Fatema El-Sayed

Activist, Artist, Athlete, Brainstormer, Concerned citizen, Connector, Designer, Environmentalist, Event planner, Idea generator, Life mentor, Muslim, Policy maker, Project manager, Public servant, Student

“My only job is to flourish and to help others flourish.” Growing up in the US, attending college in Egypt, and now working in Dubai, I am a proud Muslim and passionate educator. I love reading fantasy. With a Master’s in Education, I am relentless in my love of learning. You can always find me with a book (or two!) and a notebook (or five!) in hand. I specialize in student leadership and co-curricular activities and have been a highly active member in American and IB curriculum schools alike. I am a staunch believer in positive education and am always championing wellbeing practices. I have recently helped start an educational wellbeing company called Cortex Wellness, so when I'm not working on education, I'm working on education!

Education and Ice Cream.

Changing the educational paradigm. The goal of education should not be to prepare students for the future; it should be for them to become better versions of themselves and make the world a better place now.

coaching, Education, positive education, wellbeing

In my senior year of High School, I moved from the US to Egypt. Knowing that I had experience in public speaking, one of my new teachers introduced me to a boy named Ibrahim Kazaz. Ibrahim was doing something unusual; he was planning one of the region's first (and now one of the biggest) TEDxYouth events. I got involved with the speaker training right away and continued supporting the event and others throughout college. When I became a teacher, I started my own Youth event with my students, giving them a safe space to make mistakes, learn, and ultimately flourish. The event (TEDxYouth@Bedayia) is still going strong today and is one of the most engaging and successful events in Egypt. Best of all, it is completely led by youth. When I moved to Dubai a few years later, I again started an event with my students. I have now introduced hundreds of students to the TEDx community. I have seen them find their voice, their strengths, their passions, and their place in the world through their TEDx experience. Because of these last 11 years of seeing the power of sharing ideas first-hand, I will forever be a TEDx person.

I'm very passionate about art and writing! Although I don't do much besides the occasional doodle or short story/poem, I used to write whole novels and got very into hyperrealism at one point.