My talk was about addressing the bright side of Palestinian life that the whole world seems to neglect—how the media describes the political situation in such a way that it spreads stereotypes and never truly gets at the true daily lives of Palestinians. The occupation is of course the biggest challenge facing Palestine, but the point of my talk was to show that there is still another side of the story that is not told -- a side that is about creativity, commitment, and the responsibility it takes to create change in a community. In the Arab region, and especially in Palestine, education is key to being successful and lifting oneself out of poverty or marginalization. My family is one example of many in Palestine that recognized this, and made sacrifices to ensure that I could study. This commitment to education for one's children is in actuality a means to develop the country of Palestine as a whole. My story started when I graduated from university as an IT major. Despite having a degree, it took me a very long time to find a job, which was a common experience amongst my fellow graduates. I recognized that there was a gap between jobseekers and employers; there was no way for unemployed youth to have access to the wider job market. So I and my colleagues developed Souktel, a service that uses SMS mobile technology to match people with jobs. 95% of Palestinian youth have a cell phone, while less than 40% have internet access. Today we're proud to say that we have over 12,000 jobseekers in our network being connecting with vacancies at over 350 employers. We have also brought our technology and our innovation to four other countries in the regin: Sudan, Somalia, Iraq and Morocco. We have also extended the service to cover more opportunities like scholarships, internships, and volunteer opportunities. About TEDx x=independently organized event 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)

• published: 28 May 2011
• views: 2659