How do we Lest to Forget...If we never knew?

Can you adopt a country's history if it isn't your birth or ancestral background?

When you become a citizen of a country, do you absorb its triumphs and tragedies? Does your new country's commemorations become yours?

ANZAC day is something of a sacred day for Australians.  Thousands wake up at dawn on the 25th of April to listen to the solemn, heart wrenching tones of the Last Post, to honour the fallen soldiers of yesteryear and to thank those who continue to dedicate themselves to the defence of our nation.

To be honest though, ANZAC is probably something that holds mixed meaning to those who, like my family, migrated to Australia and do not necessarily have the shared history.

Gallipoli, for example, is a huge part of the ANZAC legend. Yet that campaign was fought against the Ottoman Empire, and many of those troops were  Muslims from Turkey. How does someone, born as a Muslim in Turkey but who grew up in Australia, reconcile that?  Closer to home, how does someone who arrived to Australia perhaps as an Afghan or Iraqi refugee, fleeing from a war in which Australian troops took some part in... how does someone like that be a part of the fabric of the ANZAC story?

This can be construed as treacherous talk, definitely.   War and conflict are hugely emotive issues and often form part of a national identity.  It isn't treacherous though; it is so important that we as Australians get it right.  I am a lowly civilian, I have no history (Alhamdulilah) of war or conflict of any kind to relate to (my family are engineers through and through, and everyone needs engineers!) so can't claim to know the way things should be commemorated or in any way intend to warp the import of the history.  This isn't intended to be sacrilegious, but an opportunity to start a conversation.

I am passionately Australian and to share in what is a huge part of the Australian identity is a must.

So how to relate to and reconcile the history? How do I, as a migrant Australian Muslim, find my value and space in the ANZAC legend?

I look at it as a human.

Often, there is no one truth, nobody who is 'right'...only those 'left' standing.

So rather than dehumanise any 'side' by seeing them as the enemy, I think of our shared history as humans.  I see ANZAC day as an opportunity to commemorate those who chose to give their lives up for a purpose larger than their own.  I chose to pray for, my heart aches for, young lives lost, missed connections, misunderstandings.  For troops who became friends on no-mans-land in downtime only to realise these were the people they were then to kill.  For young people today who go away to fight for something they care about, whether it be a country or a tribe or a even their religious freedom - who am I to judge what is worth fighting for? For those who come back with PTSD and suffer even longer, that sacrifice perhaps less appreciated...

For if ANZAC is about bravery, mateship, fighting for what's right... well we all have our own manifestations of that.  Yes, for many it is about slouch hats and medals, but sitting alongside that surely it is about recognising our humanity as Australians and being grateful for a greater sacrifice.

We do adopt a country's history when we choose to call it our home, because history is part of a nation's identity.  It is what it is. Although we may not remember it, it is our duties to make sure we do not forget.

We humans too often forget the lessons of our past...

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Edit @ 5:30pm 25th April 2014: 'Turkey' was replaced with 'Ottoman Empire' to reflect the true nature of the conflict.

The Run Down: Wills and Kate

Prelude: A couple of weeks ago, the phone rang (loudly).

The ringtone: Black and Yellow (very classy).

It was Governor General's (GG) office.

"Yassmin, would you like to come to a reception to meet Prince Will and Kate in a few weeks?"

"Um...sure?!", was my response, a little shocked.

I agreed immediately to the event in Canberra at the Governor General's residence.  No thoughts were given to the logistical details or how I was going to make it work. How could one say no?

Not a word was to be breathed about the event beforehand though either, so the countdown was on...

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Today: 3am wake up, flight to Sydney from Perth and then down to Canberra.

Fortunately I had only packed the one outfit, because I could have spent hours deciding what to wear.  Why the outfit matters so much I am not sure, as one rarely remembers.  Irrationally though, that is almost always one of the first things on my mind when I get an invite to a fancy event.  In fact, the immediate thought is usually: what scarf?!

The night arrived sooner than I prepared for, and here are some of the highlights (after the jump!):

1. Almost arrived late. WOO! My ride got slightly lost and I made it to a 6pm event at 5.58pm...cutting it fine.

2. What that did mean though is that I was near the front of the pack, at the top end of the room. That's the only reason I could be at the right place for this shot...

(Terrible, terrible...but my mother was pleased I got into the frame! :D)

3. Anyhow! So as we were standing around in awe of everyone else in the room (few VC's, few Aussies of the year, general debauchery), making small talk, a bell is rung.

4. "No personal photos!" we were told, and we're given the impression that if you do whip out the iPhone for a selfie with the Duke, it may be the last thing you ever do... (in that room).  The rules are set.  "The Duke and Duchess will circulate. Hold your positions".  Instructions given, we awaited the Royal entrance.

5. I sauntered over to meet the Sochi Olympians. Their medals were AWESOME! Very heavy; a large subway cookie-size piece. I was suitably impressed...

6. The Royals and the GG + Wife made the entrance. Speeches made, they begun to circulate...

7. The Winter Olympians and I spoke to the Duchess first off the bat! She gave her undivided attention to each person she spoke to, seemed genuinely interested in asking questions and quite lively, particularly given the fact that their trip has been insanely packed.  I spoke to her about Youth Without Borders and the work we do, she said she loved my gold flakes necklace (from Melbourne markets) and continued circulating.

8. The rest of the night was meeting the other folk in the room. I told Harry Kewell how much of a Liverpool/Scouse fan I was (and how excited I am about how close we are to winning the league!), finally met the lovely Jess Watson and was embarrassed by the fact that I didn't know the dude from NXS who had a lovely suit.  I also laughed with a bunch of pilots and defence people who definitely thought I was insane. Caught up with a number of old friends and met the Governor General himself, who was also a great conversationalist and seemed very approachable.   "We love making use of this house!" he said, and I thought that was rather great.

9. All in all, it was an enchanting night. The caterers were also quite diligent: a lovely lady named Sarah always brought me the vegetarian options for the refreshments first.

10. What now?

Yes, these things are mostly ceremonial. However, they are also an opportunity to meet some amazing people and hopefully have the chance to work with others who share similar interests.  As I am very interested in equity of opportunity for young people, particularly for those from diverse backgrounds, I hope tonight will be the catalyst for a few of those conversations...

Who knows right?

Oh - and for my friends who are interested, this was the total outfit (white pants...too risky!):

PS: Would it be tacky to say I've had Lorde stuck in my head all day?

The F1 Come Down

 

It is that feeling you get when something so amazing happens that you can't believe it ever happened at all.

The weekend of the Malaysia Grand Prix was my first foray into the world of Formula One journalism. Writing for Richard's F1, I spent four days in the media centre, walking the paddock, scratching out articles, attending press conferences, laughing (loudly and often) and generally being in awe: in awe of the calibre and influence of the journalists in the room, in awe of the experience, in awe of the history.

Honestly, being able to speak to and joke with people whose work I have read and respected for a long time was surreal; being able to discuss the very issues that were pertinent to the sport in real time was ridiculous!  How I have been so fortunate (Alhamdulilah) to stumble into this world, I can only wonder.  Alhamdulilah, and a big shout out to Richard Bailey whose has been a staunch supporter, mentor and sponsor in this space.

It's the small things that create the strongest memories really.

The reporters from all around the world, writing and talking in different languages;

The nicknames given to the different drivers by the journos;

Learning about the various cliques - who hangs out with who, who do you ask for this, where to go for that;

Richard and I walking up and down the paddock with the aim of meeting people and scoring interviews (Richard loving the drivers and my interests lying with learning more from the technical directors, engineers and principals).  Walking up and down the paddock sounds fine, until you experience Malaysia stifling 90+ % humidity and mid-30 temperatures...

Sharing in the junk food (sugar always seems to help the writing process, no matter how seasoned a professional);

The rush after an announcement to figure out what this means and write it up;

The build of up excitement at the start of the race: I must say, probably the best group of people to watch and F1 race with because literally, everyone is glued to the screen and taking notes.  Once the race started and the *gasps* and murmurs died down (the starts are always great to watch), the room was as serious as it had ever been all week. Of course, this is the business end of the weekend. This is what we are all here for...

Terrible, terrible jokes;

Being the new kid on the block.  Everything is fun and exciting and there are hundreds of new people to meet! Making new friends :)

Learning amazing history about the sport from people that were actually there;

Making Niki Lauda smile (yay!);

Technical conversations with guys who actually write the regulation and design(ed) the cars;

Realising that these are the people who tell the world about Formula One, and they are just as cool and interesting as their writing is.

I still can't believe it (have I said that before yet?).  What surprised me was that although it is a place where you have to earn your stripes like any other, by and large people were quite friendly.  If you showed your keen interest, people were willing to help.  I guess that's like anywhere really: you only really get out as much as you put in.

It is a bit of a drug though; I am not sure how I would fare attending an F1 in the near future and sitting in the grandstands.

I'd want to know what the stewards are saying, what the word on the street is regarding the latest controversial topic, what new distraction Bernie has concocted, what new challenges the engineers are facing.  So who knows.

I'm but no means formally qualified, but if there is one thing I like doing, it is asking questions.  It would seem that some of the best people at this job are the ones who know the right question to ask...

(Oh, and being an engineer doesn't go down too badly either. It's an engineer's playground!)

Hopefully, inshallah, I will get the opportunity to do this again in the future.

In the meantime, memories will have to do...

#Sepang #MalaysianGP2014

#MH370

Made it to Sepang! Arriving at the #F1

So, the adventure begins! To be honest, I will be doing my gushing here :) The official business is happening on RichardsF1.com so head over that way to check out the reports and actual journalism that I will be doing with Richard over the #Sepang #MalaysiaGP but here...well here is where I let it all hang out :P

Backtrack - so I am now at the Malaysia GP as an accredited reported for the Malaysia GP (single round pass).  I arrived last night and we picked up passes this morning...

It is a pretty interesting crowd. Definitely a 'who you know' world, but that is motorsport.  The fun part is, I don't think they have too many African-looking hijabis wondering around the paddock (covered head to toe in the sweltering Malaysian heat #likeabaws) so it's always fun to be the one to mix things up a little...

Check out some of the happenings thus far:

One week left! "Australia Day" at your local Queensland Theatre!

Inshallah this weekend I will be heading off to check out the slightly controversial "Australia Day" production by Queensland Theatre Company!

"It's funny as hell with some killer lines but there is more to it than meets the eye ... and the heart." - Courier Mail

It's supposed to be a pretty tongue in cheek, sometimes difficult to stomach (?) look at Australian society and I can't wait to check it out...

Shameless plug - youth tickets are $33 so I'd totally recommend everyone go check it out as there is only one week left! Tickets can be found here.

“Moor carefully directs this play so as to test audiences’ limits …” - The Guardian

(love limits being tested)

“… laugh out loud, and be appalled that you did so.” -  XS Entertainment

"Jonathan Biggins’ Australia Day is a laugh, a jab, a thought provoking prod at our current political and cultural climate ..." - Aussie Theatre

Official blurb:

"Welcome to the Aussie country town of Coriole, where life is laidback and carefree. Unless you're a member of the Australia Day committee, who couldn't raffle a chook in a pub. These six quirky community leaders can't agree what it means to be true blue Aussie, and Mayor Brian Harrigan is no help. He's too busy scheming over his Liberal Party preselection and sledging the local Greens.

A bang-up-to-the-moment barbecue-stopper of a comedy, Australia Day follows a mob of bumbling bureaucratic battlers as they debate the details of the national day. Never mind wrangling the Nippers, the Lions and the CWA; these unhappy little Vegemites are at loggerheads deciding on the appropriate type of bread for a dinky-di sausage sizzle. Grab a lamington and a stubbie, sit back, and find out if Coriole's Australia Day will be a little ripper, or will it go off like a bucket of prawns in the sun!

As the brains behind Sydney Theatre Company's wickedly satirical institution The Wharf Revue, writer Jonathan Biggins has his finger firmly on the pulse of Aussie culture. Director Andrea Moor was behind last season's smash hit Venus in Fur. And for actor Paul Bishop (pictured), who plays the Mayor, this material is comfortably close to home. When he's offstage, Paul is a Redland City Councillor on Brisbane's bayside.

Australia Day features strobe lighting, political themes and medium level coarse language"

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Disclaimer: QTC is providing me with two complimentary tickets to go check this out and generally encourage people to as well. I will be writing an honest review though, so stay tuned!

One year to go!

I am super proud and honoured to be an Ambassador for the Asia Cup that is being held in Australia in 2015!

Football (or soccer as we like to call it), is up there with my favourite sports of all time (F1 has a pretty strong hold, if I am being honest). So to be a part of getting the word out there about this competition is something I am really excited about!

We've got one year to go and I'm getting pretty stoked for some awesome matches!

It isn't Brazil, but it's going to be good inshallah nonetheless!

Who is your proverbial money on?

***

There was a cool event not too long ago celebrating 'one year to go'...check out a video here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CDfKMkeyAw

New beginnings (a.k.a "wtf is happening!?")

A few months ago I wrote a relatively honest and slightly exasperated piece reflecting on uncertainty about the future: whether to take the safe route or do things in a riskier manner. A few weeks later, I made a few decisions that are all coming into fruition, just in time for the new year.  I thought I might share some thoughts around it all...

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In a couple of weeks inshallah, I will be finishing up with my current employer and moving to work with a big oil and gas company as an engineer. (Yeh, desk jockey for now).

Inshallah, I will leave behind the FIFO life (for the time being), the lifestyle that has given me so much story fodder over the last 18 months, for something a little more regular.  I'll move across the country to start a life in a new city (and possibly soon after, a new country) and generally leave everything I know to an unknown future.

All in all, pretty cray! 

Those who know me well know I am pretty terrible at making decisions that affect my future. I think about things for a long time without always coming to the rational conclusion.  I dilly dally for far too long, because I hate the idea of making a choice that might close a door that I might decide I want to go back to ('someday').

It isn't necessarily a flattering aspect, and it is something I am working on...

Any how.  I have loved the role I am currently in: met some amazing people, seen awesome things, learnt a hell of a lot and generally had a ball.

However, for a variety of reasons, I decided to do what scared me, bite the bullet, jump into the deep end, etc etc.  

Make the decision and not look back. 

Funnily enough, making the decision was the hard part.

Once it was made, the weight came off my shoulders.

I think I learnt that sometimes, we just have to make a choice.

Whatever choice we make will be the 'right one' for that moment really, because it leads to experiences that make us who we are.

A'akila wa tawakal, is what we are taught as Muslims. Pretty loosely translated it means: Do your thang, do your best...and the rest is up to Allah.

***

So that is where 2014 starts. 

New job, new city, new challenges...

You know what though? New is awesome. New is exciting and new is now set in motion, Alhamdulilah, whether I like it or not :)

So...

I'm not really sure what this year holds, but I look forward to sharing it with you all (inshallah), learning loads and hopefully having the blessing of making some sort of a difference.

Let's do it!

***

PS Also working on a new project that is super exciting! I will update you all soon (not really wanting to count chickens before they're hatched...) but khair inshallah! 

Airing of the IQ Squared debate on BBC World!

 

You may remember a little while ago my mentioning the debate whether "God and His Prophets should be protected against insult" that I was being a part of.

I got an email a few days ago informing me that it will be shown four times globally on BBC World News this weekend (OMG!) at the following times (GMT).

Times in GMT are as follows:

30th November   09.10, 20.10 1st December    02.10, 15.10

The estimated audience will be 70-80 million.

Slap it in your diaries yo and tell me what you think!

I will be posting the video and transcript of my speech shortly after it is broadcast.

Khair inshallah!!!

Cheers,

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Guest Tweeter on Ten!!!

TGIF all! Good morning, and I have some exciting news for you all!

Network Ten is launching a new breakfast show next Monday, called "Wake Up".  It's hoping to be something a little different for your mornings...

***

...I am super honoured to be on of the regular guest tweeters on the show!!

It's going to be quite exciting inshallah. They've given me pretty much free reign to tweet as I like during the show, commenting on all sorts of issues (even if the coffee they give me isn't up to scratch, and let's face it, nothing's quite as good as Brisbane coffee).  I'll be appearing on set with the hosts three times during the morning for some talk about what's trending on twitter and the news of the day (including, as I will ensure, socially conscious topics!!).

This is a little bit awesome, right?!

So your job is to watch the show (it starts at 6.30am on Monday morning), and I will be the guest tweeter on next Thursday the 7th!!!

Tweet/FB/Instagram with me about all the issues that are important to you on that day and I will make sure they get some airtime (as best as I can!).

DEETS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

My handles: @yassmin_a - facebook.com/yassminabdelmagied - http://www.youtube.com/yassm1na - and I suppose I will have to get on that instagram bandwagon ;)

Their handles:

@WakeUpOnTEN - facebook.com/wakeuponten - youtube.com/wakeuponten :)

***

This is going to be really fun inshallah, and I am honestly pretty proud of a commercial platform interesting in having a 'visibly different' voice on the show. Now, just to make sure that isn't a token voice and doing something with it (and hopefully, having this as only the start of a whole new wave of voices!).

Khair inshallah!!

Are you going to be watching? Pft, that's not even a question. You most definitely are inshallah ;)

#BWF13 Comedy: Australia needs Politicians, Not Leaders

 Literary festivals are wonderful feasts for the mind; the Brisbane Writers' Festival was no exception.

Held over the 5th - 8th of September at the beautiful State Library of Queensland, it brought together some amazing - truly amazing - writers and authors and I was humbled to be speaking alongside some of them for a few events.

The photo above is with the authors Tim Cope (on my left) and Chris Sarra on my right.  Both of their stories are amazing and worth checking out; Tim rode along the steps of Genghis Khan, and Chris is the former Principal of Cherbourg School, who was able to change the culture of low expectations and attendance at this Indigenous education facility.

The second event I had the honour of being a part of was The Great Debate.  Held on election night, it meant that I didn't have to watch the telly or really think about politics... except our topic was 'Australia needs leaders, not politicians', and we were on the negative.

My fellow debaters were William McInnes and Julia Zemiro from Eurovision (and Rockwiz). We were pitted against Tim Fischer, Anita Heiss and the delightful Ben McKenzie.

Unlike the debates I have previously been involved in, I soon found that this was to be a 'hilarious' debate (as the crowd below can attest to). Here is a little excerpt of what I had to say...(or what was on the script anyway!).

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#SATIRE ALERT#

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I'm just want to start by saying that I'm an engineer by trade, so I am very serious, my points are bullet pointed, and there will be numbers.

I have been chosen to rule over you, though I am not the best among you.  Help me if I am right; correct me if I am wrong.

These are the words of Abu Bakr Al-Siddique.  Abu Bakr was the first ruler – and politician – in Islam.  He was referred to as the ‘Khalifa’, and Khalifa in Arabic means ‘custodian’ – of the people, the principles of the religion and of the land.

He was chosen.  Politicians are representatives, leaders are not.

#Rebuttal

I will argue two points tonight, both which will prove to you undeniably that Australia needs politicians, not leaders, regardless of what the election says.

Firstly, I will argue that we as don’t want to be lead, we want to be represented.  Politician are those who represent us.

It is no secret that Australians aren’t a fan of tall poppies, people who think they know what’s good for us, or authority figures in general.  

We don't we want people who will tell us where they think we should go,we want to tell them where we want to go and have them take us there. Or that's how Its supposed to work - ours don't quite have that down yet.

Secondly one of the main differences between leaders and politicians is that leaders are assume power, while politicians are entrusted with power to make decisions by the us, the people – the citizens they represent.

After all, who will a leader be answerable and accountable to?

Putting this aside, one of the most important contribution politicians make to our society is that they entertain us. They keep our journalists employed and without them, who would Annabelle Crabb talk to in Kitchen Cabinet? Phillip, what would you write about if there were no pollies? The pages of the Australian would be laid bare...

While googling the answer to this topic, I came across the following quote by Gourcho Marx.

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

SO in essence, politics is the art of trouble.

This is definitely what Australia needs.

Leaders inspire us, yes this is true.

However, our National Anthem says 'Australian all let us rejoice, for we are young and free...'

We clearly don't want to be inspired. We want to be entertained.  Politicians do just that.

***

#END OF SATIRE#

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What do you think? Did you go to the Brisbane Writers' Festival? Any favourite sessions?

Lessons Learned from Australia’s Entrepreneurial Prowess

What are the ingredients required for a sustainably innovative, entrepreneurial, and growth-oriented environment? Australia was recently named among the top quartile of G20 countries in which to be an entrepreneur. There were five criteria: access to funding, the country’s “entrepreneurial culture,” the tax and regulatory framework, access to education and training, and the amount of collaboration and support between the private and public sectors. Australia placed fifth, behind the United States, South Korea, Canada, and Japan.

These benchmarks reflect the factors required to engender strong entrepreneurial capacity within a nation and also point to how companies can turn the entrepreneurial capital within their ranks into profitable innovation.

What can we learn from Australia’s high ranking? How can companies make the most of the current environment and foster an innovative, entrepreneurial culture? Must governments take the lead in creating such a culture, or can companies create it themselves?

Ream more on my blog for the Global Economic Symposium on the Future Challenges Website! 

LOLs on a Monday morning: Cosmo?!

So, I am not a huge fan of asking people to 'vote for me' - it was one of the reasons I was never really interested in University politics (that and it always seemed to be like a lot of drama...)

...but for some cray reason I've been nominated as a finalist for Cosmo's 'Fun Fearless Female' Awards?! In the role model category.  You guessed it, it needs votes!

So what do you say? Head over to their website and maybe read about all the other nominees too. Give me a vote if you reckon I deserve it, but there are some amazing other women in the bunch too so spend some time to learn about them and be inspired... It's an honour to be counted among these ladies at any rate. Damn Australia has some fine talent!

Thank you if you do :)