurgaon. Thereafter she worked with Reliance Retail as state category head for their lifestyle category. In 2008, she moved on to Mahindra Retail as Business Manager for their first retail venture, Mom & Me stores. It was here that she became aware of the women’s only market segment and its growing needs. So it was natural that when the opportunity to launch Vivafit came along, she immediately saw the potential and acquired the master franchise. Vivafit is a chain of women’s only fitness centers from Portugal, they have 100 plus centers running successfully in Portugal and Spain. Vivafit opened their pilot centre in India in Gurgaon this year to an overwhelming response from women. Her company plans to open more such women’s only fitness centers all over India through franchising

Ajit Sharma

A travel & music enthusiast by nature and a business entrepreneur by profession, Ajit Sharma strongly believes in the power of knowledge & experience that comes from meeting people from different cultures & ethnicities. He currently heads AWC Industries and is also the President of Think Sustainable Society. AJIT SHARMA Founder & CEO, AWC Industries, Jaipur, IndiaAjit was a TEDUniversity Speaker at TEDGlobal 2011 in Edinburgh and is also the curator for TEDxJaipur & TEDxThar. He has widely traveled the world and has been a member of various international teams with AIESEC in India, Romania & Poland on various decisive subjects and projects. He strongly connects to the environment around and is passionate about expanding his horizons to environment related issues by being a change agent and a indulging into serious brainstorming.

Mohak Mathur

Professionally trained as an investment banker and a startup specialist for about four years. He considers himself a keen student of human nature and enjoys any and all kinds of conversations from mythology to business models, as long as those conversations don't involve negativity and blames.Mohak is the co-founder of Filmbooth, an Indian non-profit outfit which promotes short filmmaking and spreads messages of social relevance through campaigns such as film festivals and film competitions. Their mission is to promote the idea that "everyone is a film maker" and to blend meaning with entertainment and humour with serious issues. Mohak's keen personal interests include short films, theatre and world travel.

Sharma Sisters

Madhuri, Kirti and Vidhi make up the talented trio of the Sharma Sisters. The sisters took their first lesson in music from their grandfather, Pandit Krishan Lal Sharma ji, and later trained under their father, Shri Madan Mohan Sharma. The sisters have been trained in Indian Classical music. They have also learnt light music under the tutelage of Shri Mohinder Sarin, renowned music director with All India Radio. Apart from their passion for music, all three of them have been academically inclined, and have excelled in studies as well. They have delivered over 1,000 performances across the length and breadth of the country. The sisters have recorded various programmes for All India Radio and Doordarshan, such as Evening Live Show and Subah Savere. They have also featured on channels like Sadhna, Sahara NCR, Zee, and CNEB; and radio stations like Fever FM 104 and Meow 104.8 FM. In their musical voyage, they have rendered their voice to various devotional and other light music albums. They can also be heard in various jingles, sound and light ballets. Recently, the trio has released their album- DEVOTION by Mystica Music. The Sharma Sisters, with their unique style of singing, have mesmerized thousands of people.

Mahesh Bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt is a prominent Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Bhatt's early directional career consisted of acclaimed films, such as Arth, Saaransh, Janam, Naam and Zakhm. He was later the writer of numerous commercial films in a range of film genres, from dramas like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and comedies like Duplicate, though he was mostly recognised for thrillers like Inteha, Jism, Murder and Woh Lamhe. Bhatt's films show an unusual engagement with the psychological damage arising from infringement of social norms, situations which are characteristic deep mental/emotion damage and trauma. These films provided challenges of characterization to their actors, who included both parallel and mainstream stars. Bhatt himself is known for making both art films with realistic topics and commercial films which include a wide division of action, comedy and thriller films. His serious films demanded strong performances from the performers, and actors who worked under Bhatt's hand have won awards for their performances in his films, like National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards. Whatever the concept may be his movies always contain a relationship of friendship.