Khalimatou Samirah

Artist, Engineer, Muslim

My name is Khalimatou and I am Cameroonian. I was born a grew up in the beautiful city of Yaounde, in Cameroon. Cameroon's population is so diverse that we are almost all different. A noticeable difference, on our faces, our skins, our habits. Looking at you, people were able to identify which part of the country you were coming from. My people were known to be the less knowledgeable in the world. Especially concerning the girls. I always enjoyed sports, maths, physics and always expressed myself anytime I believed something needed to be said. Most of the time disregarding, the susceptibility of the people around me and this was not welcome no matter how true or important my words were. And so I was considered weird. But for me, it was being special. I studied networking application and services and participated, since my younger age, as a volunteer for the organization of charity events. I am interested in helping others and I believe, if we combine our efforts in this way, we could make this world a better place for each of us. From 2004 to 2015 I have been an active member of the Cameroon Muslim Women Association (CAMWA), a women association whose aim is to improve the lives of women and children in our country. Apart from helping in the organization of our annual events, I created with a group of friends, a program for teenage Muslims, called Islam for Teenagers, to help them embrace and be proud of their identity. I recently moved to Ireland to pursue my studies and career. I am not a member of an association yet but jump over each opportunity to volunteer for events which involve children, sustainable development, etc.

Arts and culture

Difference is beautiful. Being different does not make us enemies. It is not because something is not done in our way that it is done in the wrong way. Unified, our differences can make us powerful.

Children, Computers, Cybersecurity, Islam, Learning, Network, Painting, Self management

I have been a spectator for a while and I have never dreamed of getting more involved in TED events. I learned many interesting things through TED videos online and it is something I thought I might never be able to do. Even though I think we can learn everything and work towards being who we want to be, public speaking is not my thing and I didn't get to work on that to improve myself yet. However, I am better at organizing events. I am now participating in the organization of one of the first local TED events in my country, Cameroon and I am eager to give everything it got for its success.

Painting and taking care of the people around me