Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

Masarat Daud is a 26-year-old Indian girl who left the rat-race of work life to become the Founder of the ‘8-Day Academy’ which is changing community literacy levels in villages in India. Currently focused on Rajasthan (Western India) which has one of the highest female illiteracy rate and also the highest child marriage rate, she is breaking stereotypes by working in the field, training teachers, parents and students.

Masarat Daud believes that eight days of education makes 100% literacy a realistic dream:
 

Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

Khulood Al Atiyat is the cultural presenter at the Shaikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

1000 journals are being distributed around schools, universities, and other venues to capture the spirit of the UAE and document the people who live here in a new and creative way. It also aims to enhance the appreciation of creativity within the society and foster the hidden talents of UAE residents and nationals.

This talk highlights the women's dream to start a new twenty-first century renaissance to bring the UAE forward through unleashing the extraordinary talents of its people.

Susan notes: Thanks to TED (and in this case TEDxDubai), for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

Dubai Abulhoul was born in 1996. Her debut 2-minute animation, "Galagolia," earned her a recognition as "Youngest Director" at the inaugural Gulf Film Festival.

Dubai's number one passion was to find a place between Emarati filmmakers , and her dream turned into reality in 2008 , when she was officially named as the Middle East's Youngest Director at the age of 11.

Still owning the title, Dubai's short movies have earned countless attention from Arab Media such as Emirates Today , Gulf News , and Khaleej Times.

Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.

Kiran Bir Sethi's early training as a designer is clear in her work as an educator -- she looks beyond what exists, to ask, "could we do this a better way?" In 2001, she founded the Riverside School in Ahmedabad, designing the primary school's curriculum (and its building) from the ground up. Based around six "Beacons of Learning," the school's lesson plan focuses on creating curious, competent future citizens. The school now enrolls almost 300 children and has franchised its curriculum widely.

Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

In this passionate talk, Eve Ensler declares that there is a girl cell in us all -- a cell that we have all been taught to suppress. She tells heartfelt stories of girls around the world who have overcome shocking adversity and violence to reveal the astonishing strength of being a girl.

Inspired by intimate conversations with friends, Eve Ensler wrote The Vagina Monologues. The play recounts tender, funny, gripping and horrifying stories she gathered from hundreds of women about their bodies, their sexual experiences, and yes, their vaginas. Since its first staging in 1996, it has been translated into more than 45 languages, performed in more than 120 countries and re-created as an HBO film.