DUBAI // Internet nerds and video games oddballs came together in geekery last week as members of an online community celebrated their first anniversary in Dubai. Geek Fest 5.0, held at the city's cultural venue The Shelter last Thursday, boasted a line up of video screenings and gaming demos, as well as a display of cutting-edge products by companies such as Samsung. The concept, which is largely unplanned and relies on word of mouth, has now expanded to Cairo, Beirut, Amman and Damascus.
"It's just a great platform for people to share ideas, to get together in a casual space, meet each other and share what we're doing, and feel free to be themselves," said Saadia Zahid, one of the event's organisers, who describe themselves as 'unorganisers'. "The whole idea was frivolous," said Alexander McNabb, a second 'unorganiser'. "We sat here one day over coffee and just decided to do this event for online people. We thought it would be funny. Lots of awkward people sitting in corners looking at their phones. But it wasn't.
"People turned out to be super communicative, super excited." This year, the talks ranged from environmentalism and community activism to marriage. Unlike most lectures, these sessions were constantly interrupted with interjections from the crowd. Mr McNabb said: "We don't tell them when to start or when to end or what to say, so they're all in charge of their own time-keeping, which means it's disastrous."
Thana Ansari, a 22-year-old Emirati who learned of the event through Twitter, said: "I expected a bunch of socially-inept people who were really uni-dimensional, but it's not that way. "They're very creative, intelligent people. I think in life it's a rarity to meet people with a certain intellectual focus and I think Twitter does that. It provides you with a wide variety of individuals for you to interact with. For example, I am into literature and philosophy and I am a med student, so I don't really get that interaction elsewhere."
Many people said they were pleasantly surprised by the event, commenting that it was something they would expect to find in a cultural capital such as New York or London. "Dubai has everything, but something you can never buy is culture," said Mohtab Arabiat, 26, a Jordanian who works in IT and is also a scriptwriter. "Everyone is full of life. They're not sitting in their rooms and watching football, but doing something, connecting with people. It's beautiful that so many inspired minds collect in this small spot."
amcmeans@thenational.ae
