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Raw talentBy Maria E. Kallukaren, Staff Reporter

An international team of 16 - many of them students - hosts Raw, an onlinemagazine. They tell Maria E. Kallukaren that it is a platform for Pakistaniyouth to express themselves.

An international team of 16 - many of them students - hostsRaw, an online magazine. They tell Maria E. Kallukaren that itis a platform for Pakistani youth to express themselves

I t is the champion of the underdog ... in many ways, bringing tofore unrecognised and under-rated talent. Its focus is the Pakistanianywhere in the world.

Raw, a six month-old online magazine, is by its own definition about"music, movies, fashion, religion, culture and you".

Running it is a 16-member, largely student team of Pakistanisspread across the world - from the UAE to Pakistan, Singapore, theUK, the US and Canada.

"The motivation behind Raw was to connect, relate and cater totoday's modern Pakistani generation," says 23-year old NabeelAejaz, creative director and the brain behind the magazine. "To

provide them with quality content, new ideas, a platform to expressand discuss freely by using latest web technologies and sciences."

Raw is Aejaz's third website after karachiunderground.com andreturntoislam.com. "We are not profit based," says the graphicdesigner who works for a Dubai-based company. The teamreceives practically no funding from outside. "All funding on thewebsite is done by me - my salary."

Aejaz adds: "I can proudly say that Raw is actually one ofPakistan's most expensive websites right now in terms of its costand management, as everything on the website is of the highestquality and the most expensive applications. So to maintain anddevelop it is quite a challenge and more difficult as it is growingbigger and bigger every issue."

Meet the team"We are one of the most intact and closely working teams," saysNabeel Aejaz, creative director of the magazine.

"The work process is pretty simple, each contributor has an area ofexpertise where he or she contributes every fortnight; the finalapproval comes from the editor and then it is published."

Future plans include a print edition, come the new year. "We havealready registered and have trademark rights on Raw formagazines in Pakistan."

Ayesha Fatima Rasul: Contributor"I'm a writer and a reviewer. I see Raw as an opening of many

facets of my life, and as a means to grow, develop and improve asa writer, colleague and person."

Rameez Asif: Bands/artists relations"I do interviews of musicians who are not being supported by themedia, but are better than the ones on TV."

Sadaf Zahra: Contributor"I am one of the Islamic content contributors for Raw. Thismagazine is a great opportunity to voice out Islam to an audience ofbroad vision, thoughts and interests. It amazed me to be part ofRaw, because I have always perceived religion and entertainmenton different poles; but the people at Raw have all welcomed Islamas an important aspect of the magazine. Alhamdulillah!"

AhmAd Hayat: Public Relations"My job includes interacting with the public, media and interviewingpeople. I think I do a lot more than that. I guess it's time to get anincrease in pay! The media world is my bread and butter; I startedas the PR for karachiunderground.com then returntoislam.com andnow Raw. It is not just an entertainment mag, it has got everything."

Imran Maqsood: Contributor"I am the technology and religion/spirituality contributor. "Thismagazine means passion, knowledge and inspiration. Passion toinform, to perform. To create an awareness of issues related to usyoungsters. Freedom to express ourselves and help others."

Insiya Syed: Quality Supervisor"You know whom to blame if there's a typo. I take Raw personally

and I know the people who run it have big dreams."

Zaeema Eckbaull Rauf: Contributor"We do colloquies on different topics related to religion, music,health, movies etc. For me, Raw is a platform for those who want toachieve their purposes. It has enough guts to circumspect thecondition of Muslim society.

Mehwish Waheed: Contributor"I'm the forum administrator. I keep adding articles, my own poemsand interesting stuff on Raw forums. Raw is kind of a second familyto me.

Irim Ahmad: Fashion editor"The most important thing I have learnt at Raw is teamwork, comingtogether is the beginning, keeping together is progress; workingtogether is success."

Rafia Nauman: Promotions"I've been with Raw from the start. I love the cause, the criteria,what we are doing, managing almost all aspects of our daily lives,be it fashion, music, glamour, religion ... ."

Ambreen Ahmad: Contributor"Basically I concentrate on motivational and self-developmentmaterial. Raw is much more than just an E-zine or a website. It is aself-renewing organisation with a clear vision and mission. It is aplatform for the youth to come together and prepare for the future."

Aliya Hameed: Editor-in Chief

"This is the first magazine I have ever had the privilege of being aneditor of. For me, Raw is a platform through which we cancommunicate with the public and try to make a difference. It's alsothe place I turn to when I just want to have fun! Being a teammember at Raw is just like being a part of a big, lovable family."