Namira Salim

Namira Salim (Urdu: نمیرا سلیم) born in Karachi, is a Pakistani adventurer and artist based in Monaco and Dubai.[1][2][3] She is the first Pakistani to have reached both the North Pole and the South Pole, and is the first Asian to skydive over Mount Everest, in 2008. Salim is the only Pakistani among the first 100 aspiring space tourists to purchase a ticket for Virgin Galactic's future commercial space liner. On the recommendation of the Pakistani government, she was in 2011 appointed as the honorary consul of Pakistan to Monaco, following her efforts to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries.[1]

Namira Salim
Born
Namira Salim

Karachi, Pakistan
OccupationAdventurer, artist The first Pakistani to have reached both the North Pole and the South Pole.
AwardsTamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence), 2011
Power 100 Trailblazer Award, 2013
Pakistan Power 100's “Women Power 100”, 2013
Websitenamirasalim.com

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 preceeded 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 km 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]

Space

Virgin Galactic

Salim in 2006 joined the group of the first 100 space tourists to book a future flight as a passenger on Virgin Galactic's commercial space liner.[7] This group is known as Virgin's "Founder Astronauts".[8] In October 2007, Namira completed Virgin's training for the trip (a two-day course at Environmental Tectonics Corp.'s NASTAR Center[9]), and in February 2008, she presented her training certificate to former President 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 and first Monaco and Dubai Resident to travel to space. As of June 2020, no flights had taken place, though the company still hoped to launch in the near future.[12] Over 600 people have purchased tickets for the flights, which cost approximately $250,000 each, and include about a ten-minute ride in weightless sub-orbital flight.[12]

Space Trust

Namira Salim is the Founder of Space Trust, a non-profit initiative that promotes Space as the New Frontier for Peace.[13] Its inaugural event, an interactive exhibition and conference was held in the presence of Prince Albert II on 29 November 2015,[14][15] 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.[16] Three cosmonauts at the International Space Station delivered a video message during the conference.[17] The main feature of the interactive exhibition, which contained seven customized APPs, was a 3.5-meter “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.[18]

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. The Sovereign Ordinance of Prince Albert II, the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, dated 1 August 2011 authorized Namira Salim to practice her function as the First Honorary Consul of Pakistan to the Principality of Monaco.[19] In March 2012, Prince Albert II inaugurated the first Honorary Consulate of Pakistan in a ceremony organized by Namira Salim at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.[20][1] In 2007, Namira 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.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23][24][25] The film documented her journey to the three poles 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 Namira the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence).[26] 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. Namira Salim was placed on the Pakistan Power 100's “Women Power 100” list, as were former National Assembly Speaker Fahemida Mirza and former Foreign Ambassador Hina Rabanni Khar.[27]

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. https://opf.org.pk/quick-links/pride-of-pakistan/namira-salim/
  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. Khan, Waheed. "Sky is no limit for Pakistani spacewoman". U.S. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  8. 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.
  9. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2007/08/27/daily21.html. Retrieved 25 June 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  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. "Home - Space Trust". Space Trust. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. "State space corporation ROSCOSMOS |". en.federalspace.ru. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  17. BOLOGNA, Maria. "A Monaco un omaggio 'interattivo' alle missioni russe nello Spazio". www.agencemonacopresse.com (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  18. Administrator, NASA Content (21 April 2015). "Black Marble". NASA. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  19. http://cloud.gouv.mc/dataweb/jourmon.nsf/9bf97b0da6308cfdc12568c40037f873/a9ced5de95e9ecfdc12578ea0023b479!OpenDocument
  20. http://tdap.gov.pk/blog/2012/04/inauguration-of-the-honorary-consulate-of-pakistan-in-monaco/
  21. Sager, Rebekah (15 February 2017). "10 most-outrageous items in the 2017 Oscar nominees gift bags". Fox News. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  22. Namira Salim (13 June 2011), Namira Salim UN Solo Exhibition Theme Song, retrieved 28 May 2018
  23. Reporter, Aghaddir Ali, Staff (21 May 2011). "She wants everyone to rise to life's adventures". GulfNews. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  24. Nair, Praseeda. "Namira Salim looks beyond the Poles". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  25. "Namira Salim's 'Beyond The Poles'". Masala! - Bollywood Gossip News, Indian Celebrities and Pictures. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  26. Namira Salim (20 April 2011), President Zardari Namira Salim Civil Award Ceremony, retrieved 28 May 2018
  27. http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/infotainment/09-Oct-2012/namira-salim-awarded-power-100-trailblazer-award
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