Namira Salim

Namira Salim (Urdu: نمیرا سلیم) born in Karachi, is a Pakistani adventurer and artist based in Monaco and Dubai.[1][2] On the recommendation of the Pakistani government, she was in 2011 appointed as an honorary consul of Pakistan to Monaco, following her efforts to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries.[1] She is the first Pakistani to have reached both the North Pole and the South Pole. Salim is the only Pakistani among the first 100 aspiring space tourists to purchase a ticket for Virgin Galactic's future commercial space liner.[3]

Namira Salim
Namira Salim in 2020
Born
Namira Salim

Karachi, Pakistan
Alma materColumbia University
OccupationFounder and Executive Chairperson of Space Trust, artist
Known forFirst Pakistani at the North and South Poles, first Asian to skydive (tandem) near Mount Everest, and would-be space tourist on Virgin Galactic.
AwardsTamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence), 2011
Power 100 Trailblazer Award, 2013
Websitenamirasalim.com

Adventure travel

Salim has been involved with several adventure travel trips, sometimes used as publicity stunts to promote the ideas of international peace and empowerment of women.

Poles

In April 2007, Salim flew by helicopter to the North Pole on a one-day trip with several other travelers, spending about an hour and a half there. She raised the flags of the UAE, Pakistan, Monaco and the European Union, and made telephone calls to her family, and to officials in the UAE. She described it as an effort to spread the message of peace.[4] Salim's 2007 endeavor was preceded in 2004 by that of 24-year-old UK resident Anoushka Kachelo, the first Pakistani and the youngest woman ever to reach the North Pole. Kachelo had raised the Pakistani flag after her eight-day expedition, walking the 50 kilometres (31 mi) of the last degree to the pole, and raising £19,000 for charity.[5] Kachelo had planned to travel to the south pole later in 2004, but did not. In January 2008, Salim traveled to the south pole, thus becoming the first Pakistani to reach both poles. She raised the UAE and Pakistani flags, and a self-made peace flag, and toured the Amundsen-Scott Station.[6]

In the same year, she was among 41 participants in the "Everest Sky Dive 2008" event, described by its organizers as a "pricey" and "high end tourism product". Salim jumped from an airplane in a tandem skydive (harnessed to an instructor) at Syangboche Airport, about 12 miles from Mount Everest, which Salim refers to as the "third pole".[7]

Space tourism

Salim in 2006 joined the group of the first 100 would-be space tourists to book a future flight as a passenger on Virgin Galactic's commercial space liner.[8] In October 2007, Salim completed Virgin's two-day passenger training, including an experience in a simulator at Environmental Tectonics Corp.,[9] the company that built Disney's Mission: Space simulator. In February 2008, she showed her training certificate to former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, who congratulated her.[10]

It was planned that flights would begin as early as 2008,[11] which would have made Salim the first Pakistani to travel to space. As of June 2020, no flights had taken place, though Virgin Galactic still hoped to launch in the near future.[12] Over 600 people have purchased tickets for future flights, which cost approximately $250,000 each, and include a ride of about ten minutes in weightless sub-orbital flight.[12] The company promotes its first 100 ticket-buyers, including Salim, as "Founder Astronauts",[13] and Salim has sometimes been referred to in the media as the "first Pakistani astronaut". However, the official term for commercial passengers is space flight participant, as used by American[14] and Russian space agencies, and the term astronaut is used only for the flight crew, which Salim is not a member of, who are recognized as commercial astronauts in the US where Virgin Galactic flights take place.[15][16][17]

Space Trust

Namira Salim is the Founder of Space Trust, a non-profit initiative that promotes Space as the New Frontier for Peace.[18] Its inaugural event, an interactive exhibition and conference was held in the presence of Prince Albert II on 29 November 2015,[19][20] for which Namira secured official partnerships with State Space Corporation - ROSCOSMOS, the Russian Space agency, SUPARCO, the National Space Agency of Pakistan and other leading establishments affiliated to the Princely Government.[21] Three cosmonauts at the International Space Station delivered a video message during the conference.[22] The main feature of the interactive exhibition, which contained seven customized APPs, was a 3.5 metres (11 ft) “Black Marble Earth” depicting the latest night view of Earth from Space, acquired by the Suomi NPP Satellite in nine days in April 2012 and thirteen days in October 2012, over 312 orbits.[23]

Honorary diplomat

Namira Salim has been a resident of the Principality of Monaco since 1997. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and her personal efforts led to the diplomatic accreditation between Pakistan and Monaco in February 2009.[1] The Sovereign Ordinance of Albert II, the Prince of Monaco, dated 1 August 2011 authorized Salim to practice her function as the First Honorary Consul of Pakistan to the Principality of Monaco.[1] To mark the inauguration of the first Honorary Consulate of Pakistan, Salim organized a cocktail party in March 2012, at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, which was attended by the prince, government officials, and a representative of Shafkat Saeed, the Pakistani ambassador to Monaco.[1][24]

Before she was appointed as honourary consul, she mobilised funds for Pakistan's earthquake of 2005 and devastating floods of 2010. Her efforts led to about US$0.5 Million raised for humanitarian disasters facing the nation via the government of Monaco and for subsequent reconstruction efforts.[1] In 2007, she served as Honorary Ambassador of Tourism for Pakistan, appointed by the Ministry of Tourism.

Creative works

Salim has designed collections of jewelry, sold under the brand Namira Monaco.[25][26] In May 2002 she held a solo exhibit of jeweled objects called "Peace Making with Nation Souls" as an official supporting event to the UN General Assembly Special Session for Children.[27] In October 2000, she exhibited solo at UNESCO's Executive Board under the theme Peace & Soul. In September 2000, Namira held a solo exhibition “Purely A Soul Affair” and in May 2011 launched her documentary “Beyond the Poles” in Dubai, under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman Emirates Airline & Group for the inspiration of youth.[28][29][30] The film documented her journey to the poles, skydiving trip, and events with Branson and Virgin Galactic since 2006. It premiered in Pakistan at the Airforce Academy in Risalpur in May 2011, and in France during the OIC Day at UNESCO in September 2011.

Awards

On 23 March 2011, Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan conferred on Salim the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) for achievement in sport, including her trips to the poles and the Everest skydiving event.[31] She was awarded the Power 100 Trailblazer Award by Pakistan Power 100 in London in September 2013 for her efforts to promote international peace and harmony, and was placed on their "Women Power 100" list.[32]

References
  1. "The woman of many wonders". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. Nag, Esha (23 March 2008). "Gulfnews: Pioneering women of pakistan". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  3. Zara Khan,"Namira Salim to Become the First Pakistani to Visit Space", pk.mashable.com,.
  4. Kannan, Preeti. "Dubai woman reaches North Pole". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  5. Begum, Shelina (21 August 2007). "Pakistan's Polar princess". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  6. Reporter, Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff (18 January 2008). "Resident braves -39C to reach South Pole". GulfNews. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  7. Report On Everest Skydive – 2008 (3rd - 11th October) (PDF) (Report). Explore Himalaya Travel & Adventure, Nepal.
  8. Khan, Waheed. "Sky is no limit for Pakistani spacewoman". U.S. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  9. "Would-be space tourists to train in Phila. area". www.bizjournals.com. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  10. "Namira Salim presents her space training certificate to President". AAJ News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  11. "Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson In Dubai - Day 2". Getty Images. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. "NASA gets set to put astronauts on Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic suborbital flights". GeekWire. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. Whitesides, Loretta Hidalgo (31 August 2007). "Virgin Galactic Astronauts to Start Centrifuge Training". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 25 June 2020 – via www.wired.com.
  14. "Definition: Space flight participant from 14 CFR § 401.5". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  15. "Virgin Galactic pilots join an exclusive club with FAA astronaut wings". SpaceNews. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  16. Price, Henry J. "Fact Sheet – Commercial Space Transportation Activities". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 22 February 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  17. "Definition: Crew from 14 CFR § 401.5". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  18. "Home - Space Trust". Space Trust. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  19. MONACO, ROYAL. "Le Prince Albert II de Monaco inaugure l'Exposition montée par « Space Trust » en l'Honneur du Programme Russe de Vols Spatiaux - ROYAL MONACO RIVIERA ISSN 2057-5076". ROYAL MONACO RIVIERA ISSN 2057-5076 (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  20. Monaco, Gouvernement Princier de. "Monaco rend hommage aux vols spatiaux russes / Videos / Monaco Info : Les Reportages / Chaines - MC Channel - Chaines vidéos de Monaco". www.monacochannel.mc. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  21. "State space corporation ROSCOSMOS |". en.federalspace.ru. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  22. BOLOGNA, Maria. "A Monaco un omaggio 'interattivo' alle missioni russe nello Spazio". www.agencemonacopresse.com (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  23. Administrator, NASA Content (21 April 2015). "Black Marble". NASA. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  24. "Inauguration of the Honory Consulate of Pakistan in Monaco". www.palais.mc. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  25. Sager, Rebekah (15 February 2017). "10 most-outrageous items in the 2017 Oscar nominees gift bags". Fox News. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  26. "Monaco personality enhances star-studded night at Oscars", monacolife.net, March 2, 2017.
  27. "Alumna of the Month: March 2008 Namira Salim '92", hofstra.edu,.
  28. Reporter, Aghaddir Ali, Staff (21 May 2011). "She wants everyone to rise to life's adventures". GulfNews. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  29. Nair, Praseeda. "Namira Salim looks beyond the Poles". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  30. "Namira Salim's 'Beyond The Poles'". Masala! - Bollywood Gossip News, Indian Celebrities and Pictures. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  31. Ashfaq Ahmed "Pakistani woman adventurer wins top civil award", gulfnews.com, April 2, 2011.
  32. "Namira Salim awarded Power 100 Trailblazer Award". Daily Times (Pakistan). Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
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