26 January 2010, Lahore: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and SAMAA TV jointly held the second phase of a series of seminars on the project titled “Cultivating Hope”, where young female students were made aware of the challenges and impact of extremism and their important role to cultivate hope in society. The seminar held at the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) followed up by a second event at the Punjab University.
The seminars included the participation of prominent representatives from the public sector, academia and development organizations. More than 600 participants including students were part of the interactive Q&A session, which allowed the youth to ask the exclusive panel members questions, debate and analyze the current socio-political situation of Pakistan and conveyed the leaders on how the youth envisions its role and future.
The panel members included the Governor of Punjab, Mr. Salman Taseer, Mr. Syed Kamal Shah, Former Secretary Interior, Abrar Ul-Haq, famous singer and philanthropist, Brigadier Mowadat Rana, Dr. Ahsan Akhtar Naz, Director Institute of Communication Studies University of Punjab, Dr. Sadaqat Ali, leading psychiatrist and Mr. Mohammad Akram Awan , father of 02 sons who were victims of the recent Moon market blast in Lahore.
The panel members provided a diversified background which created a whole range of different perspectives and frameworks for the students to process their views, engage themselves and create content for the subject.
Speaking as the Chief Guest, Governor Punjab Mr. Salman Taseer said that “Religious and political forces are united to defeat the menace of terrorism and there is no room for terrorism and extremism in Pakistan. Our religion, culture and traditions are sign of prestige for us, he maintained. Islam is the religion of tolerance, unity, peace and harmony.”
Mr Taseer further added, “Terrorists could not impose their so called agenda on us which is against our values and the spirit of democracy. Democracy and freedom of opinion should prevail in society to root out extremism and terrorism.”
Mr. Syed Kamal Shah highlighted the urgent need to restore stability in the region to revive the socio-economic development and improvement of the business industry.
“To defeat the terrorists we need to change the attitude of the people, particularly youth. The universities can play a very constructive and positive role in motivating and educating the people about the true objectives of terrorists. He emphasized that ministry of education and universities should jointly launch programs, which help our youth to become responsible citizens”, said Mr. Kamal.
Speaking at the event Mr. Abrar-ul-Haq, said that” Gone are the days when the selfish rulers exploited youth’s rights. Today’s youth is very much conscious about their rights and duties.”
The project “Cultivating Hope” includes Pakistan’s first Inter-University documentary competition against extremism. The project focus on empowering the youth to look into the measures, impact and results of extremism, which will not only strengthen their minds to take distance to such thinking and behavior but to also play a role in educating their peers and surroundings on the horror of terrorism. The Cultivating Hope initiative will also promote the visual and liberal arts in the country’s education sphere as a form of creative expression and ideas.
HEC and SAMAA TV have called out for documentaries on various themes of extremism through all HEC affiliated universities across Pakistan. According to the partnership, the top three winners of the documentary competition will be awarded prizes amounting to Rs. 1,000,000, Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 300,000. They will also be offered a one-year job contract with SAMAA TV after completing their academic degrees.
