BoomGen: A Discussion with Reza Aslan and Mahyad Tousi

"BoomGen: why the media & storytelling matter to a new generation"

A Discussion with Reza Aslan and Mahyad Tousi

Co-sponsored by the Middle East Institute; Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life; International Media & Communications Concentration at SIPA; Columbia School of Journalism; South Asia Journalists Association. 

75% of the population of the greater Middle East (Central and South Asia, Middle East, North Africa) is under the age of 35. The "BoomGen" generation – hundreds of millions of people -- have already impacted the world. Many have emigrated or have relatives outside of the region. Their diaspora reaches into all the major metropolitan cities in the world. 

Join BoomGen Studios' founders Reza Aslan and Mahyad Tousi in a discussion about the "BoomGen" generation and why the media & storytelling matter to them. BoomGen Studios is a one-of-a-kind media & entertainment company entirely focused on content about the greater Middle East across multiple platforms, including theatrical motion pictures, television, as well as online. Find out more about BoomGen Studios at www.boomgenstudios.com

About the speakers: 
Dr. Reza Aslan, founder and Chief Creative Officer of BoomGen, is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, "No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam" and "How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror" His edited anthology, "Words without Borders: Writings from the Middle East," will be published by Norton in 2010. Dr. Aslan is a contributing editor on-line for the Daily Beast and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside. 

Mahyad Tousi, is CEO & founder of BoomGen Studios and Executive Director of BGTV. He has worked in over 24 countries as a producer, director, and cinematographer, in both fiction and documentary; in traditional narrative storytelling, as well as for fine art projects. His handy work has won numerous awards and has been distributed theatrically, on television, as well as in museums internationally.