Theme: In Plain Sight

This year’s theme, “In Plain Sight” focuses on ideas or concepts that become hidden in plain sight due to either our constant exposure to them or lack of noticeable alternatives. It is open-ended, meaning that any idea in the (social) sciences, psychology, art, engineering, culture or other disciplines can be discussed.

Red Theatre, The NYUAD Arts Center
New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadyiat Island
Abu Dhabi, Abū Z̧aby, 129188
United Arab Emirates

Abraham Okbasslaise Hdru

Student

Abraham is an Eritrean-German senior at NYU Abu Dhabi, where he double majors in Political Science and Social Research and Public Policy. At NYU he has pursued research in the areas of educational stratification in Germany and the impact of gulf migration on gender inequality in Kerala India.

Alta Mauro

Director of Intercultural Education and Spiritual Life at NYU Abu Dhabi

Alta Mauro is the founding director of Spiritual Life & Intercultural Education at New York University Abu Dhabi where she leads university efforts related to student, staff, and faculty intercultural competence. She earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In her talk, she reflects on the everyday horrors we encounter and whether could we curb- or even erase- systemic oppression by first acknowledging these horrors.

Emma Kay Tocci

Student

It's commonly viewed that US Americans are ignorant of the world and their country's place in it. By drawing on her own experiences from when she first started studying in the UAE, Emma Kay Tocci, a third-year student from NYUAD from Colorado in the United States speaks on why We Need to Start Telling Americans They’re Ignorant”

Imen Masmoudi

High School Student

Many young Muslim women are discriminated against for wearing the hijab at a young age. Despite this, high school student Imen Masmoudi decided to put on a hijab at the age of nine. By drawing on personal experiences, Imen relates the importance and the effect of being a child hijabi.

Jagan Subramanian

Civil Engineering student

Our second speaker is a senior civil engineer and theater major at NYUAD. He is interested in the relationship between the design of our built environment and the performativity of everyday life. He is currently the Co-Founder of Loveina, a startup that provides employment opportunities to teenage mothers across Southeast Asia.

Karl Kalinkewicz

Graduate Academics and Engagement Manager at NYUAD

Our first speaker is NYUAD’s Graduate Academics and Engagement Manager Karl Kalinkewicz. Born in New York, but living most of his adult life in Los Angeles, he has spent the last many years working in international education. He relocated a year ago to Abu Dhabi, working for the graduate programs office at NYUAD, and uses his free time to travel the world in search of the best food and music.

Maitha AlSuwaidi

Student

Professional archer.Maitha al Suwaidi is an Emirati political science student in NYUAD. Other than her interest in politics, she writes articles and poetry, as she is a columnist for Sail E-Magazine and performs spoken word. Maitha is also very passionate about archery, she is in charge of the Sharjah Women Sports Association and competes both in and out of the UAE. Currently, Maitha is on her semester abroad in DC and is interning in the UAE Embassy in the US. She is here today to talk with us about Archery in the UAE.

Peter Dicce

Assistant Dean of Students & Director of Athletics

To end our first half is NYUAD’s very own Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Athletics, Coach Peter Dicce. Since the university's inception in 2010, Coach Dicce has set the vision and provided leadership for the university's athletic and recreational programming. In addition, he is the driving force behind the Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League (ADISL), the only university sports league in the UAE. Established in 2011, ADISL has rapidly grown to include 19 universities throughout Abu Dhabi. Before joining us at the university, he was a practicing trial lawyer for twenty years.

Rastraraj Bhandari

Economics student

Our fourth speaker is a senior studying Economics at NYUAD. In the university, Rastra has advanced the sustainability and climate movement as the Chairperson of the Sustainability Committee, President of a Climate Change Think-Tank, and as the Climate Columnist for the student-run newspaper 'The Gazelle'. Presently, Rastra is working on a book that studies the potential impacts of glacial flooding on downstream communities in the Himalayas.

Tala Hammash

Community Outreach Coordinator at NYU Abu Dhabi

Tala Hammash works at NYUAD Community Outreach, where she builds bridges with diverse community groups in the UAE through partnerships, civic engagement programs, and telling stories to inspire the spirit of doing social good. She completed her studies at Georgetown in Culture and Politics with a minor in American Studies. She is a woman of many passions, from basketball to cooking, self development to embracing natural hair. She identifies as a strong woman and today she hopes to unpack what strength, among other fun terms, mean.