Hawwa Ayoob

Care taker, Educator/Teacher, Environmentalist, Event planner, Muslim, Project manager, Student, Writer/Editor

Hawwa Ayoob is a literature and history undergraduate at Farook College (Autonomous), Calicut. Apart from her Bachelor's, she is pursuing a 4-year diploma in research. She has presented papers at international conferences and written for anthologies. Her research areas include Black American history, contemporary Dalit and Muslim discourse, climate justice, ableism and intersectionality. At present, she is translating a biographical work on the Kerala Renaissance and co-organizing TEDxFarookCollege 2025.

ableism, academic writing, climate justice, critical race theory, editing, public speaking, research, teaching, video presentation

In high school, I was only allowed 20 minutes of screen time a day, and I used to use this time to listen to a TED Talk everyday. I was obsessed with the red dot and dreamt of giving a talk someday. I always wanted to attend a TEDx event, but I didn't know where to look for them. Even the events near my locality, I would only know about them when the videos appeared on my feed. During my pre-degree, a cousin told me about TEDx happening in Farook College and I immediately registered to attend. It was a surreal experience. When fate had it that I would go to Farook College for my undergrad, I was determined to be part of the TEDx team. The orientation conducted by the organisers of TEDxFarookCollege was for second year students, but I begged to be let in. They asked us to send ideas that fit TED's guidelines, and I sent about 8. I was called for an interview and selected to the team. The team was amazing. We brainstormed ideas and worked on them together. We met at one of the open spaces at college every afternoon. However, our license was rejected due to technical issues. It was disheartening. The mental and emotional toll of all that effort gone to waste was too much. But I was promoted to co-organizer, so I set aside my academics and friendships to make season 2 of TEDxFarookCollege a reality. People don't see what goes behind the scenes: the financial worries, the uncertainties, the stakes at both ends while making a decision, the disappointments that are sure to follow every time you get your hopes up, the last-minute emergencies, the deadline looming like a track-end while you're on a rapidly accelerating train. At the time, our curator graduated and I had to step into that role as well. The writers and designers in the team had to spend thousands of hours on screen time. As a chronic migrainer, my health was in shambles. But all those sleepless nights were totally worth it. The event was a huge success. TEDxFarookCollege transformed my life: it made me a better team player, boosted my confidence and paved way for so many opportunities. I had never learned so much in the span of a year and half. For years, I had been scared of people reading my writing. Working in the curation team is what gave me the courage to put my work out there. I have since published many research papers in journals and creative writing in magazines. Following the event and uploading of talks, we started thinking about renewing our license for season 3. I was the obvious candidate to take up the role of curator. While I was going through the 'license renewal' section of the TEDx website, it said: "When you’re thinking about future TEDx events for your community, it’s important to think whether you have the capacity and/or desire to organize next year’s event." It was to be seriously considered. "I sold my heart and soul to TEDx. I'm not sure if I can do it again," I told a friend. "Was it worth it?" they asked. "Oh yes, definitely." "In life, you're meant to sell your heart and soul. Do you know how rare it is to actually feel like it's worth it? When it comes, you take it." That's what helped me solidify my decision to accept the curator position of season 3. Many asked why I would undertake such a role after the 500+ hours of screen time I had to put into season 2. Chris Anderson, the head of TED, once said that he's been doing this for 40 years, and that he's enjoyed every minute of it. For me, despite all the setbacks or hardships that come in the way of a TEDx event, I would do this over and over again.