Lifestyle: Paolo Benigno

“Bam” Aquino IV

Tips for the young in the society

Birthday: May 7, 1977

Civil Status: Single

Professional/Civic Background:

National Youth Commission, former chairman and chief executive officer

Breakfast at Studio 23, Yspeak, former host, Studio 23, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network

Breakfast at Studio 23/Yspeak, former host, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network

Board Member, Coca-Cola Foundation, Rags2Riches Inc.

Endorser, Smart Bro and PLDT MyDSL

General Rapporteur, Asia-Europe Young Parliamentarian’s Meeting

Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum

Speaker/Participant (UNDP’s First Regional Leadership Course, Tallberg Forum, Microsoft

School of the Future Conference, World Bank, Youth Development for Peace Conference,

United Nations Workshop on Youth in Poverty)

Education:

Ateneo de Manila Grade/High School, first honors/class valedictorian with first honors

Ateneo de Manila University, Bachelor of Science in Mgt. Engineering, Ateneo de Manila

University, graduated class valedictorian with summa cum laude honors

People that inspired me: My parents (Paul and Melanie) and my uncle, Ninoy.

Favorite books/authors: The Godfather, Tipping Point, Alchemist, Paolo Coelho, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, horror and fantasy books

Sports: Basketball

Turning points in my life: In the eighties, the struggle against Martial Law, when my uncle (Ninoy) was killed that led to Edsa Revolution

Life’s lessons:

• Don’t wait to grow before contributing something to the country

• There’s a wide space for people to enter into social entrepreneurship. It’s difficult at first, but it has its many rewards for one and the society

By Abdulsalam Haykal, for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). The original article can be viewed at http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=26077&lan=en&sid=1&sp=0&isNew=1#.

I spent summers as a young boy in Damascus, while my fellow Syrians were flocking to my coastal hometown of Tartous to savor the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the heat of Damascus, my summers there were always special.

The Damascene diversity was riveting. Every Friday morning, my grandfather let me tag along during his weekend ritual of shopping for antiques. We would stroll along Medhat Pasha, better known as the biblical Straight Street, moving slowly from one shop to another, eyeing the colored-glass vases, rubbing smooth brass plates and ogling intricate pearl-inlay chests.

Grandpa and I laughed a lot as we shopped for antiques. Some of our biggest belly laughs were with Jamil, an elderly Syrian Jew whose shop was near the Al-Efranj Synagogue, an active place of worship even today. We would stop by the monumental Umayyad Mosque, where the faithful gathered for Friday noon prayers. Inside the mosque, Grandpa once lifted me up to peer through the bars of a shrine said to contain the head of John the Baptist, known to Muslims as the Prophet Yahya.

My grandfather, Faisal Sabbagh, loved Damascus’s history. But he was not stuck in the past. When he was not out searching for antiques, Grandpa was a neurosurgeon who had trained at Columbia University and later established Damascus University’s neurosurgery department in 1949. The generations of medical doctors he taught still remember him as their role model.

My other grandfather is still vibrant at 93. A celebrated entrepreneur and a long-time community leader, I’m proud to be his namesake. He articulates his wisdom through witty poetry and fascinating stories, looking down at the prevailing patronizing attitudes. He teases my father about his passion for high-tech photography. Grandpa bought his first camera in France in the late 1920s, long before the era of digital cameras, and took photos of the National Boy Scouts, which he led in Tartous. He rejoices in his memories of the Scouts demonstrating against the French occupation more than 75 years ago, reminding me that all adversity comes to an end sooner or later.

Talk to young Syrians today and you will find that they often have similar family tales of history, tradition, resistance and innovation. Many have roots in far-flung corners of the world. Similarly, people around the globe can trace their roots to Syria, which was considered by some to be the geographic centre of the world, as well as the heart of the historic Silk Road connecting the Asian continent to Europe.

Many visitors confess that they feel “at home” in Damascus. That sense of belonging is due to an amusing anomaly: any visitor can find a Syrian who looks like them! We are a blend of cultures that triumphed over our ethnic and religious identities to form one nation. Yes, we have a distinct Arab identity and a rich Islamic culture. But we also have a powerful Christian heritage, a Mediterranean character, and a proximity to Europe.

Syria and its capital, Damascus, are sometimes themselves thought of as antiquities, remnants of an illustrious civilization that never quite made it to the present. But for the thousands of us born in the 1960s and 1970s, Syria is a very different nation than even a decade ago. We often feel we have an unprecedented opportunity to flourish.  We are committed to the rebirth of the “Syrian Dream”, empowered by a distinct sense of belonging and sense of duty.

Syria is an ancient nation propelled by a new, technology-savvy generation of young entrepreneurs. We have a vision of what we can be and have set the course to implement it. Countless people in government, civil society, business and the quiet heroes among ordinary citizens work hard against all odds, as we seek to be makers—and not only seekers—of peace. In a world as unstable as ours today, it makes sense to buy shares in this Syrian Dream!

At a recent World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan, I, along with 200 young adults from around the world named as Young Global Leaders, shared our stories and plans for a better world. I had an opportunity to tell government officials, entrepreneurs and activists about the contemporary global perspective that now thrives in Syria, nurtured by a heritage that gives Syrians the confidence to advance into the 21st century.

At the Dead Sea, I also realized I was not just a proud citizen of Syria, but also a proud citizen of an ever-changing world–just as my grandfathers intended me to be.

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* Abdulsalam Haykal is a Damascus-based media and technology entrepreneur and a social activist. In 2009, he was selected to be one of 200 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Paolo Coelho tells Syria’s Forward Magazine he is influenced by mystical Islam brewing in Syria

Paolo Coelho, the Brazilian writer who invaded the world stage with his thundering book The Alchemist , the source of inspiration for many around the world, told Syria’s leading English-speaking magazine, Forward, his writings were influenced by the Sufi traditions of Islam – mostly based is Damascus. Coelho made his debut in a Syrian media oulet last March, emphasizing his great admiration of Sufi figures, such as the famed Sufi dervish and love poet, Jelaluddin Rumi.

“Indeed, Sufism has inspired me a lot throughout my life and I refer to this tradition in some of my books such as The Alchemist and more recently The Zahir. Rumi is of course the first figure that springs to mind. His teachings and visions are incredibly subtle and clear,” Coelho told Sami Moubayed, the known Syrian political analyst and editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine.

Sufism, being the mystical order of Islam, is a natural part of Syrian life, with dervishes and Sufi Sheikhs from around the world considering Damascus as their spiritual center and homeland. Mostly populated by followers of the Naqshbandi order, Damascus is home to the tomb of Ibn Arabi, the widely studied Sufi leader and author of the Meccan Revelations, celebrated by Western scholars as one of the most enigmatic publications to date. Sufism is a non-violent spiritual path towards understanding man’s relationship with God and his/her fellow human beings, through the power of Love. Most of Syria’s Muftis (Religious Leaders appointed by government) are Sufi.

Coelho also revealed that the Arab character (Sharine Khalil) in one of his recent novels is inspired by a real person, from whom he weaved the threads of a story he was longing to tell; referring to it as the “feminine side of God.” Coelho said he believed that the strength of influencing people comes from the freedom contained in each one of us – whether Muslim, Arab, Western or Latin. When writing the Alchemist, Coelho was under the influence of Spirituality, which in his opinion came from curiosity. He believes that whether you like it or not life itself is a pilgrimage, a concept widely shared by Sufi thought and approach.

The interview appeared in Forward Magazine’s issue of April 2009.

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About Forward Magazine:

Forward Magazine is Syria’s leading English monthly, published by Haykal Media. Our ‘writer’s list’ includes names like David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Hala Gorani of CNN, and Riz Khan of Al-Jazeera International. We have also had cutting edge-interviews with leading figures from the political world. Our CEO and publisher, Abdulsalam Haykal, was recently named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Young Global Leader, as the first Syrian ever to deserve the title.

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At a seminar on ‘Education System in India‘ at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, last year, a boy dressed in casuals stepped out of his car and entered the gate. He is stopped by the security personnel: “This event is only for CEOs, you are a college boy.”The boy smiled, picked up his cellphone and soon a whole swarm of organisers arrived at the entrance to usher him in.

But then we really can’t blame the security. Even the wisest of men probably wont guess that the 17-year-old Suhas Gopinath can be the CEO and President of a Bangalore-based IT solutions company, Globals Inc. Suhas had actually been invited as one of the speakers at the seminar…

“Because of my age and looks, I often land in embarrassing situations and do not know how to handle the confusion,’’says a candid Suhas, who is currently juggling is corporate life with a BE in Information Science at the M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Information Technology. He owns a car, bought out of his earnings, but doesn’t have a license to drive it around the city as he is too young to get a license! As a CEO, he wraps up mega deals, but cannot sign on the dotted line as legally he is not yet an adult.

His is a story of a pastime turning into obsession. As a student at Air Force School in Mathikere, he frequented a cyber cafe near his home. “I was overwhelmed by the world of Internet. It became a passion. Though my parents were completely against it, I would spend hours before the computer. My elder brother Shreyas encouraged a lot. I learnt HTML, ASP and every possible software at the cyber cafe,” recalls Gopinath.

On May 14, 2000, along with friends Clifford Leslie and Vinay M.N, he floated his own website-www.coolhindustani.com. “I did not have the money to start. My parents refused to give my a penny, saying it was not worth it. So I wrote to Network Solutions Inc in the US and they readily agreed,” he says.

Suhas, really had ‘IT’ in him. In August, the same year, he set up Globals Inc, a web solutions and n e t wor k i n g company, with a team of four. Now, he has 350 employers, offices in 11 countries, and a turnover of $1 million this year.

“Initially we offered the services for free. As most of us were studying and were very young to actually run the company, many clients were not keen on us. But after seeing the work we delivered, they were impressed. Lot of them in fact still are very encouraging,”he smiles.

At the Bangalore office, there are more than 15 full-time software engineers today. How does he deal with employees elder to him by many years? “Most of the people who work with me are between the age group of 17-19 yrs. I treat them as friends first, than act like a boss. So the job becomes much more easier,” adds Gopinath.

But it’s a stressful life, he admits.”As I got more interested in the company, my studies went for a toss. In my Class X exams I scored 80 per cent, but in I PUC could barely get 65 per cent. Even here I try and not bunk too many classes, but clients cannot be given lame excuses. When I have exams, I tell them I am unwell…” he is candid.

A few years ago ……

• He buys a car but wouldn’t drive because he had no license.
• He, as a CEO, successfully accomplishes a deal but wouldn’t sign the contract !!
• He even grew his Mustache to camouflage his student looks

Success comes with a price and Suhas has understood the importance of it. “At times, I repent that I am not a normal boy, enjoying a teenager’s carefree life. Most of the time I am forced to wear blazers and I am always nervous-about work or studies,” he says.

While most others of his age are rolling balls down a bowling alley, he is charting the road map for his company. “We are planning to start management consultancy in the industry sector as well. There are plans to expand our services to non-IT areas by next year,” explains Suhas.

But ask him what’s his message for to-be entrepreneurs and he’s cautious.”I don’t think I am mature enough advise others, but if you have it in you, go for it. One should also make time to enjoy other things in life. With work, you get too busy to even repent,” he adds.

Mr. Gopinath was announced as a “Young Global Leader” for 2008-2009 by the World Economic Forum, Davos. In that position he would be involved in development programs across the world, including in a leadership program. He is reported to be the youngest YGL in the World Economic Forum’s history.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

http://o3.indiatimes.com/seoindia/archive/2005/08/30/237460.aspx